Growing from seed

[springbok]

I am a bit confused at the moment.

Do I start my Onion and Leek seeds now to plant out later.  And then do I sow direct in the ground later in the year?? 
Is this so you have earlier crops starting now?
How many do you start off now?

All these questions, sorry.

[springbok]

[Rob the rake]

Sow your onions now, your leeks can also be sown if you want them to be early or very large, but I usually hang fire until March.

For the onions, I sow into a seed tray in a 1x1inch grid pattern (in a cold greenhouse), and then prick out into 3" pots when the seedlings have straightened up.
My leeks are sown into a large plug tray and planted into 6" dibber holes when they are about pencil thickness.

As to quantities, work out how many of each you will need, and then sow twice as many. Plant out the ones which do best and compost the weaklings. :)

[Susiebelle]

As I understand if you want to grow your onions from seed then sow now if you want to start onions later that's generally when you use onion sets, if I am wrong someone will be along later with more info - happy sowing!

[Tee Gee]

This is how and when I sow mine;

Onions; http://tinyurl.com/yzxd7y

Leeks; http://tinyurl.com/yaehy9

[GodfreyRob]

Basically, onion seeds take longer to grow/mature than sets. Most onion varieties start forming bulbs after mid summer day (june 21/22) - the bigger the plant is before then, the bigger the final bulb.
So, if you can sow early (and keep them growing without getting pot-bound or weak from lack of light) then do so.

Leeks are slightly different in that there are no Leek 'sets' so you have to sow and again, the longer the growing season, the earlier they will be big enough to eat.

[Tee Gee]

there are no Leek 'sets' so you have to sow and again

Not strictly true GR.

If you let the leek go to flower then to seed it will start making bulbils in the flower head.

These bulbils are then potted up into three inch pots and grown on.

These are commonly know as 'grass' and this is how the specialists do it.

It is the only way they can get a 'vegetative' cutting from their own special stock.

Saving seed from the same plant will not guarantee identical stock.

I was just informed today that my mate has had his grass delivered this morning so I expect to get a few of them in the near future.