Onion sets

[Amanda1]

I have now received my onion sets and I'm not sure if I can plant them out yet. Its still really cold and frosty in the mornings so I'm worried about them getting damaged if I plant this weekend. The ground does thaw by afternoon but is quite wet (I have clay soil). When is the best time to plant? If I need to wait, how should I store the onions? They are currently in a plastic bag with holes (as from the supplier) sitting in my unheated greenhouse (v unheated as it has two panes of glass missing!).

[Nicos]

No rush yet amanda- you don't want them to rot! So long as they are not getting condensation in the bag, you can leave them be. In 2004, we planted ours on 20th March, and last year on the 10th and 14th April (had put these on trays on damp compost to encouarge the roots to start 2 or 3 weeks earlier). If you have any spare egg boxes, you could leave them in that right way up so as not to confuse them!

[andrewo]

Don't plant until April or else they will just rot. Better to be on the safe side and make sure it is warming up. You could cover the ground with black plastic as this will warm up the soil.

[Lesley Jay]

Amanda you just need to hang on a bit. I planted ours last year at the end of April but mid March to mid April is the usual time. Spread them out on a tray to stop the ones in the centre of the bag from going mouldy and keep them somewhere cool and light.

[fruit&vegvirgin]

another question about sets. I planted out half my red onion/white onion/garlic sets in Oct/Nov, and have just found the remains, rather sprouty looking, at the bottom of a box. is it worth planting these out anytime soon, or do I just chuck them?

[andrewo]

I would try and plant them, waste not, want not!

[Nicos]

Don't plant anything out if it's got any sign of mould..it will leave fungal spores in the soil. I don't like waste either and if you have land to spare , it might be worth giving it a go.I would be tempted to put them into a seedtray with a small amount of compost and only plant out the healthy looking ones, especially if they look ok...just short of roots. You could always do what I did last year and leave them until they are all really withered and useless, and then it will be much easier to chuck them out!! Onions respond well to good soil hygiene -see earlier threads!!!

[Amanda1]

Many thanks for the advice. I will be patient....

[caz1]

I have just laid down my membranes to warm the soil up prior to planting...but alas snow, I am sure you will have had the same problem, hang on a little bit with sets, we didn't put ours out until april, good results no bolting, stored most excellently...on the other hand I have planted some onion seed under the table in the greenhouse for winter planting out so I will be able to prolong the produce season...did this last year and had onions all year round...maybe try it and see if it works for you...

[bramble]

planting out

Have been to my greenhouse today and it was 19 degrees (we had a little sunshine) I have not planted anything out yet. My peas, spring onions, onion sets and tomatoes have all germinated, also sweet peas and potatoes ready to go in when weather is suitable.Have mixed up peas ans sweet peas and don't know how I am going to tell the difference.

[Lesley Jay]

Bramble let the peas and sweet peas grow a bit more before you plant them out and hopefully the pea plants should smell different to the sweet peas.