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No doubt this has been discussed before, but thought it would be useful for newbies as well as me to bring it up again.
I've always grown onions from sets, but last year I grew a couple of rows from seed successfully as well. I'm wondering whether to just do seeds this year as it's so much cheaper, even allowing for compost (I've always put sets straight in the ground but seeds into modules first) and was wondering what the pros and cons are and whether anyone has tips for growing from seed.

Well I sowed my seed this morning they were Buntons Showstopper, Mammoth improved and Red Brunswick.

This is the method I used; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Onions/Onion-Seed%20sowing/onion-seed%20sowing.html

Regarding seed/setts;

I find sets are easier to plan for i.e. you can count what is in the net,whereas with seed you have to wait until they are germinated before you can plan the amount of ground you require.

Like you I am considering just planting out seed sown plants as opposed to setts, having said that; if I have a poor germination total I will buy some setts to make up the numbers.

My thoughts are that I will know my germination success with in the next two weeks and if it is poor I have time to buy setts, if it is good I won't bother.

so glad you asked the question Caroline, and what a brilliant slideshow Tee Gee, just what I was looking for as am sowing some onion seeds for the first time this afternoon!
Presume I can do the same with my leeks?
Thank You both.

QuotePresume I can do the same with my leeks?

Yes!!

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Leeks/Leeks.htm

Quote from: Tee Gee on January 11, 2009, 12:16:04

My thoughts are that I will know my germination success with in the next two weeks and if it is poor I have time to buy setts, if it is good I won't bother.

Sounds like a good plan- thanks, Tg!
I was going to sow some this morning but realised I was almost out of compost. As I haven't got any heat in my greenhouse I think I'll sow some in the house and then more later in the greenhouse/coldframe.

Aha !   Now I know how to do it - thank you very much Tee Gee!   

I am going to try a few red onions from seed this year instead of sets which don't seem to do very well.  Strangely it's just the reds - last year I managed to suceed with sets for white onions, but the reds were a waste of time.  Reading the other recent thread suggests planting them later - does this apply to seeds to I wonder?

I sow sets for ease though my neighbour sows seeds.  He says seed sown onions are less likely to bolt, and believes he gets larger onions.  I have never tried sowing onion seeds myself. 

we always grow long red florence onions from seed and get less bolting from them than from the sets  :)

Very good demonstration, Tee Gee.
Last year, I grew Long Red Florence, as well as shallots from seeds, and was very impressed with the results. No bolting and good sized bulbs. However, I have a less labour intensive method than Tee Gee. I keep the seedlings in their germination cells for longer, skip the pricking out into pots stage, and plant the well rooted seedlings directly into their final growing positions. It worked well last year.

Hi Tee Gee, could I just ask what are you using as a hot bed and what temperature does it maintain? Thanks

QuoteHi Tee Gee, could I just ask what are you using as a hot bed and what temperature does it maintain? Thanks

Its all in here; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/My%20set%20up/My%20Set%20up.htm

* click on pictures to enlarge!

Tee Gee - I wonder if I could ask your advice please, on when is best to start seeds of Red Baron and Ailsa Craig?  The red barons say March/April but you seem to be doing your seeds now?  I will be doing them in a cool conservatory and moving outside under a makeshift coldframe!

(I know, I know - boring varieties for all you seed adicts but I like to experiment with basics so I can't be held responsible for total losses of those heritage thingumies!!  Wouldn't that be awful!)

Again a simple question where the best answer lies in what facilities you have at your disposal.

To explain generally with most seed they require, heat and light so the better facilities you have the earlier you can start.

Basically what one must remember is; 'planting out time' this rarely changes (without going into the global warming issue) so the earlier you start the longer you have to look after your seedlings.

Meaning; you need well lit frost free areas to protect your plants in until planting out time

Now for your question/s;

QuoteWhen is best to start seeds of Red Baron and Ailsa Craig?  the red barons say March/April

My guess is; this is the date for outdoor sowings into the soil direct.

Quotebut you seem to be doing your seeds now

Yes but I am not sowing them directly into the ground!

Another reason I am sowing early is I grow a lot of stuff which needs heat to germinate, so I have to carefully plan the use of the heated areas I have.

My propagator and hot bed is like an assembly line from now till April, and it is a case of when one tray/pot comes off the heated surface another one goes on.

So planning is essential.

Put generally half hardy stuff requires a longer growing season than annual stuff which a lot of vegetables come under so I start these early.

Some stuff only needs high temperatures to germinate then can be put in a cooler spot after pricking out.

Problem here is; and it only comes with experience and good record keeping, what order do you sow them in?

So rather than go in to detail here which would take forever I have put nearly forty years of records on-line for all to see and use and they are on my website.

QuoteI will be doing them in a cool conservatory and moving outside under a makeshift coldframe!

Then in this case I would work to what is written on the packet. This will give you a slight advantage over sowing in situ outdoor because your seedlings will not suffer from late frosts.

As an aside;and because onions need  a minimum temperature of 16°C (60°F) to germinate could you first sow you seed in a pot/tray and put them in the cylinder cupboard or some such area until they germinate.

Then put the pot/tray on to a well lit shelf somewhere until they are 2"-3" high then grow them on in your conservatory and coldframe as you have planned?

I hope that answers your question/s if not get back to us and between us I think will get your onions off to a god start.

Finally just a tip;

Seeds no matter when and how they are sown, seem to have a resilience that makes them catch up.

Do not worry/panic when you read/hear some people are sowing early/late because you might not have been given the full story!

As I said in the 'best book' thread the best book is your 'Own Diary'!

Here is way of growing Ailsa Craig seeds .I  have done it  this way quite a few times  as a catch crop and pick them as I need em . My storing onions I usually grow from heat treated sets ...
In March dependant on temp, weather I sow a row of Ailsa Craig seeds. I use up all the packet so they are set fairly thickly ..these are then left to their own devices  not thinned out  or anything..I occasionally may have picked some as spring onions if the white Lisbon etc wern,t ready, but mostly they are  left to grow.
When they start bulbing I take em as needed as usually by this time the stored onions have done..The others in the row are left to grow on and used as needed .. 
 



 

Many thanks for this lovely explaination tee gee - you really are a star!

The reason I asked was that I suspected I should wait and now I know I should!  I tend to keep my conservatory at 12-14 degrees all year with a small heater, and have found Early-mid March works best for me with things like Tomatoes and Chillies as they can then later be hardened off to go out in May.  I figure earlier sowings of them are really for folks with greenhouses.  I guess its much the same with onions although I've found sets can go in in April usually.

I don't have a propagator but have managed without one so far with most things - just kept seedlings covered with a plastic try and somewhere warm.  It seems to work okay for most basics!

Like you I will be juggling space on the windowshelves and floor!  Sometimes it's literally a case of counting out the number of seedlings I will need!

Many thanks again - I love your website and I do follow when you start sowing things outside as a rule for when to do it!  Fingers crossed for my first experiment with onions from seed then!

Wow Growmore - thats really clever.   And it looks like it doesn't take up much room either!

I think I ought to try this .... I use more oinions than I can grow (as I have discovered this year) as the sets need to be quite well spaced for hoeing around them.  This just looks so much simpler!

Do you do anything particular to prepare the soil?  I found las year that after a bonfire of my hedge clippings I raked out the wood ash where the onions were going and I think it helped a lot!

I sprinkle some blood fish and bone and rake it in just prior to setting the seeds . A stick each side of the row protruding about 6inch above soil, then a string tied across the sticks so its above the row of seeds ,This is a marker for weeding till they germinate.

Last year my Bunyan's Exhibition seed grown onions were big enough but their necks were rather wide and they began to rot before December came in.   So this year I will only be growing from heat treated sets.   However, I wonder if it might be a good idea to start them off in a cold greenhouse in modules or even small pots to give them a bit of a head start, for I assume that one reason we should wish to grow from seed is simply to get a head start.   Also I must say that with the increased cost of fuel growing from seeds must be more costly especially when you add on the compost, and that is regardless of the cost in time!

QuoteAlso I must say that with the increased cost of fuel growing from seeds must be more costly especially when you add on the compost, and that is regardless of the cost in time!

I would have thought the opposite is true. Sets are no longer a cheap option and compared to the cost of a packet of seeds and a bag of compost (most of which would be reusable), sets seem to be expensive.

I've have regularly used sets but they get more expensive each year and often the quality is poor so I am moving back to growing from seed.

Sets were of a very poor quality last year, leading to a lot of rotting.