Onions

[Frana]

Last season I planted some Japanese onion sets about this time but they
proved to be pretty rubbish!

Any offers of advice on what onion seeds I could sow about now in order to get my own sets ready, as I have heard that to grow onions from seed is the better option.

Cheers all.

[Two_Sheds]

You're too late for seed, they really need to be sown August

Sets it is then

[zazen999]

Or sow your seeds after 22nd December for next year's main crops.

[scarletrunner]

I don't bother with onions anymore as they are not very cost effective,Tescos taste as good.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I don't bother with onions anymore as they are not very cost effective,Tescos taste as good.

250 gms of overwintering sets cos me a whole 50p in Hayes Garden Centre in Ambleside when I was in the Lake District in Ambleside on holiday in early September. That will produce 40 - 50 pounds of onions. Now even at ten times the price, that's a tremendous return for my money and more importantly I know what has gone into them.

[Snadger]

I don't bother with onions anymore as they are not very cost effective,Tescos taste as good.

B*ll*cks!

[Alison]

I find that I do a lot better with winter sets than seeds. Sowed some senshyu back in August this week and have planted them out but also have back up sets so will see how they both do - am determined to get seeds to work one day

[solway cropper]

I don't bother with onions anymore as they are not very cost effective,Tescos taste as good.

How many different varieties of onions do Tesco do?

Once you've tried a few of the huge number of different onions you'll only go back to shop bought ones out of desperation.

[Two_Sheds]

I find that I do a lot better with winter sets than seeds.

Me too. I've tried again this year with seed, and out of my Keepwell I had about 10% germination, and zero from Senshyu.

[Aberdeenplotter]

If you are trying to germinate onion seeds, they do need to be at around 18 degrees C. lack of heat is the biggest reason for failure with onions.

[Alison]

Germination isn't the problem, that works fine but I struggle to get them past the grass stage.

[Aberdeenplotter]

If you prick them out when the first leaf is at the crook (bent) stage, there will be a single root and that is the easiest time to do so. What happens with yours Alison? If you use a good clean compost, they should just grow away.

[Florence Fennel]

I said I wouldn't grow onions again because I don't seem to get very good results, but I've just put some sets in the ground that I started in modules. The root growth is awesome. I'm going to take every piece of advice I can find on here, I'm determined to get some decent sized ones this time or I really will not grow them again. I think. Possibly. Well, I might not, it depends.

[Two_Sheds]

If you are trying to germinate onion seeds, they do need to be at around 18 degrees C.

They've been outside on the south-facing patio with everything else, some of them were inside the gh, so they weren't cold.
Spring onion seed did brilliantly (treated exactly the same)

[Aberdeenplotter]

maybe try them in a warmer spot next time though