More pathetic spring onions

[Jungle Jane]

I grow mine in these really small pots on the patio table,they start off in 3” pots tho they take no space,really easy to grow white Lisbon variety,these stayed there during those 40 degree days,they’re really hard

[Marb67]

Some nice tips from everyone. Much appreciated. Thank you all.

[Marb67]

Well since my last post I have kept well watered, cleared some of the beetroot leaves to give more light and they are smaller!!! How can this happen ? Plants generally get bigger, even if growth is slow. I just can't get spring onions to get to normal size after years and years of trying

[ameno]

They're dying. Maybe slugs are getting them?
Or maybe they've decided it's time to go dormant; they have been in the ground for a while now, after all. Pull one up and see how big the actual bulb is. If its more than 2cm across then they are probably just going dormant.

[Marb67]

They can't be going dormant surely as summer isn't over. This doesn't explain why they get smaller. Its bizarre as they have been growing since April and should be as big as any decent size spring onion. They have had blood fish and bone for goodness sake.

[Nicos]

I wonder if the roots are rotting?

[ameno]

They can't be going dormant surely as summer isn't over. This doesn't explain why they get smaller. Its bizarre as they have been growing since April and should be as big as any decent size spring onion. They have had blood fish and bone for goodness sake.

Summer doesn't need to be over. Onions start going dormant in response to age, not temperature, and yours are fairly old now.
As for the size, the leaves will naturally wither away as they go dormant, so although the bulb will get larger (or at least stay the same), the stem above ground will shrink.

This is actually how they make onion sets, you know. Lots of onion seedlings are grown very close together, and as a result the bulbs never get very large. Then, after a few months of growth the plants will naturally start to go dormant, and you have a crop of tiny onions which can be used next year to grow proper sized onions.

[Marb67]

And again more newly so wn seeds months ago looking pathetic, thin and wispy with hardly any growth at all. I will just have to resign myself to the fact I am not allowed to grow spring onions. It is written!

[ameno]

Those are very yellow looking. They clearly were not getting enough light.

[Marb67]

They get plenty of light in my potting shed with sloping windows

[ameno]

They get plenty of light in my potting shed with sloping windows

A windowsill is never light enough.
Even my conservatory, which is basically made of windows, with a clear plastic roof, does not let enough light in, and plants inevitably grow leggy when in there for extended periods.

[Plot70]

Domestic window glass and greenhouse glass are very different things and have different light transmission ratings.
Window ledges are only good for warmth when germinating seeds. Plants need to be moved in and out each day until frost has gone.

[Marb67]

It's a shed with perspex sheets of glass at an angle. I can assure you it's just as light as outside, except sheltered from cold.

[Plot70]

Perspex contains UV light protection to stop it going all brittle.
It reduces light that the plants need but not visible light.

[Jungle Jane]

I’ve grown cucumbers indoors behind the patio door glass & kitchen door glass,the glass probably isn’t the cause. Daylight lengths shorter now as it’s autumn.
Id try again next April,pot those into a slightly bigger pot though,give them a chance