Cracking onions

Hi,

I'm not growing cracking onions I'm trying to crack growing them. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. The first year I planted onions (I've only ever used sets) they were fine they grew into well - onions. Since then I've plant them and they just sit there not growing very much at all then they want to go straight to flower. I've tried watering in dry period and not watering in dry periods, compost before planting and no compost before planting. I know not to use manure and I don't plant them too deep and I'm pretty good at keeping them weed free.

I can't really say I have problems with other veggie just the onions. I'm not looking to grow prize veg just edible onions. Currently, I have three different varieties in the ground and they all look pathetic. Onions are the one thing we couldn't grow enough so I'd really like to understand how to grow them successfully.

Jen

 

One of my snowballs bolted as well. I treated it the same as the rest but that one just wanted to throw flowers. No more are doing this so far, gladly, although I must admit that the stuttgarter and setton are a lot younger. Frankly I have no clue, though.

 

No I'm stumped just went out and had another look at them I doubt if some of them have more than doubled in size from when I planted them at the beginning of April. I've got in Stuttgarter, Red Baron and a white one. We had a hot spring this year but last year we had a cold one and I still got no onions worth picking!

 

I never find that sets do brilliantly - I wonder if autumn sown seed would do better?

 

I grow from sets and seed, sometimes have a few of the sets bolt. Did you have a frost after you planted them out?

Firming the soil after you've raked it helps.

Oh, welcome to Gardeners Corner btw

 

Thanks for the welcome. Autumn sown in trays then planted out before winter?
I'm not sure if we've had a frost since planting - would that be better or worse for them? It has been a hot dry spring and now we're having a cold damp patch. My soil is pretty poor but I've just lifted a good potato and garlic crop - which makes the onions even more of a sore point! They are by far the saddest things in the garden.

 

Never got on with Autumn sown ones myself. I was thinking that something might have made them think they'd gone thru Winter, being biennials they set seed in the second year. Might have been frosted before you got them, by being in the back of a lorry overnight or something.

I had a late start this year & bought a tray of onions from the nursery, they've been the same, might just as well eaten them as spring onions when I got them

Planted some more from seed after them, they're doing better than the bought ones.

 

Penny's dropping - so the best approach might be start seeds indoors early spring then plant out after all danger of frost has past. I might try an autumn sowing as well - for the cost of a packet seeds it's worth a punt and if they make it through and don't grow fat at least I'll have spring onions.

 

If sowing onions for kitchen use I would sow in late Jan or Feb, when you have a strong growth plant into seed trays,harden of in late March,and plant out in April.But myself I like to grow sets which I plant out in April and have never had problems this way.I prepare my onion bed and dress with chicken pellet manure mid March.One little tip that was given to me when I was a young lad was to plant one row onions then one row carrots until you had what rows you wanted,this was to help keep carrot fly at bay as the fly do not like the smell of the onion. I hope this is of help to you.
P.S welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks for all the advice and the warm welcome. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

I've always found they grow better from seed. I generally start my seed off in Feb. By all means have a go at sowing in the autumn, but my guess is they may well bolt. Don't be afraid to add plenty of well-rotted manure to the onion bed in the autumn (assuming you go for a spring sowing), they love it

 

I'm still using replanted bolted onions from last year in my sandwiches Just pick a leaf off every morning