japanese onions from seed advice

[tomatoada]

I planted some j/onions seeds last week and they are just showing thro' the soil in the seed bed.  When do I transplant them?   This Autumn or next Spring?  Do I plant them like leeks? Any other hints.
I have only grown them from sets before.
Thanks for any advice.

[tomatoada]

[kypfer]

I've got some "Sonic" seedlings which are advertised as a Japanese onion, they're in a seed-tray at the moment, about 2 inches tall. I anticipate planting them into individual modules within the next week then transferring them into the garden October/November time. I'll choose a "weather window" when the forecast is at least mild, if not necessarily dry, for a few days, so they can acclimatise, then just sit back and wait.

You shouldn't need to plant onions as deep as leeks, but certainly be careful with the roots. Planting this autumn or next spring probably won't make an enormous amount of difference to the net result, but if you've got the space, do 50/50 then you'll know for future reference. So much can depend on a combination of variety, location, soil type and how cold (or mild) the winter is that it's difficult to make totally generic recommendations.

[tomatoada]

Thanks for the reply.  I will do 1/2 and 1/2.  When you say be careful with the roots do mean don't cut them off like leeks.  I don't always do that.
The sort I have planted are Senshyu Semi-Globe Yellow from Suttons.  350 seeds in packet. 

[kypfer]

I don't trim my leeks' roots ... didn't know you were supposed to ... I thought I'd read somewhere that onions have particularly fragile roots so I was just emphasising that point ... but I may have confused myself (not difficult some days  ;) )