Onion Question

[Mumbles]

Hi all
This is probably a very stupid question but can't find the answer on here and when I googled it all sorts of junk came up!

Planting onions. I'm assuming one seed = 1 onion. Is it the same with sets?

Thanks all


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[andy_j]

yes, totally correct. Sets are just a baby, disease treated onion which grows into a normal onion. Seed is the same, eventually the seed germinates and looks like a bit of grass.....that then develops a small bulb and the whole process starts

[Hazel at the Hill]

Not a daft question at all, Mumbles - you can either sow onion seeds or onion sets. 1 seed will grow to be 1 onion, and 1 set will grow to be 1 onion.

[Mumbles]

So a onion from a set is just a baby onion then? That's great thanks for your help guys


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[WendyC]

However one shallot set grows into many shallots!

[andy_j]

Mumbles....the only "stupid question" is the one you don't ask. Keep asking

[Rosee]

However one shallot set grows into many shallots!

What happens with the shallots Wendy? Do they split?


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[Aberdeenplotter]

Like garlic, shallots are formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. The skin colour of shallots can vary from golden brown to gray to rose red, and their off-white flesh is usually tinged with green or magenta.
Shallots are extensively cultivated for culinary uses, propagated by offsets. In some regions ("long-season areas"), the offsets are usually planted in autumn (September or October in the Northern Hemisphere).[6] In some other regions, the suggested planting time for the principal crop is early spring (typically in February or the beginning of March in the Northern Hemisphere).[7]
In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and the soil surrounding the bulbs is often drawn away when the roots have taken hold. They come to maturity in summer (about July or August in the Northern Hemisphere), although fresh shallots can now be found year-round in supermarkets. Shallots should not be planted on ground recently manured.


p.s. thieved that from wikipedia

[Mr Bones]

However one shallot set grows into many shallots!

Same with multiplying onions, except MO's keep on mutliplying over and over. Once established they provide an all year harvest of fairly hot tasting spring onions without the need to keep planting new stock.