Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on December 12, 2016, 12:55
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Time to start preparing for next year's onions I think. The Globo I grew in 2016 are not storing that well and I had the same problem last year. Luckily we are eating them as fast as they are sprouting, but time for a change.
I've got Bunton's Showstopper for 2017 and have already dug out a windowsill plastic tray from the greenhouse. Next will be the mini seed trays of compost so they can warm up ready for sowing. I'm going for Boxing Day again :D
The onion club is off again and everyone is welcome, whether sowing early, or waiting until spring. The exploits of the 2016 gang can be found here :
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=122121.msg1438975#msg1438975
If you are going for an early start, bear in mind you have to keep these frost free and in good light until they are planted out. I fudge it over the colder months with a progression from warm windowsill to a cooler windowsill, then a plastic blow away greenhouse installed in my unheated greenhouse, so its not that tough to achieve ;)
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Yes, I've got my packets of seed out and ready to go. I sowed mine the week after Christmas last year, and had a crop of massive onions. They're not keeping as well this year, though, but I think they didn't dry out as well as usual due to the weather. Plus they succumbed to some sort of mildew on the leaves, which I'm sure didn't help. Once I've got next year's sown, I'll go through the ones in store and have a massive peeling and chopping session, then put them in the freezer. Face mask and goggles at the ready!
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Count me in again this year! I'm trying all methods this year: transplants, sets and seed. An interesting experiment. As well as that i've expanded the varieties.
Off to a flying start already:
Red Baron (sets) in the potager and just sprouting this week; some no-name transplants i picked up at the local market during autumn went straight in and they're well away now with about 5-7 leaves each; Senshyu (seeds) planted out about a month ago and not doing too much atm; LFR (seeds) about pencil thickness when planted out about 3 weeks ago, doing well and standing tall; Yellow Rynsburger (seeds) planted out about month ago and moving along but slowly; Shallots sets (Longor & Elisor) about 12cms tall now and looking strong.
Seedlings to plant out this week or next:
Camelot shallots (multiple sown)
Ishkuri bunching onions (multiple sown)
2 other trays, unnamed because i forgot to label them at the time! (multiple sown)
Seeds to get underway this month:
Lusy onions, Rosanna onions, zebrune shallots
I'll await the arrival of Trebon onion transplants at the market. They were terrific onions last year.
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Hi, I am also going to try to grow onions from seed this coming year, my problem is the "cool sunny window". I have a "garden room" which has windows to west, north and east, but has central heating, I also have a porch which faces south but is in shadow after 1400ish at this time of year, and has no heating, which can get quite warm when the sun is shining. I'm thinking of putting the seeds in the west facing window, during afternoon and night and transferring them to the porch in the morning when the sun warms it up. I can keep the "garden room" temperature at a roughly constant 12 - 15 deg C, but it drops to approx 10 deg. C at night. I'm wondering whether the transferring will upset the seeds?
The weather here in Clacton on Sea is very good usually, we only had 2 or 3 frosts last year, we have had 1 this year up to yet but it wasn't a bad one, bird-bath had a thin ice sheet only.
Next year will be the first growing year here as I've now turned the concrete area into an allotment measuring approx 17m x 5m
All suggestions welcome, Bedfordshire Champions by the way.
Thank you all. arh. :)
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Hi
I wouldn't have thought that temperature variation would deter onions. They are very hardy. I have my seedlings out on the north-east facing terrace, and night-time temps get down to -3C. They'll just sit there until they spring into action as it warms. I will probably transfer them to the blow away (same terrace) during Jan & Feb if i don't plant them out beforehand. The soil temp is still good enough here.
I always feel it's the experimentation that adds to my pleasure in growing vegetables.
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I normally don't sow my onions till march. but i am going to try sowing some middle of Jan what do i do would they have germinated. I have a heated potting shed. and a 10 x 8 green house that as 2 paraffin heaters.
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They need some heat to germinate, but then cool and bright conditions. They won't take frost, but too much heat makes them grow too quickly.
Mine usually go out on the plot in May, so a slow steady rate of growth is needed. If you start early you should end up with much bigger onions than you would get from a March sowing, but they plod along in the first few months :)
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I will be sowing my onions and shallots in mid Feb for planting out end of March. I really don't place a great deal of emphasis on sowing them early, in fact I think sowing them early just leads to less storage time. Storing onions for a long time requires stable temperature conditions, something we don't get down here. It could be 5 or 6 C for a week then the next week could be 18C+ so these conditions get them thinking it is time to start to grow again. I cannot give my stored onions a stable storage environment so come mid January they want to sprout . We get a long growing season down here so there is no need to get them started too early to be ready for storing. I will grow Trebons for use throughout the growing season, Zebrune shallots and Golden bear F1 for storing.
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All mine from seed this year. I've just had to 'cull' all those grown last year from sets. They usually store a bit longer but I suspect them being under 3" of water from the end of November until April won't have helped! TBH I was amazed that they survived
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I'm surprised they survived that as well, but what a shame they haven't stored for you :(
My overwintering onions from seed have disappeared from the cold frame! I have been rushed off my feet for the last couple of weeks, so they were fending for themselves, but the chard in there is fine.
No slug trails (I had managed to fling a few blue pellets of doom in there regularly), but they are just little modules of compost now >:(
The plot ones (sets) are up and doing OK. My plot is on a slope so no chance of flooding, but the soil is wet enough. They are in hunker down for the winter mode, so I'm sure they'll cope.
I've just filled some mini seed trays with compost and brought them inside to warm up. These are for the onions I will sow on Boxing Day. OH clocked seed trays and rolled his eyes a bit, but he knows better than to actually say anything :lol:
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what are the favourites for super-large onions? Are they best grown in polytunnel for showing purposes?
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I think Kelsae are still the top winners at the shows & yes they grow them under cover with heat & lights & lots of faffing on. I sometimes grow a few but without the faff to get big onions for our local show, came 2nd once in the heaviest onion catering but can't be doing with all that whipping the neck. I grow to eat, for those championship growers it's all about the competition isn't it?
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I grow to eat, for those championship growers it's all about the competition isn't it?
Not with me. I just want to amaze my neighbours :). Thanks, I'll give Kelsae a try in the tunnel but minus heat and light once they've germinated
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I've grown Kelsae before and got some good results. Mine were started inside, then grown on in the unheated greenhouse, then planted out on the plot. They weren't giant like the ones you see pictures of from competitions, but they did get large.
This years seed was sown on Boxing Day, so I'm off again already :)
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New Years Eve is my sowing day. I have onion seeds and compost ready but I am going to have a look tomorrow to see can I get shallot seed just to see how they go.
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Hopefully the greenhouse door will open later this morning, yesterday it was frozen shut OMG.
I need to bring some compost indoors to warm up, ready for sowing mine.
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My greenhouse door is frozen shut today as well. It has rather put paid to my plans to have a good sort out in there today ::)
Are you having a go with onions on your new plot ? I know you have white rot problems on your existing one, but great that you got your extra space, so you can grow some different things :)
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My greenhouse door is frozen shut today as well. It has rather put paid to my plans to have a good sort out in there today ::)
Are you having a go with onions on your new plot ? I know you have white rot problems on your existing one, but great that you got your extra space, so you can grow some different things :)
Only trouble is the need to not transfer onion rot to the new one on shoes & tools, how would one manage to prevent that? I've often wondered about it. We seem to have eelworm at my current site, never had it before I started there
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Are you having a go with onions on your new plot ? I know you have white rot problems on your existing one, but great that you got your extra space, so you can grow some different things :)
Yes, the plan is to try onions on the new plot, fingers crossed.Only trouble is the need to not transfer onion rot to the new one on shoes & tools, how would one manage to prevent that? I've often wondered about it. We seem to have eelworm at my current site, never had it before I started there
I suppose it's easy enough to use a different fork and trowel, on the new plot - changing shoes is probably asking too much, but as I don't walk on the beds it shouldn't be a problem.
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seeds sown!! :).arh
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Had a sneaky peek at mine and they are starting to germinate. I also sowed welsh onions on Boxing Day ('cos I had the seeds and I could) and they are germinating as well :D
Watered them and then tucked everyone back up into their plastic bags. We're off :D
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Sowed Globo and Santero F1 yesterday. The propagator took an age to warm up. Globo seeds were excellent last year, Santero are new to see if they are properly mildew resistant. Some Red Baron also going in tomorrow as a first seed attempt to avoid some of the bolting.
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I have the fridge cleared of all leftovers from Christmas, the house cleaned and all the laundry done. OH, son and daughter are all back to work tomorrow and I am home alone so I have just turned on the heated propagator and tomorrow will be spent out there sowing my onions and shallots ;) ;) ;)
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8th & 9th January 2017
Have sown: 2 trays Ailsa Craig, 2 trays Sturon in the hope of getting some good size white onions come the summer.
Have also sown: Garlic Chives, Spring onions and baby leeks. I'm not using a heated propagator but I have a very warm bathroom which is little used. I'll let you know when something shows!
First signs of life from first tray of Sturon sown on 8th showing yesterday (12 January). Nothing yet from the Ailsa Craig.
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Onions and shallots sown on 4th first signs of germination yesterday.
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Mine are up and at the crook neck stage. They have graduated to the kitchen windowsill - its cooler and brighter in the kitchen :)
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Still wondering whether to sow my onions now or wait until mid February. I am away for 2 weeks from the end of January. I could leave my son instructions for watering, but not guaranteed to be a success. Will onions from seed come to anything in Yorkshire if sown mid Feb?
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Gone onion mad for this year, I am growing five different varieties four from seed Golden Bear F1, Zebrune, red amposta and long red Florence as well as Trebons which will be bought as transplants at the market. I will be starting my seeds off probably mid February for planting out in April be interesting to see how they get on. I am trying to get a good keeper. Last years onions have stored quite well but I always find that as soon as it get warmer, and it does do early down here, they will start to grow.
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Still wondering whether to sow my onions now or wait until mid February. I am away for 2 weeks from the end of January. I could leave my son instructions for watering, but not guaranteed to be a success. Will onions from seed come to anything in Yorkshire if sown mid Feb?
Anne, This website http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/onions/seed.php suggests early February as a sowing date for seeds indoors and the end of March to sow outside, I believe people start theirs earlier to get the biggest possible onions don't they?
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John's advice says Feb as well
http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/onions-growing/
The show growers (and those of us desperate to play with seeds) start earlier for bigger onions :D
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In a perfect world, yes, it's a bit early to sow, but so many things can go wrong. In fact, my santero and globo sown on 1 Jan haven't germinated yet in my propagator. They never take this long. Very strange. New seed from Dobies.
One of the advantages with starting early is no shows can be overcome with another sowing of different seed. It's a form of insurance, and a lesson learnt from parsnip seeds. If they don't appear in the next week, I shall be buying new and chitting.
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What size modules do I use? I have 40 in a tray 4cm x4cm and 15 in a tray 7cm x 7cm. Too small and two big?
I guess I can use the smaller trays for shallots, but are they ok for onions?
Thanks.
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The smaller ones will be fine to start onions in. Mine are in a seed tray and get transplanted to modules that can't be much different in size.
They don't need huge pots, just regular liquid feeds as they stay in the compost for a while. Any general purpose feed for veg will do :)
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hi all, advice please I sowed a tray of Sturon onion seed on 8 January and they seemed to show signs of life quite quickly, the second lot sown on 9 Jan took longer. neither are as prolific as previous years, and the second tray shows very little signs of life and mainly at one end. Wondering if room is not hot enough to have kick started seeds, 1 or 2 are quite tall now. Should I resow? I also sowed Ailsa Craig on the same days, 1 tray of each, and the 1st of those is showing well but later than Sturon, and the 2nd has almost none showing yet.
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Onions germinate as low as 5C so i doubt if it's the room conditions. Too hot is a bigger issue with onions. I'm inclined to think it's more likely to be seed viability with onions. Storage conditions need to be stringent (freezer or at least refrigerator).
There's been many a recent discussion about the quality (age) of seed available generally as it appears there's only 2 sources for seed companies. If's it's a bad batch for one, then it's likely to be wide-spread.
Luckily, it's not too late to re-sow.
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I've had the worst germination ever this year. Next to nothing with 2 separate varieties, but the same supplier. Looking as if I'm going to have to resow with what seeds I can get locally in the next week.
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Bedford champion and some more Santero in the sprouter today for chitting to make sure the pesky blighters actually germinate before sowing. Not what I would want, but I've lost confidence in my onion seeds this year.
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I haven't been able to find the deep trays, so bought some new ones yesterday (£1.99 each in B&M). Once holes have been made in them: Mr Sunny has volunteered his services here but if he lags behind the need to satisfy these itchy fingers, I shall be getting out the old screwdriver and heating it up on the cooker to do the job.
Ailsa Craig and Bedfordshire Champion this year for me, plus a range of Spring Onions too, which will be sown in pinches in modules
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I sowed 48 paper modules (a la richie) of Bedfordshire Champion on Jan 1st, most were showing in 14 days and only 3 haven't shown at all, (but I have reseeded them), and all seem to be doing ok, (atm), time will tell. Is baby bio a good liquid feed or should I make some up with the horse manure I collected yesterday? Thanks, arh.
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I've used Baby Bio before and they seemed to like it :)
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I've used Baby Bio before and they seemed to like it :)
My brother swears by Baby Bio for all sorts, and if the onions you grow New Shoot are anything to go by, they thrive on it for sure!
I use the cheap liquid vegetable feed from B&M and that seems to be OK too
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Thank you both, one bottle of baby grow coming up, :D, arh.
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Mine are getting pricked out into small modules this weekend. I will have to shift some houseplants to other areas, but I reckon I can fit the lot onto the kitchen windowsill. Tinfoil reflectors will also be installed.
They will graduate to the blowaway inside the greenhouse, once I'm sure these really cold frosty nights are done with.
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So I got my onions sown today in the poly tunnel. Hopefully the extra heat in there will get them away. It is unheated but these things don't take long to warm up when the sun gets on it. I will cover them up at night with bubble wrap and insulation material to try and keep the heat in the compost. Four varieties Zebrune, golden bear, Red Amposte and long red Florence .
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Sown Bedfordshire Champion, Alisa Craig & an Italian one, all nowresiding in the propagator in the unseated conservatory. I've not plugged the propagator in either, & since I hadn't warmed the compost I poured boiling water over it before I started
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Wednesday, 8th February 2017
Sowed 2 more trays of onions (Bedford Champions) approx. 96 seeds - larger seeds so a bit easier to control. Covered over a bit more than normal, the packet says 1/2", don't think I have ever covered that much before so will see how it goes. Just leeks to sow this week now but I can't find the packet.
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Checked on my onions and shallots yesterday, and the first sowings are all up. I've sowed Ailsa Craig, Bedfordshire Champion, Exhibition and Santero for the onions, Long Red Florence shallots, and a couple of different types of leeks. I will probably make a second sowing in the cold greenhouse tomorrow.
I also sowed some Masterpiece Green Longpod broad beans in modules and they are just beginning to show.
Very tempted to sow some tomatoes, but if it stays cold into March it will be a pointless exercise for me as I can't provide heat for the seedlings.
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I needed to re-sow Senshyu onions and Ramrod Spring onions again due to very poor germination. I read somewhere else that someone was experiencing poor germination, so i'll be keeping a close watch this time. All other varieties (8 i think) germinated well and some have been planted out already. Being at least 3 weeks ahead of UK (south) regards planting schedule is a bonus, although still suffer from itchy fingers, just for a shorter period.
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Mine today, which are in a plastic greenhouse inside the main greenhouse. They all have 2 leaves and some are getting their 3rd leaf.
I haven't got so may this year as I have other varieties for sowing later. My usual trick is to have way too may of the really early ones then run out of space on the plot :lol:
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m198/suec_02/Plot%20pictures/IMG_2268_zps6nvmcbmy.jpg) (http://s104.photobucket.com/user/suec_02/media/Plot%20pictures/IMG_2268_zps6nvmcbmy.jpg.html)
There are welsh onions, giant parsley and leaf celery next to them, leeks and a few more herbs on the shelves beneath.
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My onion seedlings have been in the greenhouse for several weeks now. An interesting contrast between the earlier sown Ailsa Craig sown in early January and the Bedford Champions sown in early Feb.
The photo shows Ishikura on the left, Bedford Champions in the middle and Ailsa Craig on the right looking quite weak and spindly. However they are all growing much better and less leggy than previous years so I think the neglect and not over-watering them has worked.
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The deep tray of onion seedlings has been out in the big cold frame at the plot for two weeks now. Both the Bedfordshire Champions and the Ailsa Craigs have three of four leaves now. Have fed them twice and will now move to weekly feeding.
The Spring onions (White Lisbon & Lilia) were planted out under the long cloche last Thursday, in their clumps from modules. They are looking promising, and I hope they are as successful as in other years.
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My really early sown ones have gone out today on the plot under a cloche. Its taking a chance, but they have grown so well they really needed to come out of their modules. They have been in the mesh covered cold frame for 2 weeks and have been fine.
I did consider potting on, but all available standing space for seedlings is at critical mass :ohmy: :lol:
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I think I'll stick with sets in future. I had to chuck out three-quarters of the seedlings I sowed in January. I had them in mini-pots on a shelf in the polytunnel. I probably neglected them, let them dry out and then drowned them
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My first time in growing onions from seed. I've just kept them on the window sill and they are doing just as well as a fellow allotment holder who I'm having a competition with . He's had his under lighting with bottom heating and so is sick as a pig to see mine coming along as good :D
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12 April 2017
Just a little reminder to myself - taken from www.johnsons-seeds.com
Plant out into your onion bed late in April to early May, approximately 40cm x 45cm (15” x 18”) apart. Water each plant well before planting out; this ensures that the root ball will easily slide out of the pot. Dig each hole deep enough to allow the roots to spread easily. Bury the white of the plant approximately 13-20mm (½” - ¾”) deep, firming well. Do not over firm, and do not water unless it is absolutely necessary, but make sure the soil is moist.
I'm planning on planting out next week.
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Has anyone planted out their onion seedlings yet? I was going to do mine at the weekend but was a little worried about the frosts. Are they quite hardy or not??
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Mine were all planted out last Friday, they've been sitting outside the greenhouse for several weeks now and although they look a bit whispy in the bed they have all perked up after the week-end. I don't think the frosts will do them any harm.
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Being averse to risk ::) I'm leaving mine in the greenhouse 'til after the cold snap :lol:
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Mine are out under a cloche. They were getting too large for their modules.
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Thanks for the replies...I'll look at putting them out this weekend. I'll check the forecast at the weekend and see how it's looking for the following week.
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Mine are out under a cloche. They were getting too large for their modules.
So are mine, although they are still in their deep tray. Gave them another feed at the weekend to keep them happy. They are significantly larger than the leeks now lol
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My Zebrune shallots don't look particularly strong, but yes they are bigger than the leeks - which are looking particularly weedy this year ::)
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Well, my onions got planted out at the weekend. I've got some fleece handy if it does get a bit cold, but I think they'll be ok.
Leeks also got dibbed out. MrsWhiteRabbit was after a job and she pretty much cocks everything up, so I gave her that to do. No issues, so she's now the official leek dibber inner!
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Best by far in my garden this year are long red Florence and Red Amposta these onions are looking great. Unfortunately the F1 golden bear and Zebrune are not very good. I still think my onions are a little bit early though so next year I am going to delay sowing by three weeks and plant out beginning of May. I really want my onions to be dried off and stored at the end of September but they are way ahead of that and that just means less storage time. Big shout out for the trusty Trebons again what an onion just a shame it does not store.