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Hi Squeezyjohn I've never grown onions as even organic ones are cheap to buy & the onion sets seemed quite expensive so I read your post with lots of interest as I actually enjoy growing leeks so you have inspired me to try growing some onions from seed. Could you recommend a good variety for a novice to try? Thanks Jane
Knew a chap who was a fishmonger by trade. He took all his fish waste and trenched it for his onion bed. Admittedly he lived way out in the countryside, and had no neighbours, but I have never seen such onions.
Quote from: Crystalmoon on July 27, 2016, 07:20:49Hi Squeezyjohn I've never grown onions as even organic ones are cheap to buy & the onion sets seemed quite expensive so I read your post with lots of interest as I actually enjoy growing leeks so you have inspired me to try growing some onions from seed. Could you recommend a good variety for a novice to try? Thanks JaneSorry - I just realised that the giant ones I grew this year were Kelsae not Shirley although both are large exhibition types!Since it has started working much better for me with seeds it has proved to be very rewarding growing onions ... you get a nice big tangible crop which you can store over winter (at least with storage varieties). I haven't really noticed one variety to be better than another - but one thing is for sure that you have a much bigger selection of varieties you can get as seeds than you can with sets. I found last year that the giant exhibition variety Shirley makes pretty impressive big onions even if you don't pamper them and they are much sweeter than any regular varieties so great for salads or onion tarts ... however the really big ones normally don't store that long so they're the ones to use up first!This year I am trying rose de Roscoff - the traditional Breton onions that were sold on strings by Frenchmen wearing berets! They're doing great and are a lovely pinky purple colour - I'm also trying Zebrune banana shallots which are really just a kind of long mild onion (they don't split like a regular shallot) and again they are making nice looking smaller bulbs. I haven't tried a full red variety from seed yet - and I naturally shy away from them as they have always bolted really early for me from sets ... but I think I'm getting confident enough to try from seed next year.I know they're cheap in the shops - like potatoes also are - but I think growing your own is for other reasons than thrift sometimes too.