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25 Mar 21 Jean (Australia - temperate climate)

My onion bed is prepared with plenty of chook poo, and top soil containing sheep and cow manure..plus lime and water retaining dressing.. Are there any other element missing or anything l'm putting on that is not necessary.? Why do the onions have thick necks? Am I leaving the onions too long before harvesting when seed stalks appear? I would appreciate your advice. I live in Lake Clifton 6215 WA on sandy soil which we are building up with compost and manures , lime etc

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26 Mar 21 Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Onions don't need really rich soil, as in heaps of nitrogen. They are a bulb and need Phosphate. With the sandy soil better to build it up with mulchy compost, it can have a bit of chicken/sheep/cow manure in the compost. Or at the end of your growing season add manures grass clipping leaves etc to your soil and turn it and water (rain hopefully) during your fallow time, If you do that over 3-4-5 months then you should have really good soil to start with. You may need to add some lime to balance the soil ph back to 6-7. If you have big thick leaves stalks that means too much nitrogen.

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