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Onion Seeds

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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:

--- Quote ---compost seems to dry out too rapidly for some tiny seeds
--- End quote ---

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.

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