ONION SETS?

[tartonterro]

Was in Focus DIY at the weekend and spotted onion sets, being new to gardening i bought a couple of bags intending to plant out on my new allotment as the packaging showed planting them September to November - OK i thought.
In passing i mentioned to my father i had bought them to be told i had wasted my money as onion sets aren't planted at this time of year unless they are Japanese onions.
the two variates i got are Electric red and snow ball, both Alli um Ce pa.
can any one confirm whether or not i can plant these just now or have i wasted £5, well not wasted cause i got some garlic as well and i know i can plant that just now.
any help would be gratefully received.

[tartonterro]

[OllieC]

Did the 'leccie red myself last year - they were good (still eating them now). Mild enough for salads. Definitely fine for overwintering although I thought this was a couple of weeks early?

[tartonterro]

when would you say is best for these to be planted?

[theothermarg]

thanks i,v been looking for leccy red ! focus you said i,m gone

[cambourne7]

I picked up a bag of this variaty myself today in nocuts for £1.49 which i though was a bargin for a big bag of maybe 100 sets.

I had planed on planting onion seed as well but this will give me a head start :-)

[Fork]

I picked up a bag of this variaty myself today in nocuts for £1.49 which i though was a bargin for a big bag of maybe 100 sets.

I had planed on planting onion seed as well but this will give me a head start :-)

It will be very interesting to see how many of your sets "bolt"

£1.49 is a very cheap price to pay and in my opinion I dont think you will get good results.I doubt very much if they have been heat treated

I may well be wrong but good luck to you anyway.

[Hot House]

WE have sets on sale at our lotty shop for 1 of your english pounds and you get 70 in your bag I'll be down getting me 2 or 3 or 4 bags in the morrow

[cambourne7]

I picked up a bag of this variaty myself today in nocuts for £1.49 which i though was a bargin for a big bag of maybe 100 sets.

I had planed on planting onion seed as well but this will give me a head start :-)

It will be very interesting to see how many of your sets "bolt"

£1.49 is a very cheap price to pay and in my opinion I dont think you will get good results.I doubt very much if they have been heat treated

I may well be wrong but good luck to you anyway.

There heat treated and there market thompson and morgan....

[Carls3168]

I got my onion sets, garlic and shallots last Saturday.... all planted out in the cleared potato bed by Sunday! Along with a couple of rows of white lisbon spring onions.
OllieC - this year I have put them in a month earlier then normal, but I'm aiming for them to be about 6inches high come November

[kitten]

carls - did you sow the spring onions yesterday or plant? ta  :)

[Fork]

I picked up a bag of this variaty myself today in nocuts for £1.49 which i though was a bargin for a big bag of maybe 100 sets.

I had planed on planting onion seed as well but this will give me a head start :-)

It will be very interesting to see how many of your sets "bolt"

£1.49 is a very cheap price to pay and in my opinion I dont think you will get good results.I doubt very much if they have been heat treated

I may well be wrong but good luck to you anyway.

There heat treated and there market thompson and morgan....

Sounds thought you may have a bargain then

[debster]

mine arrived from T and  M yesterday and will be going in this weekend when i can be bothered suffering from just finished nights apathy at the moment

[Chris Graham]

I always wondered about planting onion sets just know as I thought it was best to turn the soil for the winter, si how do you plant sets if you have to to this.

[cambourne7]

Yes i am tempted to get more but i think that might be onion over kill as i have plenty of seed to go in this year as well.

My seeds/sets are not going into the ground for another 2 weeks till the beds ready.

I still have to add soil to the new beds (3beds 4ft by 8ft) and plant the bramble plants in the beds.

(onions (seed/sets) and garlic are planted around the bramble which will be sending roots down and will only be sending shoots up when the bulbs are 1/2 in and 1/2 out the soil so there should be no interferance.)

Once i have it planted i am covering with netting and forgetting till after christmas.

[Sparkly]

What varieties are people's favourites? I have a bit of space to put in a few for over-wintering. I am thinking 1 white onion 1 red. In addition, garlic. Which are reliable?

[cambourne7]

how long is a peice of string.

It realy depends on the soil and how you care for them, when there planted etc

Personaly if your in an established site i would speak to the allotment holders around you.

[carolinej]

I thougth onion sets had to wait till spring. I think I'll go out and get some, as it will be nice to have them in while the lottie is a bit empty.

cj :)

[kitten]

I'm thinking the very same carolinej - we had to lift ours early this year, hence a lot of them are v small so perhaps some over wintered ones will boost our stocks.  ;)

I have a related question about rotation, but will do a search and, if necessary, start a new thread  8)

[redimp]

What varieties are people's favourites?

I tend to just get what I can get hold of, although of the ones I have got hold of, Radar were the best overwintering performance.  There tends to be less choice if you are reliant on local suppliers - most places will just have the one or one white and one red.  A choice tends only to be available online - and then the cost seems to rise with postage on top.

[chrispea27]

mine from wilkos( red) did bolt I think they were not heat treated. Not sure of variety