'Tis the season to...plant onions (new article by Bernie66)

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'Tis the season to...plant onions (new article by Bernie66)

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Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 05 9:28 am Post subject: 'Tis the season to...plant onions (new article by Bernie66)
Boxing Day is the traditional day to get your mammoth onions (!) off to a flying start, but even if that's not your aim Bernie66's article on Growing Onions will help you decide what to plant and how to grow, harvest and store your crop.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 05 12:37 pm Post subject:
Anyone planted their onion seed yet then? We've only tried a couple of times and have had more success with sets and shall use sets again this year. Might try saving our own seed and trying that one day. Does anyone know what commercial growers use? Do they plan seed or have special machines to plant out sets, if they use sets who produces them all?

sally_in_wales
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Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 05 12:39 pm Post subject:
Thats just the incentive I need to go and rescue my onion patch from the brambles. It had spuds in it last year, and is adjacent to an ancient compost heap that I want to dig into it in the next week or two before planting later.

sally_in_wales
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Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 05 12:41 pm Post subject:
When do I plant sets for average maincrop onions? Its pretty cold and wet in Wales, and although I want to get the ground sorted soon its way to early for planting anything here just yet.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 05 12:59 pm Post subject:
The traditional time for us is when we remember and when we get time. March/April depending on weather and soil conditions.

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 05 9:48 pm Post subject:
That's a really useful article Thanks I've been pouring over my seed catalogues trying to decide between sets and seeds - sets it is! Never grown onions before, but we use tons of them, so we're intending to put quite a lot in.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 05 9:56 pm Post subject:
Thanks to Birnie66. I would recommend sets as well, when we grew seeds most bolted and didn't produce much of a bulb. I would add if you are not growing a large amount of onions shallots are well worth growing as we've had more success with them and they are more expensive in the shops.

katie

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 713
Location: midlands

Posted: Fri Dec 30, 05 12:23 pm Post subject:
A really useful article. Thankyou. I didn't know about soaking the sets first - I'll try that this year. Katie

Bernie66

Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 06 2:39 pm Post subject:

I have today just planted on the seedlings which were started on the 28th of December from the seedtray into 3 inch pots. Onto the third set of leaves and so far looking good. Februarys "grow your own" has a couple of pages of article on onion growing and is worth a look if you are interested.

Onion sets have also arrived in the shops now, I have seen them for around £2 for 100 which is pretty much standard.(heat treated)

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 07 11:47 am Post subject:

How deep to plant the sets?

There are differing opinions on this here. Last year I put sets in for the first time and being a novice I buried them in light compost with just the tip of the shoot showing. I have been told recently by a french neighbour to just put them on the surface of the bed and let them pull themselves into the soil

Surely they would blow away but my neighbour says not as long as you cover them until they are established. Another friend of ours has told me that she plants her sets a third to a half way into the soil. Apparently this is to allow the onions to ripen in the sun once the bulbs have formed.

We have already buried ours as per last year, before receiving this advice. We got plenty of onions and decent sized last year so I'm not too worried.

How do you plant yours?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 07 11:50 am Post subject:
I push mine most of the way into the soil - too much wind and too many pesky birds not to do so. By the time I harvest, though, it is only the roots in the ground, so they get the full effects of the sun for ripening.

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 07 11:54 am Post subject:
That's what I thought. I found that they tend to push themselves out of the soil rather than pull themselves in. Thanks Judith

2steps

Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 5349
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 07 11:55 am Post subject:
I planed some seeds this year for the first time. I really do need to put the sets in too

Bog Spavin

Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 362
Location: North Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 07 6:26 pm Post subject:
I have planted mine 3/4s into the soil and I still have a major problem with birds pulling them up, the birds causing all the damage are my own hens!!!!! I really must sort out the fencing.

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 07 7:17 pm Post subject:
Well I have been loking into to this today and according to Hessayon, just the tips showing is enough so mine are staying put (I hope)

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