Onions

I have grown onions from sets for a couple of year, in raised beds 4ft square, but cannot get them to fill out.
Please can anybody tell me what I need to do to get a reasonable size crop?

 

Hi Pauline.
Do you feed them?
I used Growmore in mid summer as a top dressing.
The soil needs to be well manured and freely draining but retaining enough moisture in dry weather. Prepare another plot because you will need to rotate your crops to avoid disease.
In a general season don't over water or the bulbs will split and rot,but in dry conditions water well.
Good luck.

 

Pauline, I used to grow from seed and from sets, I only grow shallots these days, but the principle is the same. Get them in the ground as soon as possible in March, they need to make a lot of top growth early on, in general the bigger the leaves the bigger the bulbs. So a nitrogen rich feed early, up to the longest day, then a bit of potash to ripen them off later on.

 

One way of getting big onions from sets is to buy the japanese type, these go on sale usually around late august...you can plant them out in the autumn and they overwinter and produce nice big onions the following summer

 

Dear Paladin
Maybe I have not fed them enough...will add some more next time. Do you think seeds or sets are better, and what timr of the year does each need to be started?

 

Pauline,I have never raised from seed so can't help. Pete and Steve have covered the question of planting sets and I'm sure will gladly help with any others you may ask,as we all will if poss'

 

We have always planted the sets in plant pots first rather than in the soil, that way you are planting out something with a good root system rather than just the basic bulb. Make sure you do not damage the roots when planting out. When planting sets you should take care not to damage the base of the bulb either.
We have never managed to get onion seeds to germinate at all so always used sets.
Will not be growing them again though at all. We have got White rot in the soil, probably from sets. No cure. Do not grow onions for 30 years!

 

Pauline, seed grown onions need really to be started early in the greenhouse, I used to sow in January, prick out into cells for planting out in late march - april.
Thats where sets make life easier, you just plant them in april and away they go. As Steve mentioned there are particular types of set for autumn planting, its too late now this year though.
So sets are easier and less trouble, seed needs a bit more care and attention early on. Both methods should give a good crop.

 

Personally I find small onions keep better

I do an allotment with Bruv in law...he likes to grow super duper nearly football size kelsae onions from seed sown on boxing day...I grow tennis ball size and smaller from sets

His large onions seem to be softer and deteriorate almost immediately while my rock hard onions have kept for almost a year

Which goes to show..as I am often told...size doesn't matter :D

 

I've just got a big car. no onions.

 

I agree Steve, I used to grow Kelsae aswell but they are not good storers as you say, and what do you do with them. They're nice and juicy, but you cant eat a whole one.

 

Pauline,
Have you prepared a traditonal onion bed? I have grown several red varieties well from seed - setting it in the greenhouse in Jan/Feb and transplanting out in April or so but into a soil which has been firmed by light treading. In other words prepare the bed and then walk over it lightly until the top is firm. Keep steadily watering if dry; I've found that, like tomatoes, the bulbs will split if the ground is left dry and then overwatered. Some people say never water unless the plants would die; this encourages great root growth as they search for water but I prefer to keep them moist at all times.

 

when you grow onions let them grow until they start to turn slighly brown and the filage starts to die a little,
then bend over the foilage so that the sunlight can get to the bulbs, this will help them to swell.
Aaron.

 

Soil well manured from a previous crop will help. I have a farmer friend an he and his wife bring us a load of 'muck' [farmyard manure] I leave it covered for 1 year or so before using. It seems to put the soil right and you don't need a lot of bonemeal or simmilar.[organic]