Topic: ONION SETS

[woodypecks]

O.k. So this year I want to grow good reliable onion sets not for size and showing , but for keeping and eating .....and cheap  .  Which Autumn planting variety does the most reliably best for you ?     If you could only grow two varieties , which would you go for ?

Or is it actually best to grow am assortment of several varieties ? 

[mrrigsby]

Shakespeare do well for me.

[ACE]

Try some seed. I did this year and was pleasantly surprised. I though it would be too much of a faff but it's just like growing leeks, don't ask the variety they were just a cheapy from wilco. It's the old pencil thick legend again but I planted grass and they all took. I will try again next year, as well as sets just in case. Supposed to be a bit more free from the pests and deseases that afflict onions.

[Flighty]

I don't grow autumn ones. I always grow Red Baron and Sturon from sets planted in the spring.  Both generally do well, grow to a good size and keep well. 

[woodypecks]

Thankyou Mr Rigsby ...I will look out for those then .
Ace , I just love leeks and always grow lots of them , you are right they dont get bothered with pests and things...I was very poorly over last Christmas and had a big op in March ,so I missed out on the time for sowing them..sowing Leeks gets me feeling like  Spring is coming at the most darkest time of the year. Usually by now they'd be taking off ....I ,m really missing my leeks !  I might sow some seeds next time and that it probably the cheapest way of doing them ....but for this Autumn I,ve just got to get some sets in the ground .
Thankyoos !   

[Marlborough]

I have also given up on autumn planting onion sets, they don't store well an give a disappointing yield.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm multiplying up some good-sized potato onions with a view to dropping biennial onions. I nevr had particularly good results from them.

[Tee Gee]

Snap! Robert I am thinking the same I have selected around fifty from this years stock and I might try some as Autumn sown and the remainder as traditional spring sown just to see how they go on.

Nothing ventured nothing gained they say!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I got a few white potato onion from eBay; they're a good size after a season's growth, and I got seed as well. I've also got Green Mountain F?; they were planted late and didn't get that big, but I'll see what they do next year.

[squeezyjohn]

I had exactly the same thinking as you Robert regarding potato onions and dropping regular ones ... but this year (my 3rd after growing from Green Mountain seed) the crop failed big time - tiny onions all with some kind of rot which means they won't store ... I think I might plant the ones that still feel solid out to see if I can get them to sprout and overwinter - but there's no way they'll keep over winter in storage!

Do you have a lead on the white ones?  I haven't managed to find any potato onions being sold to the UK that will make a decent sized onion.

[ancellsfarmer]

I discovered this via Google,
http://www.dixondalefarms.com/
 apparently they grow more than 800 million onion"starters" for shipment across the States.These are like the "leek pencils" we strive for, but are onions, rooted, with tops all ready to grow. I suspect we couldn' t get them legally into the country-plant health red tape, but wonder if theres an opening for a producer of similar in Uk (or Holland?) which could be an advantage to us here.
I would think it needs a heated, lighted production house with adequate ventilation. Any thoughts folks?

[squeezyjohn]

I had amazing success with some onions grown from seed this year - they've only just been pulled and I'm keeping one in the ground to take seed from ... far better than anything any set has achieved for me.  Sow in February - transplant outside in bundles to seed beds and then plant out only when thick enough like pencils.  I think patience is the biggest thing tested when growing onions from seed - but boy are they big when you do!  Similarly with leeks - it's easy to get over excited and plant them out too early in their final positions ... these aliums need time to get established and they take transplanting with a pinch of salt so we shouldn't be nervous about them.

[galina]

I had amazing success with some onions grown from seed this year - they've only just been pulled and I'm keeping one in the ground to take seed from ...

Just for information: onions are outbreeders and you would need at least a dozen for seed saving, not just the one.  If any others are flowering in the vicinity, they will cross, because bees and other insects pollinate without distinction of variety.  If no others are in the vicinity, you will get poor set and few seeds on the one onion flower.

If you leave only one onion for seed and don't mind what other varieties it may have been crossed with that's fine.  Just as long as you don't have expectations of getting the same again as you had this year.   

[squeezyjohn]

Oh bum!

[Jayb]

This autumn I'm going to plant Electra (red) and Radar. Both have done well for me in previous years, although Electa has a bit more tendency to give a few bolters. Troy and Senshyu Yellow grow well enough too and I'd grow both again. Autumn sets are great to get an early crop, but I always get some bolters, though they are easy enough to use up as green onions. Autumn varieties generally don't store for long, so I find best to start using them as soon as they have made enough of a size.

I haven't got on very well with Snowball, some just never grow and of those that do there seem quite a lot of bolters, although some sets go on to make some decent onions.

[woodypecks]

You see , last year I forgot to make a note of which variety I planted ...and these kept beautifully ...maybe it comes down to how well we dry them out after digging them all up ?  I lay them on some old metal grids and turned them all over every few days ,to get that crisp papery skin .
So this time I,ve bought Senshyu ,Shakespeare and Red Blood.
If any one would like to try the strange walking onions , I have a few now that I can share , if you'd like to send me a small padded  envelope with some stamps for postage : ) private message me . Debs   

[Robert_Brenchley]

I did a swap last winter with an eBay seller, the Onion Man. One of the things I got was five small White Potato Onion bulbs. They haven't multiplied,, but they're now standard onion size. It's going to take another year to assess them properly, but they're looking hopeful. My rather late planted Green Mountain are up to about 2 1/2 inch diameter. It's far from hopeless, and in another season I'll have more idea of what's possible. I lost 90% of my shallots to soft rot last winter, in the ground, and I don't know how to respond except to avoid planting them in that bed again.

[woodypecks]

I also had very disappointing shallots ... they didn,t rot exactly ...they just didn't grow at all ....in fact they are still there in the ground , maybe they'll come back into life next year  ? Are Shallots generally more difficult than onions ?

[woodypecks]

So what are these POTATO ONIONS ? Are they shallots ?    Where can I get some to try ?  Seeds or sets ?  I could swap for a few Amish walking onion bulbils .......anyone  ?

[Jayb]

They are very much like shallots, I think they have been selected for slightly different qualities. Setts are not often seen offered for sale, I think sometimes on ebay.

I've grown my potato onion from seed this year, they are a mix and unlikely to be the same as their seed parents. I haven't harvested yet and I'm not sure how well they will do next year but you are welcome to try a few of the ones that have divided for me, depending on them harvesting ok. Quite understand if you would rather try and get bulbs from a known type. I've bought some from http://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk/ in the past and they have done well.