[toto691]

I always grow from sets, though am trying some seeds through this winter - to join my sets in March.
I have always had good crops of Setton & Stuttgarter, and always use the same ground each year..... but i do saturate it with alsorts of food matter when not in use, basically anything i have left from meals get thrown on the ground and dug in thoroughly, then i turn the ground and walk it flat a good couple of weeks before i plant the sets.....   dont think the flattening adds at all though!!!!
Another thing....  i dont disturb the ground too much when theyre growing, so only weed a few times around them....  even though it needs it more.

This was this years crop - as shown in the 'photo gallery'.

[ytyynycefn]

I was given some "Rijnsburger" seed, so will give it a go in spring, but out of choice will stick to sets now - the autumn ones were £1.49 for 50 off eBay, which seemed cheap enough!

You were ripped off!!!

£1.29 from my local nursery.

Sadly, I don't have a local nursery!  :cry: It would cost me more than 40p (even if you add the postage) to get to a garden centre/nursery/plant shop in my usual V8 powered fashion     So if I can't buy it locally, I tend to go online.

[hermon]

i paid £1 for 50 electric red onions from my allotment shop. i got 2 sets as i love them i put about 80 in yesturday then gave the rest to a friend opposite  who in return gave me a handfull of green chillies! its amazing how much pleasure i'm getting from this as i said to my suffering husband who was out helping me yesturday "whats more enjoyable picking from a supermarket shelf or harvesting your own food?" he said the supermarket!! only because he finds the allotment a struggle he's not green fingered at all.

[Celtic Eagle]

Hi

I've gone for Japanese onions from sets this autumn but I think I will experiment with seeds and sets in the spring . Now we really like onions so if i get too many it's no big deal. I was thinking of Bedfordshire Champion and Red Baron from seed with Sturon from sets. I'll come back to this next year. if I remember Tee Hee

[DD.]

I was given some "Rijnsburger" seed, so will give it a go in spring, but out of choice will stick to sets now - the autumn ones were £1.49 for 50 off eBay, which seemed cheap enough!

You were ripped off!!!

£1.29 from my local nursery.

Sadly, I don't have a local nursery!  :cry: It would cost me more than 40p (even if you add the postage) to get to a garden centre/nursery/plant shop in my usual V8 powered fashion     So if I can't buy it locally, I tend to go online.

20p is not a lot between friends!!!

[DD.]

just wondering what you guys prefer i'm goin to have a go at seed for next year as what ive seen is they produce much better onions and there are loads more different types.and is it true that seed grown onions keep better ?
but i might order some sets as back-up no confidence yer see .

I think you have got to be keen to grow from seed.
W. Robinson & Son (Seeds & Plants) Ltd
sell seed for mammoth onions and one of the guys on our site grows them.
However it seems like too much work for what he gets out of it, (Am I getting lazy?)
Mind you they are BIG
I'll stick to sets I think - I know where I am with them.

No, I don't think you're lazy Alec!!

You have to go with what works for you and you'll only find that out by trying both yourself. We can only say on here what worked for us.

As I said, I grew from seed last year, they then rotted in storage, but there again - so could have any sets I grew. You just don't know!!!

[Oliver]

They grow onions and shallots from sets (plant sets in March):
Sturon and Centurion onions
Jermor and/or Lankor shallots
These store very well in a cool dark place - mandarin orange bags hung up in the garage
(Started some sets off in a seed tray this year and planted them out when they had some green tufts. They did very well indeed. Watered them from time to time too, and they were considerably bigger than the ones planted straight out and left to get on with it.)

Senshu Yellow Onion sets: plant now to over winter and harvest about when the others (above) are ready to go in

From seed: Long Red Florence onions. These are used when they are small, as spring onions, and right up to when they are mature in about September. they are like 'banana' shallots in shape. Lovely mild flavour. They get the seed from Kings or Seeds-by-Size. Sow them late April. But they don't do fantastically well if its too wet (Don't suppose any onions do!) I wonder if one can start them off in pots or seed trays?

[freyaluck]

I put in my first Japenese sets over the weekend just gone, they are officially my first veg to be grown on the plot, dug in a load of compost. so i just hope they grow, as I really don't want to be put off my lottie forever :?
I have some seeds that I will plant indoors at the begining of January, can't remember what they are though as I bought all my seeds in a job lot off ebay for £22.00 for 50 packets pretty much every type of veg I plan to grow and all of them good until 2008/9, so I'm pretty chuffed with my bargain, just hope they all do well :shock:  
Frey

[longlad]

has anyboby planted pickling onions by mistake if so what happened?

had to ask as getting sick of peeling them :oops:

[Aidy]

Wayhay the giant onions from Robo's, 30 mins drive from me and I tried these the first year on the plot, maaaaassssssssiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeee onions but got neck rot after a couple of months so never bothered again. For me it is sets, I generally get the one from Wilkinsons, they have always been good, well when the balsted onion fly dont attack them like last year.

[Ali]

I've never tried seeds - but autumn onions were one of my first crops when I started last year and they were brilliant. I have just planted more this year. I really just planted them and weeded a little, nothing else and I got a good crop of mainly large onions. They stored well for 4 months, which was when I finished them, so I guess they might have gone on even longer. Highly recommended!!

[GrannieAnnie]

Got mine from Wilkinson's last year Aidy, and they were good.  But this year I was more borke than usual, so by the time I found I could part with a couple of bob the only place that had any left was Ebay and they didn't do well at all!!!  Disappointed in both them and the red baron.

[Alec Powell]

But this year I was more borke than usual,

Thats interesting Anne. I personally have never been borked :!: Must give it a try sometime

[milkman]

I thought it was a snooker expression - it seems that on the telly snooker they are forever trying to get balls back to "borke"...

[milkman]

and bouncing balls off the borke cushion!