Idiot guide to onions

[Andraste]

OH arrived home with red onion sets today. Whenever we've grown onions (only ever white/yellow) in the past they've been the leftover dregs of a plot neighbour - gratefully received but generally just shoved in a gap & never with any success. I think I probably put them in too deep/shallow/some other wrongdoing.

I'd be grateful for any tips from the most basic to avant-garde.

& is it really worth potting them up (our ground is probably going to be cold & wet for weeks yet)? Is it realistic to store the sets? What should I do if they start sprouting before I'm ready to plant? Is there an Onions Anonymous group for plotters who've become far too obsessed within less than 24 hours?

[Nicos]

Good thread!

I guess the most basic tip would be plant them pointy end up!

I don’t do well with onions so I can’t really give advice, but what I do with shallots and onion sets is start them off in seed trays of potting compost putting them out in the day and bringing them in at night so they have a head start against the birds. No idea which bird ( maybe blackbirds ? ) tend to pull mine up until the roots get established.

Putting fleece over them can also protect them against birds during their early growth.

I did read somewhere not to push them into the soil if you have heavy soil as it creates a compacted area making it more difficult for the roots to establish. No idea if that’s true but I guess it makes sense?

My neighbours on a previous plot had a designated onion bed. Never rotated them which I thought would cause a potential build up of disease - like fungus- but it never did. Maybe his soil hygiene was second to none.
He also used chicken pellets in the soil.

Interesting to hear what others do!

[Andraste]

Thanks for the tips Nicos. x

I shall insert pointy end up & plant rather than poke them into the ground

I think I'll also pot them up as pigeons like to pull stuff up on our site - having some roots in place before they move to the plot sounds like a fine idea

[rary]

Hello Andraste, depending on how mild your weather is, your onion sets could go in now if you have the ground ready, if not I would recommend that you hoe the area you intend using as your onion bed, but dig out perennial weedsonce the ground is clear scatter some feeding over the bed and again hoe it in, I would recommend chicken pellets as a feed but use whatever you have or prefer, leave empty for three or four days then start planting, I wont be pre-planting in trays, but again your preference, I think the recomended distance are in a line four inches apart and ten inches between each row , the distance between the rows is to allow weeding by hoeing but if you are working on a raised bed where you can access the full bed easily to allow you to weed by hand I would go for six inches between rows,this does mean you are pushing between the leaves as they grow but those are the distances I use and it works and also gives better use of space,as onions produce seed heads in their second year and sets are basicly second year onions you have to ensure they dont get stressed, this can be caused by fluctuating temperatures, and to avoid that its a good idea to use fleece, again I would recomend 30g fleece, being heavier it will withstand a bit more handeling and last for several seasons, the main cause of stress in my area is the soil drying out (ok doesnt happen that often but does occur) so keep your soil moist, but avoid over watering as that can cause rot, sounds a bit much but realy more difficult to write down than to do