Dutch Crop tour Onions - week 13
Sowing onions remains limited by unsuitable soil
The first plot of seed onions of the Boerenbusiness Dutch Crop tour was sown last Friday (March 20). Participant Jacky Dieleman from Philippine in Zeeland decided to head out into the fields with the sowing machine anyway, with a week in which precipitation is expected again and lower temperatures on the horizon. The first onion plots have also been sown in other parts of the Netherlands by now, although there is no real rush yet.
Dieleman states that the second half of March is a wonderful time to sow onions. According to him, conditions were favorable this week. "The soil was nicely warmed up, and as it looks now, we will get a nice shower after sowing. What more could you want?"
He does not see the fact that the temperature will drop slightly again in the coming days as a problem. "On average, we are still around 12 to 13 degrees. Those onions will come up." However, he is taking into account a somewhat slower emergence. "It is not primed seed, so it will take two to three weeks anyway."
The expected rainfall also plays a role in his assessment. "Suppose it showers every three days starting next week, then you're not just sowing anymore."
Busiest in the Southwest
Most crops are currently being sown in the southwest of the Netherlands, notes Klaasjan Boer from Kortgene in Zeeland. He was busy preparing his beet fields last weekend, for the beets which are being sown today (March 23). Whether the onions will be sown before or after the rain depends on the conditions.
"Let's see what the weather does. Sowing onions after the rain is also an option." He is not in much of a hurry. "Whereas we normally sow early to get the seed into the moisture, I don't think moisture will be a problem this year." By that, he means that irrigation is not an option due to the salty water.
At the same time, he also sees the benefits of later sowing. "You often see in the Crop Tour that fields sown a bit later eventually grow much better."
Elsewhere in the Netherlands it is quiet
As quickly as Dieleman sowed his plot, things are still quiet elsewhere in the country. Onion grower René Haaijer from Veelerveen in Groningen indicates that he has carried out some sowing work in the northeast, but there too, the hectares remain limited and "there isn't really much to spare."
Sowing has also taken place occasionally on the lighter sandy soils, but there too, it remains limited. Onion growers throughout the country are noticing the same thing: from above it may look like a lot, but as long as the land still needs to be tilled or prepared, it is still too cold to make a good seedbed.
For Reinder Hogenhout from Kimswerd in Friesland, it is also still too early. "Something is happening on the land in our area, but the subsoil barely allows it yet," says Hogenhout.
Given the weather forecast for the coming week, which predicts a relatively large amount of precipitation, the best opportunities for sowing onions in March seem to be over. After a few days of precipitation, it will likely become drier again. We will then be at the beginning of April, which is an excellent time to sow onions again.
Jan Willem Veldman
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