[sunshineband]

My onions are still only the original shoot from germination. Sowed a month ago

Can you tell me please when I can expect more leaves to grow?

They are in modules, in  frost free green house (about 6 -10 deg)

Thank you

[DD.]

Don't panic yet.

Mine are still at the one leaf stage - sown 2 months ago, leaves about 4" high.

They're very slow to start, as I found last year - the sets far outpaced them to start with - then they suddenly took off.

[sunshineband]

Thank you DD

With free p&p on sets from some right now  was wondering.......

But now I now it is safe to stick with my grass like onions I shall do so.

Do they mature at the same time as the sets?

[gobs]

They are cold and hard - which is fine - that's why. Absolutely normal, they shall romp off soon.

[gobs]

Thank you DD

With free p&p on sets from some right now  was wondering.......

But now I now it is safe to stick with my grass like onions I shall do so.

Do they mature at the same time as the sets?

Most do, some sooner. What is it?

[DD.]

Mine didn't.

I have a note in my diary from 26th July that the sets had started to flop over, but The Kelsa were still going great guns.

[gobs]

I don't grow Kelsea like giant onions.

[sunshineband]

Mine didn't.

I have a note in my diary from 26th July that the sets had started to flop over, but The Kelsa were still going great guns.

Mine are Unwins Exhibition and Mammoth Red, so I hope they carry on as the Kelsae did 

[yorky]

In my opinion people are sowing onions that are just meant for the kitchen far too early. There were in fact two traditional times for sowing. The first was at Christmas, which was the preserve of the showmen with their extra heat and light. The second time was in early spring, when the improving conditions allowed them to be grown hard but still make good progress.
Sow them early without using heat and light and as you and others have dicovered they will just stand still untill conditions improve.

[Salmo]

If you have light soil you can sow directly in the soil about now. The seed does not rot and will germinate at low temperatures. Leave it beyond March and you will usually only get picklers.

If on heavy soil, or up north, they are best sown indoors and transplanted when they have 3 leaves in April/May.

[Growster...]

We seem to have lost some of our onion seedlings recently.

During the very cold period, I calibrated the greenhouse electric heater wrongly, so it didn't switch on below freezing.

I reckon the little onions were really having a big moan at me, as Mrs G could have done but didn't...

[sunshineband]

In my opinion people are sowing onions that are just meant for the kitchen far too early. There were in fact two traditional times for sowing. The first was at Christmas, which was the preserve of the showmen with their extra heat and light. The second time was in early spring, when the improving conditions allowed them to be grown hard but still make good progress.
Sow them early without using heat and light and as you and others have dicovered they will just stand still untill conditions improve.

I did sow mine in early spring, in gentle heat and the plants look very healthy indeed.

As it is the first time I have grown onions from seed, all I was asking was when I could expect some further growth.

DD kindly gave me a helpful answer

[yorky]

In my opinion people are sowing onions that are just meant for the kitchen far too early. There were in fact two traditional times for sowing. The first was at Christmas, which was the preserve of the showmen with their extra heat and light. The second time was in early spring, when the improving conditions allowed them to be grown hard but still make good progress.
Sow them early without using heat and light and as you and others have dicovered they will just stand still untill conditions improve.

I did some mine in early spring, in gentle heat and the plants look very healthy indeed.

As it is the first time I have grown onions from seed, all I was asking was when I could expect some further growth.

DD kindly gave me a helpful answer

Sorry that you did'nt find my answer helpful. I will have to try harder in future.

[sunshineband]

 

[JayG]

The ten (out of 40) onion seedlings I didn't manage to kill off last year did very little until planting out in early April, then continued to do very little until about the end of June!  

I've managed not to kill any so far this year, and hopefully will manage to get them to speed up a bit this time (last year's "harvest" was in October and they still hadn't "flopped over"!)