Onions in tubs - yea or nay?

[mendacious dog]

Hi guys

Although I’m planning on growing onions from sets for the very first time this year (I went a bit mad at the shop and ended up with 300 for £5 ) my available space is pretty limited and I now think I can only get about 150 in the area I have planned for them! However, I’ve just been given a supply of cheapo plastic containers and I’m wondering if I can grow the sets in these on my patio area.

The tubs are square in shape, with a surface area of about 14” by 14”, and a depth of about 12-14”. Will this be sufficient depth of compost for the onion sets to get a good enough root system? I guess I should also mix in some kind of fertiliser when I fill them. And if I can get some growing in these containers, how many should I try to jam into each square tub? Should I go for 9 in a 3x3 pattern, or 6 in a 3x2 pattern, or just 5 in a quincunx?

If anyone has grown sets in these kinds of conditions before I would be very grateful for any comments you can offer!

Woof

[Paulottie]

Onions will tend to bolt when watering is not constant and rot if too wet(not easy in pots) plus it is going to be expensive in compost for such a cheap vegetable

Re planting distances- Largely speaking the more room and food (plus no weeds) they are given the bigger they get...ok for competitions; but it is often better to have smaller onions for kitchen use.

So I'd say squeeze a few more in the beds....you can fit a triple row it the space ascribed to one row on the packets...Certainly go through the sets before planting and discard any puny/ill looking/soft ones.

[Snadger]

Yep, I'd agree with Paulottie! I tried growing Egyptian tree onions in a large pot and they deffo didn't like it!

[zazen999]

Thirded. You can also take half of them out them as they grow for eating, and still leave 150 to get to full size.

[HayleyB]

I've got some onions growing in a trug that I've grown from seed, they are Japanese Senshu somethings. They are doing really well and have very strong long green stems. Was out of desperation I did it though as last year I hadn't planted onions and through the summer I decided to wanted to try but my beds were full. I've got 300 sets in the ground this time round though planted towards the end of last year, I'm hoping to get them out in time to plant seedlings - the timing will be very touch and go but I'll need the room.

[janeyo]

So how much space will the 150 onion sets fill? (Am wondering if I will have enough roo for them and the shallots and the leeks etc...) I wouldn't want monsters just normal kitchen size ones.

The bed is 11 feet by 5 feet.

Thanks

[allotmentlady]

i would plant them 3-4 inches apart, then you will find out what space they fill, tubs are fine for them but make sure it has got plenty of drainage holes. Also, check as to what was planted in the bed last year.

[Marylou]

Hi - I always plant the "leftover" onion sets very close together (almost touching) all along the row. It is a good "cheat's" way of getting a really super crop of spring onions. Just pull out alternate ones as you need them.

[vegmandan]

I would say just 4 ..(2x2) per tub if you want decent sized ones or 9 (3x3)if you want smaller ones.

I have grown 4lb onions in those 8 litre plastic flower pots before so It can be done.

Just make sure you keep'em well watered

[bobleponge]

MD, that will be ample depth for a good root system. I agree in general with most comments, they dont like to get their feet too wet, or dry out, so its a balancing act, but they certainly can be grown in tubs, I did an entire years worth in pots in my first year of growing.

[Scotkat]

New to onions bought Taylors Red Barron onion sets and Garlic Marco as got rasied bed will be full with greens .

Needing advice of when I should plant out my sets and can they be planted at different intervals of the year.

[mendacious dog]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

In an attempt to follow everyone's suggestions(!), I'm going to cram in as many as possible into my available ground space whilst still trying to bung a dozen or so in my pots as an experiment.

As I said in my initial post - it will be the very first time I've ever tried growing onions from sets so I'm just going to see what happens!

Cheers all

Woof