Is it too late?

[monkeyboy]

I've planted some garlic a few months ago. I was supposed to chit some more and plant them. Have I left it too late?

Similarly, I've been given some onion sets but not planted them yet. Worth planting now or wait till January?

[bramble]

Hi monkeyboy. Do you have a greenhouse or any ehere you can start thrm in little pots and plant out later in the new year.
There is not much growth now and they might rot in the open ground.

[cariann88]

Yes you can still plant your garlic now.

As for onions, I am not sure if they can be planted now. But I would love to know what others think. I have not planted mine. You could always just plant and see.

[monkeyboy]

Thanks. I'll chit some garlic over the next few days and see what happens.

Onion sets - anything I can do to protect them over the next few weeks?

No greenhouses. I was looking at building a growhouse/mini greenhouse next year. I was also toying with the idea of buying a geopod heated propagator complete with thermostat and growlights.

[Baldy]

Some people might suggest cloches - I couldn't possibly comment.
Also growlights and heated propagator complete with thermostat would be very allium-philiac in my book - I guess if you really know your onions... but I'd use that sort of kit for other fussier stuff.
Each to their own though... so carry on!

[veggiechicken]

If it were me - I'm just a bung 'em in when you remember type of chicken. They won't grow while you sit there looking at them.

[Snadger]

I remember Jay-el putting some Japanese onions in about Christmas time a few years back. I thought at the time "He's missed the boat, they'll never grow." I think he had the best oinion crop he's ever had!

I have only planted Elephant Garlic and still have other garlic to plant, along with my Japanese red onion sets. It isn't that I forgot, its just I haven't got a space to plantr em yet. Thhis frost we had recently will probably do for a few plants on the plot so once I've pulled them up I'll stick my remaining alliums in!

[Zelenina]

Garlic doesn't need chitting. Just plant it.

[Mark_Riga]

It really depends on the soil/weather conditions. Now here in Cheshire it is very wet with puddles everywhere and rain is forecast for the whole weekend. It looks like a dryish spell to follow with temperatures warming up so by next Friday it might just be possible to plant them out here. So if where you are you get a couple of hours where the soil is not frozen or a sea of mud, then I would put them in.
The only time I have had a problem with garlic was when I put some in pots as it was far too wet to plant out directly and a very cold snap froze them solid in an unheated greenhouse. I had to get some more bulbs and planted them out in the spring.

[Chippy Minton]

I keep hearing the best garlic is planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest so I'm going with that.... Plus we're also in Cheshire (and Staffordshire) so we're swinging from swamp to ice rink and back to swamp......

It's not that I've been a lazy and not done it of course

[Jay-ell]

There is a belief that planting onion sets or perennial onions on the shortest day means that they won't realise that they're into their second year. Might be true, might be cods wallop.

Snadgers right, I did have a reasonably nice crop from late planted Japanese onion sets a couple of years ago. This year I planted out transplants earlier to see what they grow like.

[Snoop Puss]

I've planted garlic out as late as February and the harvest was good. Similarly onions. Here, they say you can plant garlic as late as 27 March. In case anyone asks, no-one distinguishes here between types of garlic for planting in autumn or spring - it's all the same stuff.

You could put them in modules and keep them somewhere that is out of the worst of the cold - you don't want them to freeze solid. A touch of frost won't kill them, though. Plant them out when the ground warms up a bit or isn't totally sodden.

[monkeyboy]

Thanks all. I was going to plant garlic this weekend any way. I was more concerned about onion sets and storage/avoiding them going rotten before I got a chance to plant them next year. I'll give one batch of sets a go this week too and see what happens.