Topic: Planting onion sets for 1st time

[janmac]

Hi folks its me again,
This will prob sound stupid question but this allotment lark is all new to me!
Do I plant all the onion sets in one go or stagger them?

Your kind help and advice please,

janmac

[goodlife]

Are you going to plant some winter onions?..if so, yes..you need to get them going ASAP.
In spring you can stagger the planting..so you have some to harvest earlier and some later. Generally I don't bother staggering as such..as onions keep so well, once ready and lifted they are in no hurry to be used up. But if I do plant different varieties, then I tend to plant each variety in one go..varying times.
BTW..there is no stupid questions..If you don't know something..you have to ask.. ;) You might not get simple answer..but this is my take of it.

[janmac]

Thanks for that goodlife, dont feel so silly now !  All got to learn somewhere uh ??

Janmac X

[daveyboi]

Janmac

Some of us were lucky to be taught by our parents/grandparents the basics and have learnt more either by experience or fellow allotment holders passing on their knowledge.

We are more than happy to pass on that knowledge to anyone who wants to learn.
But we all are still learning and trying new things ......

So even the smallest question can prove to be interesting for everybody

[Unwashed]

Hi janmac, welcome to A4A.  There's no such thing as a silly question here.

I don't stagger mine.  I put them all in together and I harvest them together tooand use them from storage - even the autumn planted ones will keep until the new year.  It's not too late to get the autumn ones in, but don't leave it too late or they won't have made much root by the time the cold weather sets in.

[Tee Gee]

I agree with the others there is nothing to be gained by staggering your setts as mentioned.

This article might help you; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Onions%20%28Japanese%29/Japanese%20Onions.htm

[cornykev]

I was talking to one of my Italian neighbours the other day about this, he was thinking I was a bit early putting them in and I said they will need to get a good root before the temperatures plummet but he was having none of it.    ??? ??? ???

[Ninnyscrops.]

Hi Janmac, you also have another option when planting them. Either put them in close and hand weed or further apart so you can get a hoe in between them. The plus of planting them closer together is that you can get more into the ground space and minus is a bad back. The pluses of planting them a hoe's width apart is no back back and larger onions  ;)

Ninny

PS. Mine all go in at the same time too I don't stagger.