Alot of plot holders have already planted kelsae Onion seeds already
I dont do mine till end of January
does anybody else sow early ?.
I'll be putting mine in over Xmas... along with the Spanish Giant and the modestly named but ridiculously large Russian Standard..... then the next batch is the Aisla Craig, Sturon, Tropea, Sweet Spanish White, Long Red Florence and Red Baron followed by the Ishikura (spring), Prisma (shallot), Borettana and Paris Silverskin (pickling)
chrisc
Quote from: chriscross1966 on December 13, 2009, 05:11:17
I'll be putting mine in over Xmas... along with the Spanish Giant and the modestly named but ridiculously large Russian Standard..... then the next batch is the Aisla Craig, Sturon, Tropea, Sweet Spanish White, Long Red Florence and Red Baron followed by the Ishikura (spring), Prisma (shallot), Borettana and Paris Silverskin (pickling)
chrisc
How big is your allotment??? or do you just plant one of each? ;)
As the saying goes,
set your onions away on Xmas day or there abouts if your sober
Quote from: Yorkshire Sam on December 14, 2009, 10:55:28
Quote from: chriscross1966 on December 13, 2009, 05:11:17
I'll be putting mine in over Xmas... along with the Spanish Giant and the modestly named but ridiculously large Russian Standard..... then the next batch is the Aisla Craig, Sturon, Tropea, Sweet Spanish White, Long Red Florence and Red Baron followed by the Ishikura (spring), Prisma (shallot), Borettana and Paris Silverskin (pickling)
chrisc
How big is your allotment??? or do you just plant one of each? ;)
Umm... I like onions..... 250 sqm..... plus I'll be getting another half this year by the looks of things... one of my six rotation sets is onions
Wow a veggie question - great :D
Do you plant the seeds inside or out? If inside do you put them in separate cells or don't they mind moving?
Quote from: Digeroo on December 15, 2009, 10:43:19
Wow a veggie question - great :D
Do you plant the seeds inside or out? If inside do you put them in separate cells or don't they mind moving?
I set mine away in a tray.covered to exclude any light till they have germinated, then pot them on as soon ss they the straighten up.
Many thanks so what is the advantage in comparison to sets?
Quote from: Digeroo on December 15, 2009, 14:27:12
Many thanks so what is the advantage in comparison to sets?
Seed grown will never bolt, onions are obligate biennials, sets are hostage to the weather conditions.... You get a much bigger variety with seeds, onion seeds keep for several years if stored sensibly so you can just grow a few of them each year if you want.
You won't get big onions from sets..
[benny hill voice from the italian job]
"I likes 'em big, you know I likes 'em big"
[/benny hill voice from the italian job]
chrisc
Quote from: Digeroo on December 15, 2009, 14:27:12
Many thanks so what is the advantage in comparison to sets?
Other than whats been said,
Seed onions tend to store better, but then you have to nurse them till they go into the ground, with sets there is no looking after just buy them and plant them.
And what about Kelsae onions what is special about them?
Quote from: Digeroo on December 15, 2009, 18:24:10
And what about Kelsae onions what is special about them?
For me there is nothing special about them other than they grow bigget than the normal onion set and most normal onion seed
Quote from: davyw1 on December 15, 2009, 18:26:14
Quote from: Digeroo on December 15, 2009, 18:24:10
And what about Kelsae onions what is special about them?
For me there is nothing special about them other than they grow bigget than the normal onion set and most normal onion seed
...and you likes em big?
I'll report back next year on the trial between kelsaes and the other two biggies I'm growing next year.....
Quote from: chriscross1966 on December 16, 2009, 02:19:33
Quote from: davyw1 on December 15, 2009, 18:26:14
Quote from: Digeroo on December 15, 2009, 18:24:10
And what about Kelsae onions what is special about them?
For me there is nothing special about them other than they grow bigget than the normal onion set and most normal onion seed
...and you likes em big?
I'll report back next year on the trial between kelsaes and the other two biggies I'm growing next year.....
To get em big you have to plant them early
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Do you use lights?.... it's somewhere on my to-do list to rig some blue LED's to try and increase the day length a bit (and give them a bit more light even during the say when it's horrible and grey....
chrisc
Quote from: chriscross1966 on December 20, 2009, 00:33:03
Do you use lights?.... it's somewhere on my to-do list to rig some blue LED's to try and increase the day length a bit (and give them a bit more light even during the say when it's horrible and grey....
chrisc
No i dont Chris, those onions have been grown from pip which is the best you can get to grow big onions. I am not into growing onions that wiegh in with double figures (10lb upwards) i just want three matching for the show bench.
Trust me whn i say you don,t know what you are letting yourself in for when you start growing onions under light .
I have a instruction pamplet by the world record holder, i sent a copy to Tonybloke ( he hasnt spoke to me since reading it LOL) i read it and said stuff that.
Plant 'em early. ;D
I've given up on big 'uns !! ;)
6 perfect 3 pounders will do me. ;D
I am following these posts as I would like to grow onions from seed for the first time. So thanks for all the info..
1) Sow seeds in tray.
2)Pot on like annual flowers.
3)Plant out. Any advice on this please. Soil. Time. Weather . How deep.???
Quote from: tomatoada on December 21, 2009, 12:52:03
I am following these posts as I would like to grow onions from seed for the first time. So thanks for all the info..
1) Sow seeds in tray.
2)Pot on like annual flowers.
3)Plant out. Any advice on this please. Soil. Time. Weather . How deep.???
I'd use modules, not a plain tray, one seed per module for the biggest ones, three seeds per for decent (if not exhibition grade shape) medium size onions. seeds should be dusted over with a thin layer (3-4mm or so) of fine compost or you can chit the seeds on damp kitchen towel and put them in 3-4mm deep into their modules.....
Pot on when the roots start showing properly at the bottom of the module into a rather bigger pot or less dense module .
I'd be looking to harden off and plant out for early March as long as the weather isn't too ghastly at the time (if we get a mild week in march then then otherwise leave until April)
Massive onions get grown in polytunnels, I just like growing the big ones in the flat....
chrisc
Thanks for that Chris, I might try growing onions from seed this year, i always thought it was too complicated which was why i always purchased onion sets
Quote from: lottiedolly on December 21, 2009, 15:14:08
Thanks for that Chris, I might try growing onions from seed this year, i always thought it was too complicated which was why i always purchased onion sets
They almost grow themselves once you've got them going, especially if you use modules rather than pricking out (can't believe anyone does that anymore, they're equally fiddly and it's loads better for the plant not to be disturbed...) .... also given that our weather systems seem to be getting a bit more hectic and unpredictable sets will become harder and harder to get to crop properly due to the bolting issue...
chrisc
I'm with LottieDollie - might give it a go next year, and sow some seeds instead of sets. Would it help reduce mildew which decimated my crop last season (someone said I over-watered last year tho').
Quote from: Mike J on December 21, 2009, 20:38:43
I'm with LottieDollie - might give it a go next year, and sow some seeds instead of sets. Would it help reduce mildew which decimated my crop last season (someone said I over-watered last year tho').
Last year was very wet at a couple of times when it's important for onions, certainly I've lost stored onions to rot due to the wet august, plus rust was an ongoing problem due to the wet spring...I suppose it's the variety and the bolt-proof nature of seed-sown that I like .... plus they're generally through the greenhouse before the tender stuff has even started. If you are keeping a GH frost free for flowering plants then you're only talking about a shelf to get the onions through..... a 24-module pack gets you a 30-foot row of Kelsaes (the biggies need between a foot and 18" spacing to get to their full size) and a 40 will get you that planted 3-4 seeds per with Sturon, Long Red Florence (well suited to the cluster technique) or Aisla Craig to get a very large cropweight for the row.... If you go to 5-7 seeds per module on a 60-module then most "maincrop" varieties will get you pickling onions from that row length though you might want to use a specialist variety like Paris Silverskin, SY300, Borettana or that other italian one that I can't remember right now...or a shallot like Prisma
chrisc
Thanks for the reply. What modules do you mean? Coir pots or expanding pellets? Then plant into ground. Or trays divided into sections. Sorry a bit slow here.
I stole this image off mytinyplot.co.uk
http://www.mytinyplot.co.uk/wp-content/seed_tray.jpg (http://www.mytinyplot.co.uk/wp-content/seed_tray.jpg)
THat's a 24/tray module (4 wide x 6 long), if you do sowings a bit later for normal maincrops adn things like picklers then it's not a bad choice as you will probably be able to go directly to the hardening off/planting out stage once they're roots get to the bottom of these without a potting on stage.... for the biggies I'd use a 60/tray (6 wide x 10 long) set to reduce the amount of propagator space used to start them and then pot on into 15/tray (3 wide x 5 long)
chrisc
Thanks for all the info in this thread - really usefull..
Im going to give it a go this year..