Topic: Onion Seeds

[rutters]

Something going very wrong here.

I can't get onion/spring onion/shallot seeds to germinate.
Must be something very elementary which I'm missing.

HELP!

Forgot to add...sowed some Ailsa Craig onion seeds and they sprouted fine.

Just weird.

[Beersmith]

If I knew the secret I would certainly tell you.  Alas, it is something of a mystery.  I am growing some shallots from seed and they germinated well, as did my leeks, but for my spring onions germination was very poor. There have been similar comments from a number of contributors this season.  It seems to be an issue that has got worse in recent seasons. 

I suspect it might be a moisture control problem as peat free compost seems to dry out too rapidly for some tiny seeds but they don't like being drowned either.  But that is just like, my opinion.

[rutters]

Thanks, I think I may be over-watering.

[Tee Gee]

compost seems to dry out too rapidly for some tiny seeds

My opinion is this; although we prepare the ground/tray/container as before, and I agree that the compost is drying out too quickly I think perhaps the seed do germinate but where before the soil/compost was moist now it is often quite dry and the 'chit / tap root/cotyledon' dries up before it gets a chance to surface.

Now that I have become a 'container gardener' I am having lots of problems with keeping the moisture content just right. I have even invested in a moisture meter to replace my previous tester (my finger) and I have placed marks along the probe's length, so now I can tell the moisture content at various levels in the pot.

Trouble is, it lengthens the time it takes to water my plants. It's OK with smallish containers I can lift these and do a weight test on them, but in the case of my planters and ring culture containers lifting is often out of the question, hence my moisture meter.

Over the last two or three years Feb/Mar/Apr/& May has been very unseasonal to what we had in my younger days, and I am finding I am having to change my heating and watering technique quite a bit.

For example; my seedlings germinated similar to the past, but the seedlings didn't develop as they used to do. On pulling up a few of these seedlings, I saw that the root system was, for want of a better term, boiled or drowned.

As I see it the moisture within the container is quite wet (waterlogged in cases) at the bottom of the container/s which suggests to me there is little or no humus to hold moisture and the moisture all gravitates to the bottom of the container.

With peat based composts, these held the moisture fairly evenly through the compost, but in some of the peat free composts we are buying today I feel that they haven't really found a 'moisture retaining' substitute as good as peat.
Plus I am wondering if they are still putting wetting agents in the peat free composts because in my opinion they don't have to now. The wetting agent was added many years ago to alleviate the problem of wetting the peat in the compost when it dried out!

In fact, this is one of the problems I am having with my 'homemade' compost it is too free draining and as a consequence the water drains to the bottom of the container and the top is quite dry.

This year, I am trying really well rotted horse muck as a peat substitute and the tests are promising, so fingers crossed I am hoping this will be the answer to my problem because I have access to loads of horse muck!

My current method to prevent over watering is, I go around my containers with my pump spray and create a daily shower of rain to keep the uppermost compost moist.

Lord knows what the future has in store for us gardeners we are already noticing how the sun, rain and temperatures are affecting our gardening techniques above ground, I sincerely hope the boffins find a solution to what is happening below ground!

I will end here as it is an ongoing subject for me, but I thought I would give an opinion on the question compost seems to dry out too rapidly for some tiny seeds at least I am trying something to overcome the problem.

[Palustris]

Don't lose hope. After 60 years of trying (and doing all the things suggested) for the first time I have managed to grow some Spring onions from seed. You have no idea how good they taste.

[Harry]

Something going very wrong here.

I can't get onion/spring onion/shallot seeds to germinate.
Must be something very elementary which I'm missing.

HELP!

Forgot to add...sowed some Ailsa Craig onion seeds and they sprouted fine.

Just weird.

Ditto.

Ailsa Craig, germinated perfectly in coir and in seed compost. Two other varieties treated exactly the same at the same time, not a single germination. That was in my kitchen windowsil propagator. All I can see wrong was that it was at the tail end of the cold stretch, with lots of 17C days and nights.
The Ailsa craig got planted out and are now looking pretty good.

[Deb P]

My leeks germinated as usual in a long pot in March, been outside since April….still look like very thin blades of grass! I’m thinking of repotting them as they really are behind where they usually are at this point. They are going in where my second earlies are at present and they have only just started flowering so no rush! I did plant out my shallots but they have done very poorly so far, they look the same as when I transplant them. Sigh! I’ve also re-sown spring onions, I did modules again and some direct. They also seem to be in stasis so I bought another new packet and sowed the lot the other day! 🙄😂

[Paulh]

I'm finding that when the seeds germinate, some plants just sit there and don't grow on much in the modules. I'm wondering if there is not much fertiliser and nutrients in the medium and that I need to pot them up much sooner than I have done in the past - or put some pellets of composted chicken manure in each module when I sow.

I know seed compost has less or no nutrient content, but I use seed / potting compost which is supposed to be good for a few weeks. I suspect it is washing out.

[JanG]

I'm wondering if there is not much fertiliser and nutrients in the medium and that I need to pot them up much sooner than I have done in the past

I’m wondering exactly the same thing. It seems especially the case with crops which I’ve usually had sitting in modules for some time, especially alliums. They just don’t prosper and develop.

I planted my onions and leeks out when they were very small this year as potting them on would have taken so much compost, not to mention space in the greenhouse. I suppose using soluble fertiliser, like seaweed solution would be another possibility. But I certainly agree that composts are seeming to get exhausted more quickly now.

[Tiny Clanger]

Had same problem. Are you using old seed? I've struggled with soring onions thus year . New seed too,

[Harry]

I bought all the seed from same supplier on eBay. But there was no BBE on the packing, which was minimal

[Tee Gee]

some plants just sit there and don't grow on much in the modules

I have found the same over the last couple of years, hence me having a go at making my own potting compost

What I found this year at the seedling stage is the uniformity of the moisture in present day composts is very poor.

I am finding that the moisture is draining down to the bottom of the modules/containers and the top of the compost (where the seeds are)dries out quite quickly.

Now first impressions when you see this situation at the top of the compost the tendency is to water!

But I was unaware of this till I pricked out my seedlings this year, where in many cases I found that the root systems had 'drowned' for want of a better term.

Add to this, as I germinate my stuff on a thermostat controlled hot bed I find that the lower roots, for want of a better term, are being Cooked/Boiled.

It is this that I consider to be the reason for the non development of the seedlings, add to that in my case they never developed after that.

Sadly, when I discovered this it was too late to sow more seeds meaning my garden is suffering, and the five weeks without rain did not help.

What I have done with later sowing is to modify my compost recipe, and the signs are promising.

In a nutshell, since the advent of 'No Peat' the composts do not have the moisture holding ability that it had, so I have added sieved well rotted horse manure.

Another thing I suspect that is possibly happening is that the producers are still adding wetting agents, something that is no longer required (IMHO)now that there is no 'Peat' in the mix. Could this be a reason for the very wet compost we find at pricking out stage?

As I mentioned in a previous post on the subject, I have purchased a 'moisture meter' which I find rather 'faffy' but necessary because I now have found that the compost can be dry to moist at the top of the container but when I push the probe to the bottom of the container I find that the reading is 'Wet'

Because of this finding, it means my watering regime is somewhat changed because I have to carry out these tests prior to watering.

Something I often wonder, will the commercial growers have access to a better compost than the public.

I mention this having seen this written on a bag of compost I purchased! (see image below)

Makes you think, doesn't it?

I could go further on the subject but I think I have given you enough to chew over with what I have written above!


 

[Vinlander]

compost seems to dry out too rapidly for some tiny seeds

Now that I have become a 'container gardener' I am having lots of problems with keeping the moisture content just right. I have even invested in a moisture meter to replace my previous tester (my finger) and I have placed marks along the probe's length, so now I can tell the moisture content at various levels in the pot.

Trouble is, it lengthens the time it takes to water my plants. It's OK with smallish containers I can lift these and do a weight test on them, but in the case of my planters and ring culture containers lifting is often out of the question, hence my moisture meter.

I had a similar problem with citrus containers in the sunroom in winter - so I made a 2.4m x 30cm capillary bench for everything except the largest pots (which even-out themselves). I haven't lost a single citrus since. Desk-height is good so you can sit partly under it, but slightly lower allows 2m plants in.  It cost less than £10 for the wooden trough-sides etc. (though the artificial slates for the platform came from a skip); lining it with plastic, capillary mat on platform, and landscape fabric over that cost less than £10 more.

In late spring I put the citrus outside and use the bench for all my veg. seedlings - as they get bigger they go out into the beds or even bigger pots - but I tend to keep 3 or 4 cucumbers in there (August - October) for reliability (vs. root rot) and some choice tomato varieties so they evade blight.

Capillary benches are easy to water and have the ability to take water out of pots as efficiently as they bring it in - this is equivalent of the "water column" that sits under every bush, tree, and plant in your garden.

If the long platform is 10cm shorter than the trough then 2x 5L bottles can be fitted in, inverted as "budgie waterers" (in summer), and will safely allow 10 days of neglect; 2 more at the other end will double that - even for thirsty plants like toms & cucs.

Cheers.