Onions and frost

[Muppet194]

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere. Can anyone in the know confirm whether I'll be ok to plant out my onion sets tomorrow as the forecast for the coming week says rain by day and frost at nights, but nice and sunny tomorrow. I've started them off in modules in the unheated greenhouse but now think I might have pampered them and made them softies? Will they get damaged by rain and frost? The shallots & garlic are already in. Sorry if silly question! Thank you all !

[Alison]

Depends on the type of onions. If they're over wintering ones then they're very hardy it to be honest they should have been planted last year (pots would be OK) but in my opinion it's a bit early for spring ones but it does depend on where you live as mine will be planted in a few weeks.

[Muppet194]

Thank you Alison, they're not overwintering ones. Think I'm a bit eager to get planting. I'll wait a few weeks too!

[Penellype]

The combination of cold and wet isn't great for onions. Mine are in already, but protected by fleece and in well drained soil, and we don't seem to get as much rain here as most of the country.

[Scoot]

I planted a load of Bedfordshire Champion Onion Seed last spring and had loads of onions from them last year. A few of them I left in the ground though as they were still tiny and they have survived the winter. Are they "over wintering" onions because they have survived the winter?

They are still in there now and looks as if they are starting to grow a bit.

[Penellype]

Once they start to grow again the bulb (which is basically leaves that are storing food for next year) will start to go soft and won't be very nice to eat. You will find if you leave them that they form leaves and then a flower. I've not tried leaving them this long, but after that they may form smaller onions around the sides of the bulb, and the main bulb is likely to die off. Onions are best eaten once the main bulb has formed, as its the nice fat bulbs that we are trying to grow.

[Aberdeenplotter]

if they have been pampered indoors, you will have to harden them off before planting out. Otherwise at worst your plants will become stunted or even worse run to seed later. I say even worse because for a while you will think things are going swimmingly but then you will be brought down to earth with a bump and probably find all your onions bolt finding some more gone every day and by then it will be too late to start again.

[Alison]

I planted a load of Bedfordshire Champion Onion Seed last spring and had loads of onions from them last year. A few of them I left in the ground though as they were still tiny and they have survived the winter. Are they "over wintering" onions because they have survived the winter?

They are still in there now and looks as if they are starting to grow a bit.

No, that's different. When the weather warms up they will go to seed very quickly. You may as well pull them up, you'll not get anything from them. It's not worth saving seed from them as you always want to save seed from the good ones.

[Scoot]

No, that's different. When the weather warms up they will go to seed very quickly. You may as well pull them up, you'll not get anything from them. It's not worth saving seed from them as you always want to save seed from the good ones.

I wanna see what the flowers are like, I really wasn't expecting the harvest them.

[Kristen]

I wanna see what the flowers are like

They are pretty (like ornamental Alliums). You could transplant them to your ornamental flower beds (if you have some )