Produce > Edible Plants

Onion Sets

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Doris_Pinks:
How do I put in my onions, a simple question I know! I have always just pushed them into the ground and that was it, but I read the packet today (after I had pushed in rather a lot!) and it says dig in 1" deep! Have I been going wrong?
Dotty P

Palefire:
I think with sets, as long as the tunic or skin isn't damaged when being pushed in the ground and you don't push them too deep, (with the tip showing - realised this when I wrote the post further down!) then you should be ok.
I grew mine in pots last year after the ones in the ground never appeared and they did ok. I am going to prepare the ground by raising the level a bit - it can get a bit water logged in winter - and try direct planting again.
Good luck with them
Love, Palefire
xxx

Palustris:
We always start ours off in plant pots, otherwise the blackbirds etc. hoick( like that word) them out of the ground before they have made proper roots. If your soil is nice and soft and friable then you can push them in to the soil, no trouble until the shoulder of the set is just below soil level. If your ground is firm then it is better to use a trowel to avoid damaging the basal plate of the set. Damage to this can cause rotting. About an inch deep sounds right to me. It is enough to keep the birds off without depriving the onion of light.  If you have had no problems in the past then what you are doing is right for you.

Palefire:
Palustris - do you reckon the birds had my sets last year? I put them in with the very tip just about showing and never saw anything after that. I have also had all of my daffs (around 150) nicked by something like a squirrel this year >:(.
Love, Palefire
xxx

Colin_Bellamy-Wood:
I covered all my onion sets, and my baby leeks when I transplanted them, with bird-netting.   I used 2ft green canes on the slant to keep the netting just off the ground so that as they grew, the leaves pushed the netting up, and little damage was done when I eventually removed the netting.   Our problem is ring-necked doves, and rats, and I reckon the netting minimised the potential damage.

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