Growing Things: Peeling back the challenge of storing onions | Edmonton Journal

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Q: I have a small garden patch out at my son’s farm. I did not get out there often enough during the 2024 growing season to water them. So, the end product is many of them is an onion no bigger than the set that I planted last spring.

Is there anything I can do to save/treat them so that I can plant them next spring without them simply going to seed? Your suggestions will be most welcome, and hopefully as rewarding as those you have offered both directly and in the Edmonton Journal over the years.

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A: Thank you for your kind words. If it were me, I would try to save the onions by digging them up and treating them in a similar fashion to storing regular onions. Dig up the onions, clean off any soil and cut off the tops. Place the onions in a cool and dry place to dry off. Keep them stored in a mesh bag if possible. The enemy of storing these things is moisture so a dry, cool spot is a must. Next spring, you can plant them out again.

Q: I am so glad your help still appears in the Edmonton Journal — a pleasant routine to my Saturday morning.

I have a little rose in the garden that has been thriving for about five years. This year, the leaves were stripped! And even the roses did not make it. In poking around, little green worms, possibly 3 mm in size when curled up, presented themselves.

The rose grows amidst a clutter of other plants, none of which were touched by the little green worms. They just loved the rose. What to do?

A: I’m so pleased you find the column useful. The problem sounds like rose slugs, which are really technically not slugs but rather the larvae of rose sawfly. There are a few methods of controlling these critters:

• You can keep an eye on your plant and as soon as you see the invaders you can pick them off by hand. My lovely wife Julie would wrinkle her nose and say absolutely not to this method.

• If you are a Julie you can try insecticidal soap. This is an eco-friendly alternative and yet one that can be effective.

• I would also recommend cleaning up the area under your plant. Removing dead leaves and other debris will remove the breeding ground of the sawfly.

Every week, Growing Things Outdoors runs online at edmontonjournal.com or, if you prefer an epaper format, epaper.edmontonjournal.com

Learn more by emailing your questions to [email protected], reading past columns or my book Just Ask Jerry. You can also follow me on Twitter @justaskjerry01.

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