Onions from seed.

[Sheneval]

Thanks not needed guys. Growing exhibition onions is what floats my boat and if I can encourage you guys and girls that will give me a real good feeling. The interest shown in this thread is alreadyhugely encouraging.

AP our local show will be having it's second year this year in August so your help in growing suitable onions or anything else for that matter would be invaluable to a relative novice

[zazen999]

Instead of being in front of you guys, some of you will know that I had a wee calamity. Well absolute disaster actually. I caught my foot in the cable of my heated seed tray in which I had two different batches of large onions almost at pricking out stage. Tray ended up on floor with compost and seedlings scattered around. Pointless trying to rescue seedlings as the two kinds would have been mixed and that's no good for showing so I have had to re-sow. It's a disaster but it could have been worse. At least I am not so far through the season that it would have been impractible to re-sow.

It's 'pricking out' AP not 'kicking out'.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Next epistle will be on preparation of the ground in the polytunnel. I'll post some pics with that to let you see what I do there but basically it's a question of digging in some fym and a handful of growmore per squ metre and then preparing for planting.

For those of you growing to harvest in pots, that mix I posted yesterday contains all the feed they will be getting except perhaps some liquid seaweed if they look as though they need a boost. To give them anything more than that is likely to lead to premature ripening before they achieve maximum size.

[Thelma Sanders]

I sowed my Kelsae in 54 plugs to a seed tray inserts, a few days ago

I keep looking at them and talking to them nicely.........

[Potstubsdustbins]

Well today we got germination, thats 11 days in, yes their tiny but deffo there.

Potty a happy bunny

[Thelma Sanders]

About half of mine have germinated so I'm also a very happy bunny

[amandaandherveg]

My Ailsa Craig and Bedfordshire Champion have popped through this morning after 5 days. No sign yet of the Unwins Exhibition sown the day before.

[Currysniffa]

I sowed a trial pack of Centro F1 (I got them free with my order from Shelly's seeds) in the heated prop yesterday. I'm still planting sets but thought as I'd been sent them it would be rude not to try and grow them

[Aberdeenplotter]

Those of you who have managed to germinate your seed and prick out the seedlings will be finding that the seedlings tend to flop about a bit. I stake mine using a bottle of wine and some thin tying wire

Make sure it's a nice wine as it's really an empty bottle you need. Cut as many 9" lengths of tying wire as you have onions. Straighten the wire then wind a loop around the neck of the wine bottle. Remove from the wine bottle and then fold so that the loop is at right angles to the remaining length of wire. Insert in the compost close to a seedling making sure that the seedling is through the loop. That will support the seedling for a week or two

[Bigmallly]

Being a non-drinker AP, could I use a pencil or similar or would the loop be too small?

[Bigmallly]

I'm glad you mentioned about them falling over AP as I thought I was doing something wrong. I did some research but did not find your ingenious wire solution. What I did find however was a suggestion to keep cutting the seedlings down to 1". This apparently helps them stand upright & also promotes root growth, I have done this on my 1st pot & true enough they are standing upright but not sure about the roots. I have not pricked them out yet as they are only the thickness of a needle. What are your thoughts on this AP?

[veggiechicken]

Being a non-drinker AP, could I use a pencil or similar or would the loop be too small?

A wine bottle neck is about 1" in diameter - one of your pop bottles perhaps?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Flop over, Flop over. I should be so lucky at the moment they are little green blobs poking through the compost.

Still living in hope I will obtain some wire ready for use.

Potty

[Aberdeenplotter]

a pencil is too small but I assumed that was a joke, I actually just use a couple of fingers as a rough gauge and wrap the wire round that but for novices, the neck of a wine bottle is a fine ready made measure.

I've never ever considered cutting the tops to keep them straight and I can't see how that would promote root growth. Keep me posted as to how your first pot progresses though.

Potty, yours will come fine just be patient.

BM, I prick mine out when they are just straightening up out of the crook stage. At that point, they only have a single root and are easily transplanted. When they have developed more roots, it's quite difficult to get them all into a small dibber hole.

[Potstubsdustbins]

AP I have done mine in individual cells a seed per cell. At the moment they are in seed cutting compost and I was hoping that at the appropriate time I can pot on into 3" pots of MPC without root disturbance.

Does this make sense?

Colin