Dutch Crop tour Onions - week 33
Once again the biggest trader in the onion fields
The national onion harvest is fast approaching. On many fields, the onions have already begun to be harvested or have been lying dormant for some time, so harvesting is on the agenda for many growers. For the Crop Tour participants, primarily in the south and central Netherlands, it seems likely that harvesting will begin next week, although it remains to be seen how much the soil will dry out in the coming days.
Mainly in the southern Netherlands, the first plots of seed onions have already been harvested. Onion growers nationwide will be on the eve of the onion harvest in the coming weeks. Most plots have already been leveled, while others are in the process of being cut back. Due to the beautiful spring and the resulting early opportunity to sow onions, the onions are (logically) also ready for harvest earlier. Although it's not unusual for people to start harvesting as early as mid-August, the onions have declined quite rapidly in recent weeks. Although there were occasional rain showers at the end of July, several participants in the Boerenbusiness The crop tour indicates that the rapid ripening of the crop is related to the drought that has particularly affected the southern Netherlands. The high temperatures of the past few days have given the ripening process an extra boost.
Harvesting conditions
Onion growers of the Boerenbusiness Dutch Crop tour The Netherlands hasn't harvested any onions yet, but in Nederweert (Limburg), the first onions will likely be harvested this weekend, says onion grower Hubert Linders. "The onions have reached their production, so the crop is also in good shape." A little further northwest, in Lepelstraat in Brabant, David de Wit also expects to start harvesting the Gewastour plot early next week. "Despite the fact that the soil is really dry here, it's still quite soft. Frankly, I'm surprised by that, but I don't expect any problems with harvesting the onions next week." De Wit observes that the weather conditions of recent weeks have had an impact on the crop. "I think the onions are doing okay, but if I look at the potatoes, they've been dying lately."
Waiting for the weather
In Kortgene, Zeeland, the onions are still partially upright and much greener, reports onion grower Klaasjan Boer. "With this weather, they're ripening incredibly fast. The Gewatour plot still has some potential, but it really needs rain sometime. Right now, they're just pulling out the foliage, which will at most yield a few extra kilos." In Flevoland, for Jan Berend Biesheuvel (Zeewolde) and Peter Holster (Marknesse), it looks like the onions will be harvested by the end of next week. It remains to be seen what the weather will do in the coming week, but Jan Berend expects the Gewastour plot to be ready by the end of next week. Peter reports that his onions are quite large, which he attributes to the fertigation and irrigation.
In Kimswerd, Friesland, Reinder Hogenhout isn't too busy harvesting onions yet. "I just set up the drip lines in the Gewastour field yesterday. The field has already been largely leveled, but there's still a lot of growth going on." Incidentally, Reinder's onions are still grass-green. Before sowing, he fertilizes his onions with a polymer-coated urea fertilizer: a regular urea granule with a thin plastic layer that acts like a rain cap. "This means water has to pass through the coating before it reaches the urea granule, which gradually releases the nitrogen and keeps it available to the crop longer." Partly because of this, Reinder says, he thinks his onions will last longer in the end.
Jan Willem Veldman
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