Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: waliz on March 18, 2014, 17:35

Title: onion sets
Post by: waliz on March 18, 2014, 17:35
can I start to grow my onion sets in trays in the greenhouse before I put them in the vegetable patch
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: Italian Bob. on March 18, 2014, 18:42
Hi

Yes works a treat , put tray out in cold frame after a few weeks to harden off

Bob 
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: sunshineband on March 18, 2014, 19:45
can I start to grow my onion sets in trays in the greenhouse before I put them in the vegetable patch

You can, but at this time in the year I wonder why?

Could you add your locality into your profile please so we can see whereabouts in the country (or world of course  ;) ) you are?
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: DD. on March 18, 2014, 20:07
Mine went straight into the ground a couple of days ago.

Long standing members will know that I can't be doing with "faff about" gardening!  :lol: Planting them twice is!
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: barley on March 18, 2014, 20:28
mine arrived with my seed order in January

I planted them in loo roll tubes filled with compost and just pushed them in - found putting them in greenhouse caused mould to form so I left  them out side but sheltered from rain

by end of Feb. they were well away and roots grown to bottom of tube - they have been planted out now just by digging a trowel hole and popping them in
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: Yorkie on March 18, 2014, 21:41
I start mine off in small modules to give me some control over them not being pulled out of the ground by birds.
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: Trillium on March 18, 2014, 21:45
I started mine off in deep rectangular planters, mostly because my soil is still covered in a few feet of snow and spring will be quite late this year for me, so at least my onions are rooted and ready for planting soon as the ground thaws.
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: DD. on March 19, 2014, 05:40
I just draw a bit of soil up over mine to protect them from the birds, it soon gets flattened by the rain or first hoeing. I'm not planting a couple of hundred sets twice!
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: RJR_38 on March 19, 2014, 06:22
I make holes with an old spade handle, drop the sets in and then just pull the soil back over them. It worked last year and I have done the same this year so fingers crossed.....
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: AnneB on March 19, 2014, 07:44
I am with DD on this.  There is too much to do at this time of year without planting hundreds of onion sets twice.   Once planted I pop a net over the top for a couple of weeks so that the birds don't pull them up.  That way they get off to a good start.   Mine went in at the weekend.
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: Steveharford on March 19, 2014, 07:54
I agree. So easy to pop the odd lifted one back in but then I don't get too many of those.
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: Nobbie on March 19, 2014, 09:55
Mine are due to go in where the sprouts have just come out, but at the moment the ground is very compacted so I need a bit of time toget it workable. I'll put mine in modules while I prepare the ground. If the ground was ready I'd bung them straight in.
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: rowan57 on March 19, 2014, 20:01
I popped 300 in last weekend and another 300 to go in post mothers day, all will go straight in the soil, no stopping, no passing go. Cant be faffing about with double handling on crops that don't need it (Broad Beans are another one!).
Title: Re: onion sets
Post by: jondav14 on March 19, 2014, 20:32
I usually plant my sets by mid Feb, but due to the wet weather and lack of digging on the plot this winter, I just placed them into some compost in seed trays in the greenhouse, took me about 10 minutes . They all got planted outside about a week ago, no green shoots showing at the time but plenty of root growth. They really need to be planted outside by now, so go for it  :)