Japanese Onion sets

Hi all I was looking forward to planting loads of Japanese onion sets within the next few weeks only to find our allotment site can't get their hands on some it appears there is a huge shortage of them because of the bad weather last year.

Are any of you having the same problem as me? I have set some seed but I wanted to have some sets too just to make sure I have a good crop.Hel.xxx.

 

Hi Helen. I don't know about any shortage, haven't looked into it. What I would say is though, is that for my part I wouldn't want to plant too many 'japs' as apparently they don't store so well. Sure, they come that bit earlier than maincrop onions, but only by a few weeks (which of course is useful). Just my thoughts Cheers...freddy.

 

Lol Freddy been told about the poor storage time and most of the guys down on the plots have told Bob not to plant many although Bob was talking to George (who keeps a huge stunning plot) and George asked Bob how many were we thinking about planting and Bob told him about 2 to 3 hundred and George said that's about right!:D

We use an awful lot of onions in our cooking and when I say a LOT I mean masses of them I'm a cooker rather than a open the box and stick it in the microwave kind of girl.

I'm also well know for eating them raw and as the Japanese onions are so mild they do the job so very well. Yummy, yum.Hel.xxx.

 

Hi again Helen. It's true, you can't have too many onions, I never seem to have enough to last and 'japs' seem to fill the gap quite nicely. Hmm, you got me thinking now, maybe I should try to source some. My problem is that right now I don't have the space to grow as much as I'd like, onions included. My advice (for what it's worth) is to grow enough to last until early winter. One of the benefits of using 'japs' is that it frees up the ground to grow other things, again, useful. Cheers...freddy.

 

I don`t see the point in growing something, that is going to crop maybe 2 or 3 weeks before the summer crop, and which you cannot store. Put the ground to better use. Grow spring greens and purple sprouting. Get a row of garlic in now, and a row of Early Onward peas. If you want onions all year round, then PLANT MORE in the spring. Don`t waste time with Japanese.:thumb:

 

Come on Dai....don't beat around the bush....say what you mean ! :D

 

I agree,I only grew them for show purposes because you got a few weeks more time to dry them off so they were a better colour.

Other than that they're not that early,, and they never really make a decent size, and they definately don't store well,3 months if you're lucky.

Mind you given this year when April and May seem to be the best growing months....who knows..?

 

My onions stored very well last year and only finished them 10 months later but I will put a row of garlic now and put the onions in October as I have been doing.

 

10 months !! Wow !! surely the weren't Japanese ones though ?

Even the suppliers admit they don't store.

I've never known anyone manage to store a Jap onion for more than 3-4 months

 

David I'm sure you have a great, great many years (whoops age pun there :D) of growing veg etc. but when a girl (ok I'm no spring chicken) sets her mind to something nothing changes it.

I have been told from the lovely guys down on the allotments to grow what we like which I think is the best advice and as I have said before I do really like those Jap onions, hopefully the Japs will not run out too long before the 'other' onions are ready.Hel.xxx.

 

I've grown the Jap onions from sets for the last two years, and they have been ready in Early June storing well, for as long as we need them. They last for us until we start using the Feb planted ones, which we start eating in late early August. Since, due to space constraints, we cannot grow enough to last through the year, the Japanese onions fill the gap nicely.

stony

 

Hi !

I only grow about 3 dozen, and they are probibly not worth the bother!
No; they do not store well, but my wife, her off the crying eyes, peels and cuts them up and freezes them for later use!
They are milder tasting than normal ones, I give my neighbour some each season,which he eats raw, then his wife has a good moan at me, never fails.

 

Since your wife stores them and your neighbour eats them, how can you decide that they are not worth the bother:rolleyes:

stony:D

 

Plenty of Jap onion sets on ebay !