how long do onion sets last?

[greenfingers007]

Hi All,

As the title says how long will onion sets last?

a few weeks, a few months or would they last a year?

[vicky]

No way a year! A couple of months tops if they're kept cold, they will eventually try to grow and if they're not in the soil they will wither and die!
Have you got some you can't plant? They'd probably be ok in a dry shed till spring.
You could try to swop them on the seed swop?

[rana]

Two years ago I forgot about some onion sets and it was too late to plant them. Rather than chuck 'em, I left them in the bottom of the fridge (salad tray) for the next 9 months. they were then planted out as normal the following season and turned out fine. I expected them to go to seed or just fail to grow but the crop was pretty much normal.