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Onions from seed? - Broadway - 28-10-2020
Hi Folks,
I've always used sets before but have a few packets of seeds and wondered can I sow them now?
The packets suggest different dates but from my experience some of you swerve suggested dates
RE: Onions from seed? - Mark_Riga - 28-10-2020
Onions are a fairly hardy veg. I know that people growing large onions for shows would have them coming up already. You would need to investigate how they look after them through winter, they tend to mollycoddle them and plant out after frosts in the spring. Some spring onions are sown now.
You could do an experiment and plant some now, some at Christmas and then again in March/April and see which do best for the effort involved.
The particular variety makes a difference as well. Kelsae and Alisa Craig are often planted August time to get the biggest for shows. I sowed some Kelsae this spring just to see what they were like. They really grew big without any effort but don't have much taste at all - just big bags of water I think, so I'm using them up in curries for extra bulk.
I need to get my autumn onion sets in this week and a few more garlic before it gets too late.
RE: Onions from seed? - Can the Man - 28-10-2020
This year I sowed my onions from seeds and they were a great success. I have decided to have a go at starting them now in the poly tunnel for next year. Just started them last weekend in modules. I have gone with both white and red onions.
RE: Onions from seed? - Broadway - 29-10-2020
Thanks Guys
Given the amount of seeds I have I will sow them at the weekend, nothing ventured
RE: Onions from seed? - Spec - 29-10-2020
I sowed onion seed in February, the first for a long time, they were sown into modules to save having to prick out and planted out mid April and a week later I planted out some heat treated sets, as well as normal sets, a high number of the onions from seed started to bolt and that was towards the end of June I think due to the hot weather and the fact that I didn't water, the sets were OK, I still got a reasonably good crop from the onions but most of them from sets, the growth of all the onions was cut short due to high winds and torrential rain which flattened everything.
RE: Onions from seed? - Spec - 29-10-2020
I should have added that I will be sowing seeds again, mainly Ailsa Craig, along with some of the ones I tried this year which were walla walla, to see if there is a difference in performance, I will also plant some sets as backup.
One other thing that I will add is that I read an artical which stated that as onions start to go to seed they give off pheromones which activates the other onions and starts them going to seed, so I will monitor them a bit closer next time and apply this to all my veg, though I am not sure if this is verity related or species as I don't think any of the sets started going to seed, but the bulk of them were heat treated
RE: Onions from seed? - Mark_Riga - 29-10-2020
I've bought a packet of Bedfordshire Champion for next year. We've just turned the heating on in the house so I might sow a few now to see how they do. I've also got a few 'up-to-date' seeds that I'll sow as well. I didn't get these last seeds till late March and they did not grow very big at all. I'll try sowing earlier to see if they do any better. I've kept a few of the larger bulbs to plant out early next spring to see if they will produce some good seeds.
I had been hoping to save some seeds from some onions that kept very well from 2019 (sturon or stur bc don't know which as they came by post in paper bags that had split and mixed in the package) - but they are still flowering now so I doubt I'll get any seeds from them.
RE: Onions from seed? - Spec - 13-12-2020
I have sown some onion seeds now in modules, not for any other reason than I was at a loose end, have also sent for other onion seeds as I am trying to find ones that are nice when eaten raw but not sure whither it's down to the veriety or if it's soil conditions which determines the taste of onions
RE: Onions from seed? - Vinny - 13-12-2020
(13-12-2020, 05:58 PM)Spec Wrote: I have sown some onion seeds now in modules, not for any other reason than I was at a loose end, have also sent for other onion seeds as I am trying to find ones that are nice when eaten raw but not sure whither it's down to the veriety or if it's soil conditions which determines the taste of onionsMy dear auld Dad used to eat an onion like an apple.
The large Kelsae and Mammoth cultivars are very mild because they have been bred for size not taste. 
RE: Onions from seed? - Spec - 22-12-2020
My onion seeds arrived this morning, they are Roscoff onion seeds so looking forward to growing them to find what they taste like also collected some seaweed which I will work into the soil that I will be growing them in