Ovewintering Onions - Recommended Varieties

[SarzWix]

My over-wintered onions have been shambolic for the last couple of years. Worst this time around when out of a 3mx1m bed, we got 2 edible sized onions, and a dozen or so pickling sized. That was it...
Best over-wintered onions I've ever grown have been Red Cross. Must try and find some asap for this year...

[VirginVegGrower]

Radar did better than Senshyu for me this year. The best one I ever grew was Hi Keeper, which I'll be sowing next week

Grrr...and I saw that for order. I'll try this next year. Thanks TS

[VirginVegGrower]

Garlic:
hardneck = it grows a scape, or flower-head, doesn't store very well but you get good flavours and big cloves.
softneck = no scape, and stores well, tends to be smaller cloves.

I grow mostly softneck, because I want it to store. But have a few hardnecks for variety and use those up first.

Love this piece of guidance - thank you! Never knew any of this. Must go and order garlic.

[Terryr]

Hi onion growers

I have very bad white rot disease to the extent that I cannot grow in my garden soil at all. I do all my onions in once used grow bags which I re-energise with chicken pellets. Get a fair crop with this technique though not too good last winter what with the harsh weather. For me this is better than no crop at all. I find that it is difficult to tell which variety is best as every winter is different .

Terryr

[michelle66]

hello sorry for butting in but as a newbie can i ask where do you order ur onions from please

many than

[chris]

I just bought some overwintering onion seeds from Real Seeds - Great Vegetable Seeds from The Real Seed Catalogue

You can buy seeds and set (small onion bulbs) from a variety of places though (there's thompson and morgan, king seeds, dobbies, mr. f, etc etc), when they stock them. I personally prefer to support the smaller places, as I find the customer service must better (and more often than not, product too).

[VirginVegGrower]

I've had mine from Thompson and Morgan as we had Tesco reward vouchers to use. We have Eon electricity linked to our points but don't food shop there. First time I've used T and M. I looked at Real Seed website and although limited choices what they do have seems a good set up. Have already earmarked them for use next year's growing season

[Alison]

Senshyu grew very well for me this last winter from sets planted up in the autumn and I only lost 2 or 3 in the snows so very pleased. Did much better than the same variety sown from seed but I think they weren't established enough when I planted them out.

[gan heather]

I've grown autumn sown sets and onions from seed planted out in the spring, but never onions from seed planted in the autumn. Can anyone tell me how it's done? Do I sow now and plant out in September/Ocotber? Have I missed the boat for sowing?

[VirginVegGrower]

Sow now, August and leave until Spring then thin out - ready Summer. Mine failed last year but am trying again.

[horticultural_hobbit]

I've got me my vampiric onions on order, as well as the garlic. I rather like the look and novelty of growing red onions. Are there red overwintering onions, or can red Baron be used regardless? I'm trying not to run before I can walk, despite no allotment as of yet.

[Florence Fennel]

I told myself I had failed so many times to grow onions that I wasn't going to do it again. Guess what I bought on Saturday? Only cheapos from Wilkinsons, but I'm going to put them in the bed where my potatoes were (which is brilliantly weed free) as AP has advised and try again.

[JamesM]

I'll be putting some onions in soon having failed disastrously several times! Good luck

[SarzWix]

There are 2 types of red over-wintering sets that I know of; Electric and Red Cross. I've grown both and the best were Red Cross, but I couldn't get any this year so I've ordered Electric.

[cptncrackoff]

I'm going to try radar and electric autumn sets, would someone be able to advise roughly when the best time to pop these in would be!?

I've also kept quite a few 'bedford' i grew from seed but put them in far too late, as a result they are all about 1", ive pulled them up, dried them off and i'm planning on putting these back out early spring (someone told me if i remove them, then put them back they are less likely to bolt!?)