Topic: Sow onions 26th December

[Steve.]

I heard the alottment guru from the Rhonda valley on Radion2 recently, stating he always plants his onion seed on 26th December, I've seen someone else on another forum also does this..is there any significance to this date at all...or is it just an old tradition perhaps?

Regards

Steve...:)

[steve76]

I'm sowing some around Xmas as well, Been told to this if you want to grow large onions which I'm giving ago this year..

[Robert_Brenchley]

A neighbour who shows at national level puts his in about now.

[saddad]

The advantage is as long a growing season as possible. the onion "bulb" is actually a swollen stem (If I rememeber rightly) and so as much top growth as possible means a bigger onion. From the Winter Solstice onwards the day length gets longer so the light is constantly improving and after the Summer Solstice it bulks up the bulb...  :-\

[Deb P]

Can't sow on Boxing Day as I'm working....... ::)

[caroline7758]

If you can get a spade in the ground!! ;D

[tomatoada]

I thought of planting some seeds in a tray indoors. 

[Tee Gee]

sad dad has broached on what is key!

Light!,

No matter how early you sow if you don!t have decent light growth with be painfully slow if any!

In my exhibiting days I would sow on the shortest day then increase light by artificial means(lamps) after germination.

Usually this took the form of switch on two hours before official sunrise and two hours after sunset.

Invariably the lights were on all day as the  sunrise more or less never occurred because of cloud, and also the fact that if the sun did come it it was low in the sky.

Now I tend to wait until about the last week in January.

I would guess that based on my sowing I will catch up with any one who has sowed around  now if they don't supplement their lighting needs.

[aj]

I sow my onions from now onwards - and am visited by the OBs on the lottie staring at my lovely big onions later in the season.

As soon as they germinate they go into the unheated greenhouse. By April they go out into their final spaces.

It's half the fun of the Christmas break - little else to do!

[sazhig]

If you can get a spade in the ground!! ;D

..or can find the ground. We had 7.5 inches of snow on Saturday and more is falling now!

[GodfreyRob]

Onions are sensitive to daylight hours - when they start shortening after mid day summer they start making bulbs. So the more top growth they have before then, the bigger the final bulb will be.

Thats why you sow after the shortest mid winter day. Or at least thats the theory.
But like TG says, its usually so dull/dark/cold that the growth without artificial light in January is so slow. In a unheated greenhouse right now they won't even germinate anyway.

Still have a go with a seed tray indoors and if there are enough sunny days you might get lucky ;)

[davyw1]

I would normally set my first lot of big/show onions away in November, this year i i have not done any but only because i could not get the seed i wanted.
At the moment i have three peoples leeks and onions in my greenhouse so one of us has to be down the garden early to do the heating then again at night.
I am more concerned about the fluxuation of temerature than light and daytime ventilation because of the weather we are having, tempreratures going from 50deg to 70 or even 80 is not good.
Anyway a photo of state of play.

LEEKS


ONIONS and LEEKS

[George the Pigman]

I think it would be difficult unless you have a heated greenhouse as they get very leggy and weak. I have a "cold" greenhouse and sowed them indoors at the end of February so they were ready to go out into the greenhouse in late March when they a an inch or two high. I got a good crop.