newbie, help with seeds.

[miffy]

Was bought the following seeds today and found the destructions on the back confusing as a newbie, could you tell me please when/if i should plant them now and when would i be able to harvest.
Thanks guys, they are all Franchi seeds.
1. Onion Rossa savonese.

2.Onion Tonda Musona

3.Onion, Ramata di Milano.

4.Spinach.

Cheers guys much appreciated.

[taff]

can only answer the spinach one I'm afraid. Sow it now, keep it moist.It'll grow in a semishade position.

[miffy]

Thank you Taff will put those in this weekend.

[Two_Sheds]

It's a bit late (way late) for onions, unless they are salad/spring onions. Put them away for next Jan/Feb.

[magz.mccarthy]

Hi Miffy,

I planted a line of Spinach around 10 days ago and I have lots of seedlings now. It was my first time planting seeds direct into the ground and I'm delighted with the little fellas. I dug the ground with a fork around 6 inches deep and threw away all the weeds i could see. Then i put down a line of new compost around 4 inches wide and gave it a good soaking. I used the back of a pen to run a little drill into this, around 1 cm deep, then sprinkled seeds in. I tried to put the in around a cm apart, but of course there a patches where there are way more than that. I put another small bit of dry compost on top, poured on a bit of slug tocks (we have evil mutant slugs and they eat everything not protected) and then left them be. Not there's a wonderful line of then and when they are a few inches tall I'll thin them to 2 inches apart. You can eat the thinnings too.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Margaret

oops forgot to say, my pack says they take 60 days to harvest, so I reckon planting a short line every 2 weeks should give a constant supply of spinach. I hope to do this all summer long.

[zazen999]

Franchi always put loads of seeds in there.

What I'd do with those onions is:

Sow a few pinches of each every month into modules, then transplant when they are a few inches tall and use for springs - they will be ready late autumn time if sown now. You can use them over winter as well.

Sow a few pinches around august time, and keep somewhere [either in a nursery bed or in an unheated greenhouse] and plant out singly in the late spring for next year's onions.

Save the rest and sow in December/Jan for transplanting out late spring for main onions.

I'd also - next year - save the latest few of each bulb and leave to flower, and save the seeds for the year after.

[indigox]

They have basic instructions (sowing/harvesting times) on the website if you look in the online catalogue:

Seeds of Italy

[gojiberry]

I agree with everyone, full steam ahead with spinach, as you have a good few seeds in the packets sow some of the onions to get what you can from this year. Keep half the onion seed to sow Jan/Feb.

Ian

[miffy]

Thanks guys fab advice will do that. Let you know how i get on.

[zazen999]

miffy - I am always on the lookout for strange and interesting onions, as I am growing loads to seed save and swap on here. If you get sick of the ones you have bought, or don't like them, let me know before you either put them up for swaps or get rid.....won't you!!!

Saying that I might have to buy some of those myself, I LOVE Franchi seeds, you get so many for your money.