[Stratts]

Not sure if it's the right terminology but I have a question about my onions again!!

As I was not sure if my onion seeds were going to be ok I planted 7 rows of sets, spaced out 9" between rows and 8" between sets.  Now my seeds are looking good, both red and white, but I am running out of room on my plot.

Would I be ok to plant some of the seedlings in between the sets and rows?

What rate do sets grow compared to seedlings?  Just wondering if I would be able to pull some smaller onions and leave the others to grow on?

I just don't want to waste the seeds now they are coming along nicely,

Cheers

[DD.]

In my experience, you'd be struggling. If you start interplanting with those spacing have, you'll not be able to get a hoe in.

If my sets .v. plants from last year are anything to go by, the sets initially outpace the plants, which then put a spurt on and overtake them. Tortoise & hare syndrome.

Plant them together, the sets could well initially choke out the plants.

[Stratts]

Ah ok mate ta put this one down to experience then 

[sunshineband]

You could bunch the seedlings together, about four or five, and plant these (not between the sets)

They will bulb up and force each other apart a bit as they grow, to give useable sized onions --- better than ditching them if you have a bit of space somewhere

[Stratts]

Thanks again I've been doing a plan tnite with what space I have vs what I want to grow and I think I can get em in as you say without squeezing things together making life tricky, thanks for the tip 

[jay001]

You could bunch the seedlings together, about four or five, and plant these (not between the sets)

They will bulb up and force each other apart a bit as they grow, to give useable sized onions --- better than ditching them if you have a bit of space somewhere

could i use that method sunny with the onion sets i have left over by putting them in a container (have run out of space in comunial garden area ) but still have large container pot,s left ?? or can i keep the set,s untill next year ? sorry for coming accross a bit thick 

[Salmo]

Planting 4/5 in a bunch does not actually save any space. Instead of spacing plants at 3 inches apart you need to space each bunch at 12 inches so you have the same number of plants in a row. It does make hoeing easier.

[Trillium]

I remember seeing Geoff Hamilton doing Sunny's tip. Good idea for squeezing them in here and there. Geoff put his in among the flowers. They weren't huge onions but respectable nonetheless.

[Growster...]

Mrs Growster has been putting these orphans in with the rhubarb, which is not going to get much bigger. You only need a square foot or so for a few onions.

[New shoot]

You could bunch the seedlings together, about four or five, and plant these (not between the sets)

They will bulb up and force each other apart a bit as they grow, to give useable sized onions --- better than ditching them if you have a bit of space somewhere

could i use that method sunny with the onion sets i have left over by putting them in a container (have run out of space in comunial garden area ) but still have large container pot,s left ?? or can i keep the set,s untill next year ? sorry for coming accross a bit thick 

The sets won't keep till next year Jay but you could plant them in pots    I would just space them as far apart as you can to get a reasonable yield per pot.  With the extra water and attention containers get, I'm sure they will be fine a bit closer than normal.

The planting in bunches method (or sowing in stations if you want to sow direct) is very quick and easy both for planting out and hoeing the weeds away.  I use it for beetroot, turnips, spring onions and paris silverskin onions.  I'm sure I learned it from Geoff - the Ornamental Kitchen Garden series I believe Trills   

[sunshineband]

I read it in a magasine, and liked the fact that you can get decent sized onions with less hoeing space to cope with

[DD.]

I saw this mentioned at the Eden Project last time I went there.

Using the same spacing, farmers in Cornwall found that planting 4 sets at a station, gave a greater yield.

The onions were smaller, but you got four of them.

[jay001]

thank,s all  i will now use all mine up in between the flowers and in pots now i know they  will not keep,wanted shallots anyway but they were out of stock so not bothered if onins are small 

[Stratts]

I saw this mentioned at the Eden Project last time I went there.

Using the same spacing, farmers in Cornwall found that planting 4 sets at a station, gave a greater yield.

The onions were smaller, but you got four of them.

Ah so instead of planting 1 set 8" apart you fire 4 in with the same row spacings. Sounds like a sensible plan if like me you don't need massive onions.

I guess you would pull them quicker too freeing up some space before winter maybe?

[DD.]

You can pull them any time you want if they're big enough to use straight away, but if you intend storing them, you need to let them grow to maturity.