Spring Onions

[George.m]

hello

i planted a few onions for the first time this year because someone bought me some onion sets, however they are a red variety and therefore i've allready lost some to bolting not a disaster though because we've been eating them as spring onions and they are great (big for spring onions too) and i was wondering, rather than mess around with spring onions from seed, how would it turn out if i just planed say 100 onion sets (bought from the pound shop or somewhere similar) at very close spacings, if not touching, surely by june i'd have a fair few pretty large and very tasty spring onions...

and its so much less hassle than seeds.

Does anyone else do this?

(also i've made more space in the garden for proper onions next year)

opinions?

[fishpond]

I have been doing it for years, I also overwinter some.

[George.m]

just like to add, i just bought 80 sets from b&q for 90p, planted them 2" apart in rows 4" apart (roughly), they will probably come too nothing but its fun to experiment, the ground wasnt being used anyway, they have untill august to become edible xD

[solway cropper]

Same as fishpond, I've been growing sets in containers at very close spacing and you get lovely big salad onions. I can't resist those cheap nets of onion sets from the pound shops and they usually all sprout. No idea what a bunch of spring onions costs in the shops but if the sets are only a penny each you can't go wrong.

[Bill HH]

A question about drying onions to store. Why do people dry onions with all the foliage on? why not cut off most of the green straight away? Complete plants take up a lot of room.

[Martin H]

Except for the bolters, I don't lift mine until the foliage has mostly shrivelled and all the nourishment has transferred to the bulb where I want it. If you cut off the green stuff you will have smaller onion bulbs.

[Bill HH]

Yes I understand that but even when the leaves are dying back people hang them up to dry do they not. I just wonder what point there is in drying leaves that you are going to cut off anyway. Why not cut them off at say 4 inches and bin the leaves then just dry the bulbs for storage.

[roitelet]

Yes I understand that but even when the leaves are dying back people hang them up to dry do they not. I just wonder what point there is in drying leaves that you are going to cut off anyway. Why not cut them off at say 4 inches and bin the leaves then just dry the bulbs for storage.

If you are going to string the onions you need the dry leaves to do so.

[Bill HH]

If you are going to string the onions you need the dry leaves to do so.

Sorry to harp on about this but when you string onions you cut off all but about 4 inches and yes you need to dry that out but why the other 2 feet of leaves.

[Penellype]

Possibly because they may still contain some nutrients so make better bulbs?

[Bill HH]

Possibly because they may still contain some nutrients so make better bulbs?

Possibly, but I have a bit of a phobia about doing things just because its always been done. I can understand it with flower bulbs but once pulled up I reckon an onion has just about done it's thing, in fact you can eat them fresh and they taste superb. Any way I am going to shut up as I am coming across as being argumentative. I will do a test on some and see.

[Penellype]

Excellent, let us know what happens