[Totty]

Hi all,
Has anyone ever grown their own onion sets? I know they are relatively cheap to buy but it may be a nice experiment. There is loads more choice when it comes to choosing a variety.
I think it may be a case of sowing late summer and harvesting them before the first frost. Seeds are lots cheaper too.

Totty

[DD.]

Onion sets are generally sown as seed one year, very thickly, so as to produce stunted plants which dried off become sets.

[solway cropper]

Why not just grow onions from seed like many of us do. They generally produce bigger onions and are less prone to bolting than sets.

[Totty]

I too grow a lot of onions from seed. Mainly the larger varietys hat are traditionally sown Christmas time. Then a load of sets early spring. Be nice to have a few hundred of your own kelsae or ailsa Craig sets though.

Totty

[mumofstig]

This old thread might help for GYO sets
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=97974.msg1086826#msg1086826

[A Reyt Tayty]

I tried from seed last year and they did very poorly. I saved some of the ones which made small onions to use as sets this year. I've set them off in modules in the cold GH, and they seem to be doing just dandy!

I bought some sturon sets, but haven't put them out yet due to the tropical weather we are experiencing! If I put them out now in this searing heat, would they be ok, or would it be better to wait for this heatwave to subside?

[richyrich7]

I always thought sets where heat treated to stop them going to seed ?? onions are a bi-annual, the odd one or two onions I get left over I plant in the garden for some nice different flowers

[DD.]

There's sets and there's heat treated sets!

[richyrich7]

There's sets and there's heat treated sets!

Enlighten me then please DD.
Wondering now if the ones I bought from work are which  :blink:

[mumofstig]

Heat treated sets are far more resistant to bolting although you have to pay a premium for them.

from John's onion page 

[DD.]

Bog standard onion sets are produced by thickly sowing seed and then harvesting the small bulb in autumn. End of story.

Heat treated ones are subject to a process, (I'm not sure of the finer points), of storage at a high temperature - I think about 30C - for a long period. This period we're talking in terms of months, not days! This kills off the embryonic flower.

[richyrich7]

  Cheers