[campanologist]

Last year I planted my leeks and onions in what I thought was a well prepared plot. I dug in plenty of manure, chicken pellets and garden compost in January to give it time to do its stuff. My onions came on quite well although they could have been bigger but my leeks were stringy when eaten. They both went to seed. I pinched the heads off but is it too late at this stage. Why do they go to seed. Am I missing something?

[Bobbeh]

When did you sow the seeds?

Did you sow directly or into modules and plant out later?

[zazen999]

They usually go to seed because they think they have been through 2 seasons; so if they get too cold and they aren't overwintering types, then they go to seed. Also, if they are stressed in any way - so if they dry out or think they are dying.

Without knowing when they were sown, and when planted out, and where you are; my best guess is that the above happened somewhere along the line.

[campanologist]

The onions were grown from sets which I started off in pots in the greenhouse, transferred to a cold frame and planted out about april. I did the same with the leeks but I got a pack of ready grown from a garden centre. I live in Rochdale, a particularly rainy part of the country as you may have guessed.

[DD.]

You may have got your onions sets off to "too good a start" it was almost April before I got mine in last year and had my best crop ever. If you give them too long a growing season, they've got time to pull in their whole growing cycle in one year, especially with boost in the greenhouse & cold frame.

The leeks will, of course, have an unknown history. When did you put those in?

[zazen999]

The onions were grown from sets which I started off in pots in the greenhouse, transferred to a cold frame and planted out about april. I did the same with the leeks but I got a pack of ready grown from a garden centre. I live in Rochdale, a particularly rainy part of the country as you may have guessed.

Were they overwintering ones put in pots in the autumn, or spring ones put in pots in the spring?

I find that overwintering ones need to really be eaten as soon as they get big enough rather than left to die off and be stored......and as they are sets they ARE in their second year so will go to seed eventually......unless heat treated. I start pulling them as soon as I can and leave the others to carry on growing [pulling alternate ones as I go].

[Debz]

I also found that a lot of my leeks ran to seed this year and yet I used the same method and timing as last year.  I didn't know that stress would do it so now I think that because we had that really dry warm spell in September, they must have thought it was a second summer time.

[noshed]

I put my leeks out quite late, after the toms come out. They don't seem to mind hanging about in deep pots for a while. Then you get a good crop over the winter. This year I've grown Musselbrough but that is only what I happened to have.

[Fisherman]

As regards onion sets I used heat treated sets this year for the first time and only had a couple that went to seed (out of 200 hundred sets). The sets are heated for about 20 weeks prior to delivery which reduces bolting. They are more pricy but it might be worth giving them a try as the increased crop may make up the difference. Incidentally those I grew from heat treated sets were much larger (too large in some cases) so I will try planting them closer together this year.

[campanologist]

Thanks everyone. You all have been a great help and answered some of my questions.