Allotments 4 All

How? When?

How long does it take? etc.

agui,
All my onions are going to be seed-grown next year. Probably making life difficult for myself, but when I was ordering from the catalogue, it just seemed a bit more rewarding growing from seed rather than planting a small onion and harvesting a large onion!
I haven't received the packets yet, but I recently read about an old gardening tradition was to sow your onion seed on Boxing Day- seems a bit early though, am sure February would probably be OK.
I think onion seed can take 6 weeks to get going.

As a rough guide:

Sow January in greenhouse or in seed drills 1cm deep in February or March. Thin to10cm apart and 22cm between rows.

Depends a little on location and soil.

Jerry

Thanks for the replies.

Location = greater london.
soil = heavy clay
and I only have a mini plastic greenhouse and very limited window ledge space reserved for my toms and papers. Although I may have a cold frame from late february.

For you Aqui, I would have thought sets would have been the way to go.  If you have ooooodles of room, then all good and well, but with you reserving all of your space for your tender toms and peppers, I think you would run out of time and room!

EJ - you're probably right. But sets cost money, which I have spent enough of already on seeds. But seed come free from a swap!

I may haev to bring forward purchasing my coldframe.

How many sets would you want?  You never know, much like the spuds last year someone might have more than they have room for.  Of course, you could grow spring onions instead.  Not the same I know, but I have had a great crop from them, and now that Ava doesn't fancy salads for dinner I have been pulling them and using them in cooking.  You could grow them thickly, pull the slim thin ones for eating raw, and leave some in to bulb up a bit.  I still have at least a dozen on my plot and they are now like big leeks to look at!

I grew some from seed this year and they were a bit disappointing, planted sets for the autumn (£1.50/bag). I sowed them in modules in the spring and took them out around august.

Jeremy

i sowed 'long red florence' from seed this year. sowed under cover january, harvested about august. diasappointed with the size, but probably more to do with me putting them close? (ish).
i think boxing day sowing is tradional for prize champion growers, it gives a longer growing time.

i have a different onion-ailsa craig- to try next season, but have splashed out on an impulse buy-shallots for overwintering.
they are lookng great, by the way, very healthy shoots.

last season i grew red baron from sets-again i was disappointed with the size- oh why can't i grow big onions!!??

Are you sure you haven't got big onions Kerry?  I only say that because I didn't think my home grown ones were particularly large, until I finally had to give in and buy some at the greengrocers in the week, and they were tiddly!  Mine were moster onions in comparison.

hmmm-the  'long red florence' were huge spring onion size, i know they are not 'round' onions, more torpedo shaped- but still!!....
the 'red baron' from memory were smaller than those i see in the supermarket, kind of golf ball size. and they had this habit of bolting...... >:(
hey ho....!

my red barons too. am also going for seed, probably around New Year, but cannot recommend over wintering shallot sets highly enough - i do Jermor ones - they were terrific when just about all my other alliums were dire (garlic, autumn sets)
cheers, suzy

Aqui, if you do end up direct sowing then I would suggest that you cover the seed rows with a medium other than your garden soil- London clay will cap and may result in seedling death as it will prove impenetrable to the coiled seed leaf.

Okay daft question time - how many onion sets do you get per bag from say suttons on average?

None of them seem to say :( which is quite hard to plan for.

Sam

I buy more than one sort, but I should think you should get around 50 sets for a quid.

last Autumn/Winter I sowed White Buffolo?  spelling?.. (I iz in edibles so watchhing meself so I am  ;D)

When the snow came.. they did look pretty.. but as onions.. they all done their own thing.. just we both had different ideas.. best onions I harvested were grown from sets and the taste out of this world.. got to do red baron.. but growing from seed for me was not what I expected, but what I got was still good, if not that edible.. maybe the season went against us all this year?  theres always next.. and red baron?  I better get on to Kings Seeds and place me order.. is so much choice.. feels like crimbo is just around the corner  ;)

Ciaran

:-* :-*

You get between 200 and 250 sets per kilo. If you ask around, some allotments have a bulk deal. I'm buying onion sets in at £14-£21 per 25kg and selling them in our shop for 65-80p per 500g.

I won our local Horticultural Show section for biggest onion (over four pounds) and for the best matched onions (4).  Sow as early as you can but they need extra light and bottom heat.  Onions grown from seed seem to be reluctant to run to seed as do sets. I bought an onion in the greengrocers due to its elongation and size, planted it and got three off shoots, planted them the following year and watched as they went to seed.  Looking forward to see how the seeds do this year.Fill yer boots and cheers, Tony

For several years now I have sown onion seeds in guttering.

What I do is get hold of 1/2 round gutterin (about 2m long) and block off the ends.  I fillthe guttering with soil (or compost) and sow by onion seedn directly into that (whilst its in the greenhouse or garage)  when the start growing I thin them out as if they were in the ground ... but leave the gutters under cover.

To transplant I simply take the gutters up to the lotty and hollow out a gutter shaped trough.  I then simply pour out the gutter into the trough - it needs some encouragement.  This means that the roots are virtually undisturbed and that full rows appear instantly - drives the neighours insane!!!

Aqui, If you still want to try onion seeds next season I have Bedfordshire Champion for you. Heavy crop and good flavour. ;D