Onions

[lulubell]

Ive just got some overwintering onion sets and was wondering shall I do them in modules then plant them out a bit later or shall I put them straight into raised beds?
Thanks xx

[lottie dolly]

you can do either,or follow zazen advice,put them side by side into a seed tray,that way you know where they are whilst the root system develpops,then when you got your space ready,and nice green shoots on the sets,pop in the ground,

[Bigmallly]

Put them straight into your beds with just the tips showing. 2 things to watch for though: a) Birds pull on the tips so you may find a few scattered around the bed & b) As they put out roots, they can push themselves out of the ground so just keep an eye on them for a short while.

[j r hilton]

As Bigmally says. They should get a good start before any bad weather.

[Florence Fennel]

I started mine in modules last year and it worked out well. You can keep a close eye on them and they get a really good root growth going. If I remember rightly, I had to do it that way until I had space to put them in the ground.

[Rhona]

I always put them straight into beds at the end Sept/beginning October. I might try the planting in modules thing this year though. I did have to spend a lot of time pushing them back into the soil as they got going. Might do half and half and see which I'm happiest with.

[VirginVegGrower]

I started mine in modules last year and it worked out well. You can keep a close eye on them and they get a really good root growth going. If I remember rightly, I had to do it that way until I had space to put them in the ground.

I do mine this way too and it worked out just dandy. Must go and get some I suppose.

[lulubell]

Thanks everyone I think I will start them in modules and plant them out once i've emptied the raised bed. Sorry another newbie question would it be ok to plant them in with some garlic? xx

[bazzaboy]

LLB, I always start onion sets off in modules as onions are not very good at looking after themselves so starting them off in a protected environment seems to help them get established without too much hassle (such as birds thinking they're worms...). Up until last year I put them in individual modules (i.e. one set to a compartment) but then last year tried an idea I'd seen (I think elsewhere on this site) which is to plant them in groups of 5 or 6 in one module (see photo). And once they've rooted and begin to sprout you plant them out like that too, as they grow they push one another apart.... simples! They sort it out and it worked really well. Because onion leaves are so naff at suppressing adjacent weeds this technique seemed to work well, weeding was much easier and of course you get a lot more onion in the available space. You obviously wouldn't do that to grow champion sized onions but the results are very adequate (averaging about 200 grams, a few larger a few smaller) so I'm doing it again this year. Hope that might prove useful.

I can't see any big advantage mixing in garlics (are you thinking it might stop pests?) as cropping time might be a bit different, but no harm in them being adjacent. The old system used to be to always use the same bed for onions in order to build up fertility but that is now frowned upon as it also helps to build up the likelihood of white onion rot which is almost impossible to eradicate once established.....

Good luck with them! Onions, my favourite!

[lulubell]

Thanks for that bazzaboy great info, I will give that a go. I was just thinking of using half of the same space for the garlic but I have found somewhere else to put them now so will just use that bed for onions. Sorry another question for you, how much space do you leave between the modules when you put them in the bed? Thanks again. xx

[bazzaboy]

Good morn! On spacing, if you're going to try the "group approach" leave enough space to easily get a hoe between the rows to chop down any weeds without fear of disturbing the onion roots, so say about a foot/30 cms between rows; and then remove any weeds growing very near the onions by hand. Another advantage of the group approach is that you don't get weeds between the grouped onions (there's simply not room for them or if an odd one manages it it'll be spindly and easily removed). If you're growing quite a large patch you do need to leave some room for your own feet or the occasional path so you can get in there and weed (and bearing in mind both onion body and leaves will get much larger).... It is vital to keep the onion bed weeded because onion leaves are so inadequate at suppressing adjacent weeds they can easily be overcome, then they don't get adequate sun, get a bit damp and dank and attacked by insects etc... So sufficient space for you to administer a bit of the necessary TLC!!

[LilithPaige]

onions are not very good at looking after themselves

Haha This really made me giggle, do they order pizza and stay up too late watching scary movies

[VirginVegGrower]

LLB, I always start onion sets off in modules as onions are not very good at looking after themselves so starting them off in a protected environment seems to help them get established without too much hassle (such as birds thinking they're worms...). Up until last year I put them in individual modules (i.e. one set to a compartment) but then last year tried an idea I'd seen (I think elsewhere on this site) which is to plant them in groups of 5 or 6 in one module (see photo). And once they've rooted and begin to sprout you plant them out like that too, as they grow they push one another apart.... simples! They sort it out and it worked really well. Because onion leaves are so naff at suppressing adjacent weeds this technique seemed to work well, weeding was much easier and of course you get a lot more onion in the available space. You obviously wouldn't do that to grow champion sized onions but the results are very adequate (averaging about 200 grams, a few larger a few smaller) so I'm doing it again this year. Hope that might prove useful.

I can't see any big advantage mixing in garlics (are you thinking it might stop pests?) as cropping time might be a bit different, but no harm in them being adjacent. The old system used to be to always use the same bed for onions in order to build up fertility but that is now frowned upon as it also helps to build up the likelihood of white onion rot which is almost impossible to eradicate once established.....

Good luck with them! Onions, my favourite!

What a sweet little picture BzB

[lulubell]

Thanks very much Bazza xx

[chefgage]

Sorry to jump on this thread but, is it ok to overwinter onions sets in large tubs? The tubs I have were used to grow my potatoes in, they are about 18" across and about 2ft tall. I would like to start some onion sets off soon to grow in these pots.