onion seeds

[zazen999]

LOL.....I'm a bit confused by your question, Snadger...Photo below is of onion seed Marco.... looks pretty greenish to me. What colour are yours?

To be fair - blue probably [he is in Newcastle].

[sowitgrowit]

aah now I've never grown a successful spring onion ..........

I may not have a successful one yet, I'm just happy with the growth they seem to be putting on in a trough in the window - They almost look like they're supposed to, bless them!

I've grown a successful onion the size of a spring onion......

I haven't managed that, but this is the year (I keep telling myself)!

[Snadger]

Erm - that green stuff that grows out the soil when a seed germinates.

It was the seeing greenery bit that confused me. I thought we had lapsed back into the 'sets in modules' thread as the roots develop an extensive system well before the greenery appears!
I usually have heat on in my greenhouse at this time of year but can't afford it this year. My onions have germinated and will soon be ready for transplanting. I am worried about putting them in a cold greenhouse though as other stuff I have in modules has been frozen solid a couple of times this year already.

[Snadger]

LOL.....I'm a bit confused by your question, Snadger...Photo below is of onion seed Marco.... looks pretty greenish to me. What colour are yours?

I blame the chlorophyll .................

[binley100]

Could you make a warm area with bubblewrap or can you put a blowaway inside ( seems to be working ok for me )

[veggiechicken]

Glad to hear you're staying warm Bins Where are you - Wrapped in bubblewrap or in the blowaway

[binley100]

Wrapped in bubblewrap . Look like the michelin man so too big to fit in the blowaway .........mind you I did try today

[veggiechicken]

It was very warm in the greenhouse today. Automatic window open. So I took my coffee and stayed out there, inspecting every little plantlet and pretending to be busy.

[zazen999]

It was the seeing greenery bit that confused me. I thought we had lapsed back into the 'sets in modules' thread as the roots develop an extensive system well before the greenery appears!
I usually have heat on in my greenhouse at this time of year but can't afford it this year. My onions have germinated and will soon be ready for transplanting. I am worried about putting them in a cold greenhouse though as other stuff I have in modules has been frozen solid a couple of times this year already.

Polystyrene boxes? Fleece? Inside a separate plastic container? Mine rarely freezes but it is sheltered.

[binley100]

Jake was doing his impression of an auto door opener today .......he opened it I shut it , he opened it , I shut it and so on .

[Snadger]

I had the 'bright idea of using an old fish tank i have lying around with a white light in the cover.
Set it up in the back bedroom but couldn't find the plug. When i looked under the cover the light, socket and plug are missing!
I think i took it out to substitute it for a stand alone heat lamp when I used it as a chook brooder.
I'll have it somewhere.............. safely stored away!

Auld age is a terrible thing..................

[Kaiya]

I successfully germinated some cucumber seeds in a fish tank once. Totally unintentional - I'd given the fish some sliced cucumber as a treat. Took ages to rid the tank of baby plants!

[bazzaboy]

I usually have heat on in my greenhouse at this time of year but can't afford it this year. My onions have germinated and will soon be ready for transplanting. I am worried about putting them in a cold greenhouse though as other stuff I have in modules has been frozen solid a couple of times this year already.

Polystyrene boxes? Fleece? Inside a separate plastic container? Mine rarely freezes but it is sheltered.

I thought you had a spare-wood burner arrangement, Snadger, that didn't cost anything? But either way it's a problem.... I appreciate it's colder in Newcastle than North Notts but I find the "heat sink" idea does work sufficiently well (perhaps combined with ZZ's suggestions) to keep stuff in a "cold greenhouse" from freezing solid. Anything that holds daytime temperatures into the night (which you can enhance with various gadgets and unlikely creative experiments, e.g. I use beer cans painted black) can make a critical difference. They warm up quickly but they don't hold the heat, that's the job of the "heat sink".... best at that I guess would be the bricks from an old heat storage unit (I've never managed to acquire any) but a combination of ordinary house bricks and a water butt (with water) seems to fit the bill.

See Free Greenhouse Heating - Greenhouse

My (empty) beer cans are a free version of his "solar panel". And they do have to be empty to warm the air quickly so you have to drink the beer!

[Snadger]

I thought you had a spare-wood burner arrangement, Snadger, that didn't cost anything? But either way it's a problem.... I appreciate it's colder in Newcastle than North Notts but I find the "heat sink" idea does work sufficiently well (perhaps combined with ZZ's suggestions) to keep stuff in a "cold greenhouse" from freezing solid. Anything that holds daytime temperatures into the night (which you can enhance with various gadgets and unlikely creative experiments, e.g. I use beer cans painted black) can make a critical difference. They warm up quickly but they don't hold the heat, that's the job of the "heat sink".... best at that I guess would be the bricks from an old heat storage unit (I've never managed to acquire any) but a combination of ordinary house bricks and a water butt (with water) seems to fit the bill.

See Free Greenhouse Heating - Greenhouse

My (empty) beer cans are a free version of his "solar panel". And they do have to be empty to warm the air quickly so you have to drink the beer!

I HAVE a woodburner in the greenhouse but only light it when I am in the greenhouse to keep me warm!
It will keep a bit of frost off early evening but by dawn it will be out and the frost will take over.
I've recently been transporting woodchipping to the alottemnt for my paths. The centre of the pile I'm taking the chippings from is quite hot as there is a proportion of conifer waste which is composting well.
I might try an experiment of taking the chippings from the centre, sealing the plastic bag its in and lining half a dozen bags along the inside of the greenhouse with a board on top and my onion seedlings on this.
Hopefully this will guard them from the shock of being taken from a warm house windowsill to a cold greemhouse!

[kfan]

I've sown some onion seeds the 14th of Jan in modules in an unheated propagator and left them in my (unheated) porch, should I give up on them and sow again when temp picks up or should I wait to see if they will still germinate? Or move them somewhere warmer?