I have already received 120 Senshyu sets and planted 42 early as an experiment. I am waiting for my DT Brown order of 50 Electric,50 white onions and 50 Radar, ordered when it was free postage.
I have seen decent autumn planted onions grown from sets planted right up until Xmas, so I am in no hurry to get them planted.
I always plant direct and can't see any benefit from planting in trays or modules?. To me it's just another stage (planting out) where they could get a check which could cause them to bolt?
I've ordered their yellow Sweet Spanish Utah onion seeds.
https://www.premierseedsdirect.com/produ...nish-utah/
Like the thought of an onion weighing a pound that's sweet enough to eat like an apple.
Mine will probably be about the size of a blackcurrant and mouth-puckeringly tart.
I've sown a row of senshyu seeds outdoors for the first time ever. They're popping up as we speak. Are they winter hardy? Never really had success with onions from seed, also never sown in autumn. What do I do next? I think the likelihood of neglect is on the cards. They'll need thinning I expect so I can hedge my bets and pot up the thinnings and keep them undercover I suppose.
I prefer growing from seed too, since it's cheaper and they're less likely to bolt than sets. Unfortunately the Element F1 and Toughball F1 seeds (hybrids are supposed to be less prone to bolting) I ordered from SeedMegastore were treated, and treated/pelleted seed doesn't store as long and shouldn't be sold after a certain date. Out of 150 seeds I only have 35 seedlings, so the sets are my backup plan.
(15-09-2022, 09:43 AM)JJB Wrote: [ -> ]I've sown a row of senshyu seeds outdoors for the first time ever. They're popping up as we speak. Are they winter hardy? Never really had success with onions from seed, also never sown in autumn. What do I do next? I think the likelihood of neglect is on the cards. They'll need thinning I expect so I can hedge my bets and pot up the thinnings and keep them undercover I suppose.
I've not grown that variety but all autumn sown onions are winter hardy. I've pricked mine out in to modules are they'll go in to the greenhouse border in October. The sets will go outside somewhere. Similar to garlic, they grow slowly over winter then in February as the days get longer they explode with growth. They will be healthier (as they won't get battered by storms etc.) and earlier to harvest undercover but it's not necessary.
(15-09-2022, 11:39 AM)toomanytommytoes Wrote: [ -> ]I prefer growing from seed too, since it's cheaper and they're less likely to bolt than sets. Unfortunately the Element F1 and Toughball F1 seeds (hybrids are supposed to be less prone to bolting) I ordered from SeedMegastore were treated, and treated/pelleted seed doesn't store as long and shouldn't be sold after a certain date. Out of 150 seeds I only have 35 seedlings, so the sets are my backup plan.
I grew Senshyu from seed one year. I also had low germination rates and the seed was expensive so I've always went with sets from then on. The plants that did germinate and grow weren't half as good as the sets I planted that year either.