[chili]

for the last 2 years i have tried with no success to grow onions, both attempts have been lost to frost. Now i have only been a lotty holder for 2 years so its still all a learning curve for me.
i used sets each time planted when i was told it was right time and both times they either died or just grew a little bit then died or just failed to show at all, when i say little i mean maybe 1" high, and both times we had some extreme cold weather.

so my question is what time to plant ie month, what variety is hardiest.

many thanks

[Jamie Butterworth]

I normally cover mine with fleece or mesh to keep of the pigeons, or ive tried dtarting them off indoors until they have quite a lot of foliage (if thats the correct term for it) and then planted them out, that way they have a good root system and the pigeons wont take them.

As for which month i planted them im not too sure, but it wasnt too early inthe season, this year im going to try autumn ones.

[Stevens706]

Are you trying Japanese over wintering onions or normal ones?

This year my normal sets were planted 13 March and I sowed my Japanese over wintering seeds last Saturday.

[Trillium]

I've never had good luck with onion sets so I always do seeds. I start them in late Feb or early March so they're a good size by early April planting out time. To do well, onions need a minimum of 30 days before the summer solstic (June 21st), preferably 60 days, so I try to get them in early. You can always net them after planting to keep the birds from pulling them out thinking they're tasty greens and when they start sizing up, remove the netting. Naturally, I have the onion areas prepped the fall before.

[Goosegirl]

I have had good success with Wilko's Sturon sets, planted at the last minute and harvested today, but I would recommend growing from seed as they don't seem to bolt,  particularly the red ones. I have never netted them but cut any "top growth" off sets to deter the birds from pulling them out. I don't push them in but hand fork the soil as I plant so I don't damage the bottoms. I don't over-feed them or it makes them prone to disease. and go soft.

[chili]

yes i was planting japanese over wintering sets

[Jamie Butterworth]

Ive just been reading on a gardening site that onions are bianuals and need two years to grow, is that true?

[Jay The Digger]

Ive just been reading on a gardening site that onions are bianuals and need two years to grow, is that true?

Biannuals mean twice a year.  Biennial means once every two years.  

Whilst onions from seed can run to seed in their first year, it is more usual for sets (onions grown from the seed the previous year) to run to seed the following year.

I believe that all alliums are essentially perennials.

[SG6]

They are biennials, but you grow them as annuals. Or at least try to.
Left to themselves they would grow the first year and form seed the second. To an onion growing is germinating, getting big and forming seeds.

What we do is to get them to grow to a nice large size in year 1, then we pull them up and eat them

Problem with a set is that the onion has started growing and if the individual onion is a nice big one it may have registered the growth it has done as it's first year. So off it goes and seeds in what we see as the first year.

Many sites say to plant the sets that are say 10mm or less in size. We do have a habit of planting the nice big ones and they are the ones most likely to seed.

Add in that stress will cause them to seed as in too wet, too dry and a host of other assorted things it is sometimes amazing that we get anything

[shaneshazz]

for the last 2 years i have tried with no success to grow onions, both attempts have been lost to frost. Now i have only been a lotty holder for 2 years so its still all a learning curve for me.
i used sets each time planted when i was told it was right time and both times they either died or just grew a little bit then died or just failed to show at all, when i say little i mean maybe 1" high, and both times we had some extreme cold weather.

so my question is what time to plant ie month, what variety is hardiest.

many thanks

have you tryed growing them in a polytunnel over the cold spell

[zazen999]

Various ways to grow onions.

Sow seed in Jan, eat from Sept and store for winter.
Plant sets in March, eat from Sept and store for winter
Sow in Aug/Sept, plant out Oct, cover with cloche/fleece, eat in April-June
Plant sets in Sept/Oct, cover with cloche fleece [if you have allium fly], eat in May-June and some storage ability

With some careful management and no onion white rot; you can have home grown onions all year round.

For overwintering, I have to say that the best sets I've found were Radar; grown several years running with no cover they have been fine; with a cover to keep the frost/snow off they were fantastic!

I prepare the soil with some sand to aid drainage and coffee grounds; I just find it seems to make a difference.

When the cloches come off, in the spring, I loosen the soil round the onions, to allow them to soak up the spring rains and fatten up nicely.

[Stevens706]

Chili what I found with over wintering onions and also garlic is that they can rot off during the winter rains, so I plant them on a small ridge to let the water run away. Had good success doing that this year.

[chili]

many thanks or the replies, so looking at zazen999's reply i could plant some seeds now, i will get some onions this time lol