Growing an onion for seed

[rary]

I came across a large red onion in a shop today and I would like to try getting some seed from it, so to do that when should I plant it,

[veggiechicken]

Was it an onion set or seeds?
What variety?

[rary]

As it was bought in a farm shop I would think it would be grown from a set but don't know what variety, it was more the size that attracted me

[veggiechicken]

Do you mean it was a full grown, ready to eat onion and you want to plant it?
Did it have any roots or had they been trimmed off?

[Thelma Sanders]

If you stand it on a saucer on the window ledge, now, with some damp tissue underneath it'll probably start growing roots. Then you can pot it up for it to carry on growing through the winter, somewhere sheltered - greenhouse/coldframe?
It will throw up a flowerhead next year and you'll get seed to use in 2020. Good luck.

If it's an f1 the seed might not be exactly the same as the farmer grew...

[burnie]

I buy my Mammoth Onion seed from Robinsons, I have had individuals to 5 lbs in weight in the past without too much extra effort. I've also got some giant trench celery for next year from them too.

[Mark_Riga]

If you only bought 1, it would be worth going back and buying one or 2 more. Lawence D Hills suggests bulbs weighing at least 1/2 a pound and planting them, up to their necks, between the end of November and end of January with Christmas being the favourite. They should be staked from 2' high to prevent wind damage. He recons you could cut off the main stalk in October and hang to dry till December.
It could be though that the size of the onion was more due to the way it was cared for by the grower than the particular variety. May be you could ask the seller if they know what variety it is?

[4Shoes]

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...seed_5773.html

A Question asked by Snadger from 2007 - see old thread link above.

Can't find out if you need 2 onions to pollinate.

[Thelma Sanders]

They will self pollinate, but suffer inbreeding depression ( the crop weakens over time) if you keep relying on self-pollination.

[burnie]

If you click on the advert for Vital seeds at the top of this page, there's a vid about seed growing/collecting.

[Aberdeenplotter]

You can plant it now but it may be better to wait a month or so yet. Plant in to a fairly large pot - 4 or 5 litres containing a strong compost mix. I use a fifty fifty mix of general purpose compost and John Innes 3. I also add some vermiculite to keep the compost open and free draining and also some slow release granules as your onion will be growing for quite a long time. The onion just needs to be pushed firmly down in to the compost and then kept in a frost free place in good light. When things warm up in springtime, it can be taken outside and grown in the open air. It should throw a seed head(maybe more than one) around May/June . It will become fairly obvious when seed has set and at this time, I usually bring the pot indoors again as rain can make the seed head soggy and the seeds can rot.

This procedure is carried out annually as a matter of course by those who grow onions for exhibition as they put their best exhibits back down to seed to preserve their own strain of onion.

[rary]

Thanks for the replies, as the onion was bought in England it's a bit too far to be going back to buy more, and I don't think OH would be very happy traveling a long distance just to pay for onions she wouldn't be eating, and I know it could be an f1 but when I saw the onion I thought it would be interesting to give it a try and see what it produces

[Aberdeenplotter]

Thanks for the replies, as the onion was bought in England it's a bit too far to be going back to buy more, and I don't think OH would be very happy traveling a long distance just to pay for onions she wouldn't be eating, and I know it could be an f1 but when I saw the onion I thought it would be interesting to give it a try and see what it produces

There is a way around it being an F1 Rary. Once the flowerhead has developed into the typical allium pompom, take a small scissors and remove half to three quarters of the individual flowers making up the pompom. This should encourage the plant to produce pips(mini onions) instead of seeds and when grown on,(just like onion sets), the end result will be onions which are a clone of the parent plant. The magic of vegetative propagation unlike growing from seeds which can have variable results.

The one bit of advice I would give if you intend to try to grow from pips is before planting, give the pips a soak in a solution of 50cc's of Domestos in a gallon of water for an hour or so which will kill any pathogens likely to cause mould growth.

A final comment, growing from sets will not produce identical onions. My comment about growing just like onion sets was relating to method of growing, not about the end result.

[burnie]

That soaking idea is a new one on me, will remember that one, would Jayes be suitable as a substitute for the domestos bleach?

[Aberdeenplotter]

J*e*y*e*s stinks Burnie and also stains buckets etc.