Know yer onions?

[fruit&vegvirgin]

question about onion sets - I thought 1 set produced 1 onion? only, mine appear to have anything between 3 and 8 stems per plant, so either my onions are multi-stemmed (which doesnt sound good!) or I'm getting more than 1 per set. anyone know the answer?

[Peter]

Shallot of sets

Are you sure they are onions and not shallots?

[JennieAtkinson]

Rat - how late would you plant your onions out? I was going to leave it for another week yet. Is that too late?

[fruit&vegvirgin]

definitely onions!! - it said so on the packet.

[fruit&vegvirgin]

oh dear. planted at the right time. soil should be ok. I have watered them, and read something that said they didnt need too much anyway. shall I just leave them there and see what happens come harvest time?

[SueA]

FVV, I think you've probably got lots of leaves coming from each onion set, you don't just get one stem from each bulb, but you will get just one onion developing. With shallots you get a cluster of bulbs growing from each set. Just leave them they'll be fine. Attached are a pic. of my shallots & 2 of onions I'm growing.

[fruit&vegvirgin]

thinking about it, the red onions and garlic in the same bed have been treated exactly the same way, and they seem to be fine. I shall just wait and see what I get!!
(ooh, how exciting, finally managed to work out how to look at pics on here - just click in the box!!)

[sewer rat]

Jennie
I started my setts - both red and ordinary, though both heat treated (helps to stop bolting - we'll see !) in 3" pots in the greenhouse to get a bit of a jump on Ole Mother Nature. Mine are now in final position in raised bed and both lots are beginning to produce their sprouts as of last couple of days.
I think you should be safe enough now - you could always stick a bit of fleece over them - or are they going on your polytunnel. If the answer to the polytunnel is yes, get them in now. The longer they're in the ground the better.
Cheers m'dear

[bramble]

Jennie, if i were you i would start my onions yesterday. They are very frost hardy. The best onions are winter ones. They are the japaneese ones ( can,t think of the name at the minute) You put them in in the autumn and leave them until the end of June and get really big oni0ons and they are really frost hardy as is garlic. hope this is some help.

[Peter]

Senshyu most likely?

[nick the grief]

I've got Radar & Electric. Ones Red & the others white. they usually mature a few weeks earlier than your normal jobs.

With the way thing have been this year so far, I think you'll still be OK if you plant now as not much seems to be moving round our way at the moment.