Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on December 26, 2018, 16:35
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Mine have gone in today in pots on the kitchen windowsill. Usually I sow in small seed trays, but I think the deeper root run may be better. Worth a try anyway and I have two pots full, so I might experiment with early transplanting into modules for one and leaving them a bit to grow on for the other.
This year I have Ailsa Craig, having spent a fair bit of the summer casting envious eyes on one of my plot neighbour's crop. He reckons they keep better than Globo as well :)
You need a cool, bright, frost-free place to nurture the seedlings, so early sowing is not for everyone, but as a dark days of winter mood boost, I would recommend you have a go if you can. I make do with a windowsill in a cool room and then a blowaway mini greenhouse inside an unheated greenhouse, so nothing too special required.
Warning - onion seedlings are slow growing and take ages to get going. This is a pastime for seedaholics and those with patience. The upside is you (usually) grow bigger, better onions that those from sets and get much more choice of types to grow. The last two years have not been great growing seasons, but I have had a crop of some description, while onion sets planted on the plots around me either bolted or withered to nothing.
The thread from last year is here for reference.
Onions from seed - 2018 in Grow Your Own - Page 1 of 9 (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=127104.0)
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I always do mine in pots, making sure there's plenty of space between seeds. I don't need to transplant them, and simply knock the whole lot out of the pot at planting time, then just tease them apart. It always seems to work well and saves a job at the same time.
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had good germination results from autumn sowings however I have some spring sowings to do have Globo Hybound and some other varieties but I think It mite be a bit early to sow the seed in a cold greenhouse although I have got a heated propagator
Q. what's the lastest date one could sow onon seed to get a decent buld onions say the end of Feb/March when things start to warm up in the greenhouse
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I sowed some Globos in very deep trays a few weeks back. They were up in ten days but yes, they do grow painfully slowly at this stage. I went for an earlier sowing in the hope that a longer growing season before mid-Summer "bulbing up" time might mean big big onions :lol: :lol:
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My seeds are at the ready - just need to get some compost warm. 2019 varieties are: Golden Bear, Giant (a re-selected Kelsae strain I suspect), Exhibition and Red Baron.
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Planning to sow next week, compost warming at home now.
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Planning on sowing mine after the kings have done their visit then I can get the grow tent down and start 2019 off.
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Seeds sown: Golden Bear, Zebrune (from an old packet dated 2014 I found lurking so will be interesting to see how viable the seeds are), Exhibition, Giant, Russian Giant (5 seeds given to me a by a neighbouring plot holder) and Red Baron.
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Those growing in pots rather than seed trays or cells, what size pots do you use to get them going?
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I've got 2 1L pots on the go (that's a 5" pot in old money).
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Hi
has anyone tried multi sowing their onions???
This is my first year growing again and I'm about to put the onion seeds in something-I appear to be late in comparison to the seasoned growers out there.
I was just going to sow in modules 1 seed per module and then plant out when they got bigger but I read on Mr No digs website about multi sowing and wondered if any one had tried it. Perhaps I should have made this a new topic??
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Multi sowed some Ailsa Craig today, never grown from seed before.
If you are growing in module then not to late.
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Multi sowing onions works well although it usually results in smaller onions. Depending on the quantity of onions you use, the smaller onion may suit.
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Thanks for the replies
Heartening to know its not too late
AussieinFrance I might give both methods a go and see what I get this year
Two
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Heartening to know its not too late
Not too late at all. It is just some of us like to start early ones off in the hopes of growing giant onions and to be honest, because we just need to play with seeds in the dark winter months ;)
I've used muti-sowing in modules a fair bit. As AussiaInFrance says, you just get slightly smaller veg, but I think overall at least as much weight of harvest for the space used. Onions are good, but I always do beetroot that way as well, plus have tried spring onions, baby leeks and turnips with great success :)
It would be a good idea to do both and see what you get. Us nosy lot will be interested as well :)
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250 seeds tucked up in bed yesterday.
I have however decided on an experiment this year to see if it makes a difference to both germination and end product.
I have an article written by an amish chap sometime ago regarding pre-chitting seed. A few years ago I tried the carrot seed and it worked a treat, this year I have 10 onion and 10 leek seed pre-chitting as well.
In theory they should chit quicker than those in the seed tray + I know if they have of course so I end up transplanting only seed that is going to grow.
Will keep you informed.
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Update: seeds that were sown are just starting to push through, the seeds that I put for chitting are a country mile ahead, they had started to sprut within 4 days, I transplanted them to pots and within a week from starting them they were up!
Valuble lesson for next year, chit your seeds first ;)
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Planted mine in large plots rather than individual cells this year and so far they are looking much healthier than last year.
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I started in large pots but wasn't happy with the way my seedlings were going and transplanted to modules - 12 to a seed tray size. Since then, they have been growing like crazy and yesterday, the biggest ones were literally bursting out of their modules.
There are only 28 of them, as they need full insect mesh cover on our site to prevent leaf miner damage, so I re-potted then into 9m pots. I can't remember ever having to do this before, but the weather is still so variable, I'm not risking them on the plot just yet. It was just a few onion seedling to play with over the dark months, but now I am hoping for some real monsters this year :)
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Mine have been out on the plot under their insect mesh cover and are really starting to motor now :)
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Growing from seed is like watching cricket in slow motion.
How long from seedling to eatable? Anyone lived that long enough to know?
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Growing from seed is like watching cricket in slow motion.
How long from seedling to eatable? Anyone lived that long enough to know?
They are only slow at seedling stage and should be bulking up well by now. They are usually fully mature and ready August/September - varies with the season and how early you sowed them.
Mine are doing fine this year, but I have had to water them. They need full insect mesh protection on our site to keep them leaf miner free, so I decided to grower fewer, but concentrate a bit harder on growing them well. Seems to be working :)
If you are having problems, you might need to be a bit more specific or add a picture to get some more detailed advice.
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The necks have started bending over on mine, but they have reached a good size. Grubby paw in shot for scale :)
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Mine are coming on really well now. They are forming very nice 'bulbs', and look as if they are going to be quite a size. I have noticed that, once again, a lot of my plot neighbours are experiencing bolting, but my seed grown ones seem, at the moment anyway, to be free from this problem.
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The necks have started bending over on mine, but they have reached a good size. Grubby paw in shot for scale :)
Mine are OK too, like yours New Shoot, just bowing down now but looking a good size. Much better than the set grown ones
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my onions are also beginning to bend but I notice they are also developing flower heads. Should I leave a few more weeks or dig up now as the flower heads will use the last of the energy although I don't suppose the onions will grow much more in the coming' weeks??
Thanks
Twood
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The flower heads need to be removed asap. They won't grow much more now, but the next few weeks are when the leaves die back and the skins harden so you can store them. You have been unlucky to get that happen. Sets often bolt and flower, but seed grown onions usually don't.
Any that are trying to flower will need to be used first, as it does reduce the time they stay good in store. You could start harvesting those now for immediate use. When you do use them, you might find they have a bit of a core to them that is the base of the flowering stem. If it tough, I just pick this bit out and use the rest :)
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I've had a few (4) produce flower heads too - 3 different varieties - which were pulled immediately on spotting and eaten.
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Great New Shoot
Thanks for the tip. All the heads of the flowering onions have been cut off. Only about 6 which isnt too bad considering the number of onions I put in. It appears to be the white ones Bedford Champion that are producing the flowers rather than the Red Baron.
So I need to wait for the leaves to die back before I lift out of the ground??. Some of the leaves are beginning to fall over now but none are beginning to die off. This has been a new experience this year
Thanks for the help
Twood
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Hi Twood. It is the skin and the neck of the onion (where the bulb meets the leaves) that you need to get dry for them to store. That's why ones that have tried to flower don't keep well - they have a flowering stem in the neck that is hard to get dried off enough. As Mr Dog says, they are perfectly good eating, so pick them now if you want.
For the rest, wait until the leaves die back and then lift with the remains of the leaves on them. Knock soil off the roots, but no need to trim at this stage. Dry them further before final storage, I use trays in my shed, but they don't have to be inside,just dry and with air moving round them. The greenhouse is usually too hot for this.
Once you are happy they are dry, you can use the dried leaves to plait them, or just remove them and store the onions in net sacks. If you ask at the garden centre, loose autumn bulbs come in net sacks, so you might get some for free. The daffs start arriving late august, so worth putting feelers out to see if they will save you the sacks when they tip the bulbs out for sale :)
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Great new Shoot
So the fact i'm drying the garlic in the greenhouse is probably a bad idea as well!
Thanks for the tip
Twood
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Harvested my onions today, biggest one weighed in just over a kilo. Will be eaten today!
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Mine are harvested and I am really pleased with them. They are in the shed now, but this is them earlier drying in the afternoon sun outside. They are nearly all hand sized :D
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Here’s the 3 I entered into our local show, but I didn’t get placed.
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Here’s the 3 I entered into our local show, but I didn’t get placed.
Robbed!
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Here are mine drying off on some bread crates. Hoping to find three to match for the local Show in 2 weeks' time, but you never know.
Nice eating to come, regardless :D :D
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Thanks P1P
They look nice Sunny :)
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Not the best year, around 3/4 went to seed which was very common on site.
Had around 9 with fly.
Nothing wasted tho as they are in the proccess of being dried so I can use them through winter.
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Seeds are so slow may never bother with them again. May just grow shallots in future. Alas I still have another 900 or so seeds to use! Bought seed potatoes from wilkos 2 kilo £2.50 buy 2 get one free or onion sets £1.50 buy 2 get one free. Or mix and match. Choose onions as third item. 178 onions for £1.50 or nowt depends on how you look at it but still got to put out the titchy little seed ones.......anyone want some onions?. On top of that, loads of shallots! See picture planted (onion sets) in less than perfect spot. Not a top location for sun but no failures.
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This is a better year for me with seeds rather than sets, all of which suffered from downy mildew last year. I tried seeds a few years ago and did not do so well, but this year I followed the suggestion to sow in a large pot and then transplant outside and did much better.
I grew Bonus from a packet I was given as a freebie at the Harrogate flowe show. They have done OK, not huge onions but good enough.
The red onions are Red Brunswick from Real Seeds and they have done super well. I am going to enter them in our local show a week on Saturday. They are drying in the greenhouse now.
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Great new Shoot
So the fact i'm drying the garlic in the greenhouse is probably a bad idea as well!
Thanks for the tip
Twood
I dry both my onions and my garlic in the greenhouse and don't have any problems. I do keep it well ventilated and I have blinds for shading. My polytunnel at the allotment would be far too hot though. I think if you can keep an eye on conditions it is ok.