Late sown onions
Joyce Goldenlily
Posts: 2,695
in Fruit & veg
I sowed some onion seeds on Oct. 28th as an experiment, not really expecting them to do anything.
I felt ridiculous, sowing them singly, in tiny modules, covering them with Vermiculite and plastic fruit trays. I shall be removing the plastic trays within the next few days to avoid damping off.
I have just checked them and every single seed has germinated!
Now comes the hard part, keeping them going until Spring. At the moment they are in my unheated, double-glazed conservatory, and we have been blessed with unusually mild weather, temperature-wise, lately. I plan to keep them where they are until they are larger and therefore stronger, I hope. I think they will need potting on at least once, but single sowing should mean virtually no root disturbance.
I will then move them into my unheated greenhouse to begin hardening off.
The theory is they will have a head start over the seeds I sow in January, and will be ready for cropping earlier, so freeing up ground earlier.
This is a first for me, I have always followed the advice of a venerable, expert, Show veg., grower, exhibitor friend who told me to sow my onion seed on New Year's Day. I have never failed with my onion seeds since starting to do this, sowing them when I sow my chillis. I assume they both need a long growing season, and chilies seem to take an inordinately long time to germinate.
I felt ridiculous, sowing them singly, in tiny modules, covering them with Vermiculite and plastic fruit trays. I shall be removing the plastic trays within the next few days to avoid damping off.
I have just checked them and every single seed has germinated!
Now comes the hard part, keeping them going until Spring. At the moment they are in my unheated, double-glazed conservatory, and we have been blessed with unusually mild weather, temperature-wise, lately. I plan to keep them where they are until they are larger and therefore stronger, I hope. I think they will need potting on at least once, but single sowing should mean virtually no root disturbance.
I will then move them into my unheated greenhouse to begin hardening off.
The theory is they will have a head start over the seeds I sow in January, and will be ready for cropping earlier, so freeing up ground earlier.
This is a first for me, I have always followed the advice of a venerable, expert, Show veg., grower, exhibitor friend who told me to sow my onion seed on New Year's Day. I have never failed with my onion seeds since starting to do this, sowing them when I sow my chillis. I assume they both need a long growing season, and chilies seem to take an inordinately long time to germinate.
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also that method is common here where people
replant onion plants. it has several advantages over planting sets.
war garden 572. Where is "here". It doesn't sound like the UK.
I suddenly had a whim to try autumn-sown onion seeds as some varieties say on the packet, Can be sown in the autumn.
I have tried growing from sets in the past and they have always rotted off so gave up and always grow my onions from seed now.
I didn't think sets were potted on or moved, I thought they just went into the ground and were left to their own devices. perhaps that is why my efforts failed.
I have never thought about what sets are or the difference between them and regular onions. I suppose they must be different varieties as they split into several onions instead of remaining a single bulb. Ordinary onions sometimes divide but not into as many bulbs as sets.
I only grow a few as I am on my own, but do use quite a few onions in my cooking, also enjoy them raw with cheese and pickles.