Re: Onions from seed - for 2020

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Eric44

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« on: December 12, 2019, 16:49 »
12th December 2019 and I have just sown a few Ailsa Craig and a few Bedfordshire Champion and placed them on a bright, cool windowsill. I don't have lights or heat in my greenhouse so it's a bit of a risk, hence, only sowing a few to see how it works. Still got Exhibition and a special strain I purchased, but I'll wait awhile before chancing those.

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2019, 11:00 »
You are keen.  I was just about to re-start the onion club thread, but you have the honour of being the first member  :D

I have Globo seeds ready and waiting, so I'll put the usual intro up in the next day or so and we'll be off again on a new season   :D  Rubs hands in glee  :D  :D  :D

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Plot 1 Problems

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2019, 11:15 »
I've got some Senshu Yellow in plugs in the polytunnel at the moment, haven't decided if I'm going to do maincrop onions from seed or sets next year.

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2019, 11:47 »
A thread for those who don't mind nurturing seedlings for a long period and can cope with a slow burner of a crop  :)  I actually enjoy the process and the sight of little green sprigs of seedlings through the darkest winter months.

You need a cool, bright, frost-free place, so early sowing is not for everyone.   I make do with a windowsill in a cool room and then a blowaway mini greenhouse inside an unheated greenhouse, so nothing that special.

The real plus  is you (usually) grow bigger, better onions that those from sets and get much more choice of types to grow. 

The thread from last year is here for reference. 

https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=129331.msg1507387#msg1507387

The pictures are my crop last year, which I was very pleased with  :D



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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2019, 11:48 »
I've got some Senshu Yellow in plugs in the polytunnel at the moment, haven't decided if I'm going to do maincrop onions from seed or sets next year.

Seeds  :D  You know you want to  ;)  :lol:

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Plot 1 Problems

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2019, 13:31 »
I've got some Senshu Yellow in plugs in the polytunnel at the moment, haven't decided if I'm going to do maincrop onions from seed or sets next year.

Seeds  :D  You know you want to  ;)  :lol:

Well I have got around 4 packets lurking, so it's inevitable ;)

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2019, 13:40 »
I've brought mini seed trays of compost in to warm up on the windowsill  :D

I'm going for a Boxing Day sowing as a treat.  I've got to work that day, but an onion seed moment before I go will improve things no end  :D

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Eric44

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2019, 12:16 »
My Bedfordsire Champions and my Ailsa Craig are through but I'm having to turn them everyday to keep them upright. I did succumb and sowed 6 seeds of Exhibition and today the first one has poked through. (promise to self for the New Year, must buy some grow lights)

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2019, 08:30 »
My Globo seeds did go in Boxing Day, but no show yet.

I have also managed to buy some Isolbel Rose for sowing later on in the spring  ::)  That is going to be it though for onions.  We have leaf miner on our allotment site, so I have to be selective on how much I grow because of the insect mesh required to keep stuff safe.

I'm even in two minds over leeks this year.  When I could grow great rows of them without faff they were a winter stalwart, but I have deep dark suspicions that the mesh protects them from the weather too much and that is why I have had trouble with bolting the last couple of years  :unsure:  Perhaps onions over summer and greens over winter is a better use of the big mesh tunnels  :unsure:

(promise to self for the New Year, must buy some grow lights)

You have reminded me OH nicked the 13amp fuse out of the plug on mine, so I need to nag him to replace that PDQ  :lol:

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Mr Dog

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2019, 16:55 »
First onion seeds in: Mammoth Red. I'll be sowing my main crop seeds early next month: Golden Bear, (a few) Exhibition and Redspark and some Zebrune in clumps of 3-5. I've already got a dozen 'Giants' growing in a bed in the large greenhouse at the allotment which are currently around 12" high.

Feels good to get the new growing season underway.

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erikaz1

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2019, 22:26 »
Ok, I'm intrigued! I've NEVER grown onions from seed. I've got some seeds so any words of wisdom would be most welcome. I've got plenty of window space in the house, the living room temperature fluctuates between reasonably chilly to baking hot (blame the log burner and a steam engine driver!) and the others are mostly unheated for the best part of the day. Do I need a propagator (heated or not)? Is it one seed to a cell or plant them in little clusters?

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #11 on: January 01, 2020, 20:34 »
Is it one seed to a cell or plant them in little clusters?

You can do either.   If you sow and then plant out the lot as a small cluster, you get smaller onions, but lots of them.  If you grow them as individual plants, you get big onions and if you sow early, the chance of some real monsters.  I would put a couple of seeds in each cell at least and thin to a single seedling if you are going the individual plant route.  It saves wasting a cell if a seed does not germinate.

Somewhere warm is good to get them going, but there is no need to use a propagator.  Once they are up, they need light and cool conditions to grow, but must be kept frost free  :)

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ches

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2020, 09:45 »
Am I too late to sow my Ailsa Craig's this weekend?
Ches

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2020, 10:23 »
Am I too late to sow my Ailsa Craig's this weekend?

No not at all.  You can sow onions right into the spring months.  They are really slow to get going, so the theory about sowing them early is that you can grow really decent sized ones, as they have longer to grow  :)

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Re: Onions from seed - for 2020
« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2020, 09:32 »
Mine started showing the first signs of germination on New Years Day and are now under a grow light to get them going  :D



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