Overwintering Onion Setts

It's that time of year to start planting things again. Bought approx. 300 Senshyu onion setts today which cost me five pounds - haven't noticed any in Wilkos yet and saw a whole display stand of spring planting onions in a 99p shop this morning that are still on display and are now crumbling into dust.

 

Hiya Scrunge.

I actually wonder if it's worth overwintering onions? I'm guessing they maybe come 6 weeks or so before spring grown? I know it's nice to have 'stuff in the ground' and all that, but do you think there's really an advantage to planting now?

Cheers...Freddy

 

Besides getting them earlier (or even earlier if planting plenty and using immature ones, but you can also do that with spring sown setts) they will have a great start on those planted in cold, wet, sloppy (if it's nor frozen) clay soil in spring. This year I got a good crop from overwintering setts, but those planted in the spring failed completely, like so much other stuff this year. They also get lifted before summer droughts set in - it's only rained properly here once in over a month.

 

Hiya Scrunge, some good points there.

Probably my main issue with these is that they don't keep very well. I remember trying some a few years back, and they didn't last at all, indeed, I had to throw most of them away. Another issue I have is that space is at a premium for me, so I can't afford any gaps. I found that I lost a few of them, over the course of the winter. Oh, and then there's the bolting.....

I guess compared to some, I'm lucky as my soil is very free draining, and never suffer from waterlogging. Of course, the downside is that in a dry season, I have to water quite a bit.

Thing is, I won't be growing from sets again anyway, as for the most part, they don't match up to seed grown, imo.

Cheers...Freddy