Onions from seed.

[geepee]

New to onions, so it just happens I was on

https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vege...hp#sow-indoors

Yesterday. Sow straight into 3" pots was the recommendation. But given I needed 200 odd, opted for modules initially until more space is available.

The seed packet indicates a spacing of 100mm in all directions, but 300mm recommended here. What do you think?

It largely depends on what size bulbs you want o harvest.
If you had thought about LARGE /GIANT onions I,m afraid you are about 4/5 months too late in sowing.
As your earlier post states you sowed your first seeds in the last few days, you can still expect an Average crop.
As for spacing .....When I grew commercially.........It was in Rows 50 cm apart with seeds spaced at 1'' (25 mm) therefore when bulbed up the onions were literally shoulder to shoulder but we still produced yields in excess of 20 tonnes per acre' with a large percentage(65%) of Bulbs in the 45-60 mm bracket.
Approx 20% o the crop would manage 60-80 mm. The remaining 15% split as No1 & 2 Picklers ( No 1 the smallest in size and percentage ie 10-25 mm dia No 2 being 25-45).....25-45 often split graded 25-35....35-45 smallest for jars in supermarket and 35-45 for Chip shop/ Pub pickled onions.

So on the question of spacing decide what you want and how much space you have and arrive at a happy medium would be my advice.

[4Shoes]

Just sown mine today (11/2/18).
Nothing to sing about - Ailsa Craig and Bedfordshire Champion. Just have to see how they come along.
Think I'm a bit light still on what I need, so going to see what else I can find

Elefant and Musselburgh leeks went in.

All were lying around in seed box - off cover of mag

Now the 2nd March, and no onion seedlings from Bedfordshire Champion and the Shallot Camelot F1.
Still time for them to germinate, or try again or sets?

[Aberdeenplotter]

Awww Nnnnnooooo !!!!! - please be OK my little darlings.

Kev, I think it's because they are similar in shape to a shepherd's crook and isn't describing them being sick(Australians use the word crook meaning sick or ill). They'll be absolutely fine

[Aberdeenplotter]

Now the 2nd March, and no onion seedlings from Bedfordshire Champion and the Shallot Camelot F1.
Still time for them to germinate, or try again or sets?

4Shoes, onion seed sometimes can take 2 - 3 weeks to germinate depending on the temperature of the compost. From memory, the optimum temperature for germinating onions is 18c and below that temperature, they can take longer. If they are in the cold, move them somewhere warmer but whatever, give them a wee while longer

[geepee]

4 shoes, onions will germinate 16-26*C .....7 to 15 days depending on Temp..
goggle,,,,,,TEN TOP TIPS FOR GROWING ONIONS FROM SEED....some interesting stuff on there .
Gp

[4Shoes]

4 shoes, onions will germinate 16-26*C .....7 to 15 days depending on Temp..
goggle,,,,,,TEN TOP TIPS FOR GROWING ONIONS FROM SEED....some interesting stuff on there .
Gp

Off to compost bin with them !!!
OK.. Will give them a week on the sand... perhaps direct heat transfer will work.
I've told them that will be it

I've been using seed trays to hold pots and modules in to make it easier to move and water from below. I've just noticed the modules for these onions and shallots don't touch the bottom of the tray, so were not getting direct heat. Put the propagator lids back on.

May just get replacement seed when next in town. and a pack of sets for early

[4Shoes]

Heat has not worked, the seeds are not viable.

I can understand the "Bedfordshire champion" - packed had been open a year, but the Shallot was "new seed" Sow by 2019.

[Snoop Puss]

New to onions, so it just happens I was on

https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vege...hp#sow-indoors

Yesterday. Sow straight into 3" pots was the recommendation. But given I needed 200 odd, opted for modules initially until more space is available.

The seed packet indicates a spacing of 100mm in all directions, but 300mm recommended here. What do you think?

A bit depends on the variety. Onions that have the potential to grow bigger need more room than onions that will always stay small. I tend to space my 'ordinary' onions about 200 mm apart each way. This includes onions that will grow anything from 250 g to 1.5 kg apiece. It may be too late to sow seeds to get absolute whoppers of a size to win competitions, but you will still get a decent onion for the kitchen.

Shallots and small onions like Paris Silverskin can be planted out much closer together.

[Snoop Puss]

Off to compost bin with them !!!

Seeds want to grow... Keep the faith and be patient! Sow more seeds as a back-up, but given time, your original lot will probably come up.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Yeah! Echo "Snoops" comments entirely!



The left tray are the "Alisa Craig" sown on the 17th Feb now dug out of artificial light and being left to rest for a day or two!

Middle tray are the "Red Barron" which were sown 25th Feb and are always slow to germinate! And ignore the right tray, that is what I have set up for the shallots and spring onions!

Now I grow onions for the kitchen and not the "Show Bench" I sow 5 to a cell and plant the whole lot as a plug, not massive once mature, but serves our purpose well, and because onions are a daylight long sencertive plant, you do have to be a little patient with them!

[mat]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned - too many pages to check through! - but what I do is grow onion *sets* from seed. In May sow the seeds of any maincrop onion thickly in a pot - you want them to be overcrowded. That, and the late sowing date, means they'll still have very small bulbs by the time the leaves die back in autumn. Keep them through the winter the way you'd normally keep onions, and the following spring plant the smallest bulbs exactly as you would bought sets. I've always found onions from seed tricky, so this is a much cheaper and more satisfying way of growing onions.

[Snoop Puss]

^That's interesting. I've got rather a lot of shallot seeds sown last year that I had no time to do anything with. They're in modules and some look like they're trying to grow again.

But don't they bolt when grown in this way?

[Aberdeenplotter]

^That's interesting. I've got rather a lot of shallot seeds sown last year that I had no time to do anything with. They're in modules and some look like they're trying to grow again.

But don't they bolt when grown in this way?

If you are lucky, they may behave like onion sets and do just fine. Shallots normally divide and each new bulb should grow fine. A suck it and see situation

[mat]

But don't they bolt when grown in this way?

The onions won't bolt in the first year, and in the second year they're being treated as normal sets, so it shouldn't make any difference. (Mind you, onions do *love* a good bolt, don't they? No matter how you grow them.)

[Snoop Puss]

^Thanks, guys. I think I'll give it a go.