Onion Growing 2024

We put them in about May but they got a foot tall then never increased in size :( Do slugs go after them? There are millions here though they seem to leave our beets, cucumbers and tomatoes alone. Too poisonous perhaps

 

Perhaps they were too soggy. Thanks for the help.

 

Maybe a picture would help.
Plants saved from last year will just run to seed this year so are not really worth keeping over winter unless growing them specifically for seed

 

Do any of you know the process of onion set production. I presume they are grown from seed in the year prior to sale but when sown, when dried off and which 'dark arts' are used to inhibit (if they do) flowering in the following season ?

 

There is alllium leaf miner in your area (How do I know??) but not experienced hollowing from it.

 

One finds articles and utubes from across the Atlantic where onions are grown from 'starts'.
Is this an adaption to reflect more southerly climate/daylengths or simply a different onion type?
Do these exist in other continents and why not here?
Learning and Resources

 

Strangely enough I've not had much trouble with sets bolting in the last 3 or 4 years, they were at one time always bolting so I went over to seed growing for a good few years before that.
I just wonder if they grow them from seed in mid summer and stop the growth at exactly the right time with them not being big enough to bolt the following year.
I wonder if day length has any bearing and if the seed is sown after the longest day, so the days are getting shorter, that that allows the small bulbs to be lifted and dried off over winter and replanted the next year to carry on growing without the majority running to seed.
There must be an optimum size that the bulbs need to be.

On a similar lines to Japanese over wintering onions but lifted instead of left in the ground.

Those onion "starts" almost sound like pre started sets.

 

Just potted on my Onions from cells into old yoghurt pots, from there they will go to the garden in a month or so depending on the weather.

 

I found those lil critters on some beet seedlings that were stunted yesterday. From this they were onion maggots, perhaps the ones on the beets are a relative or similar maggot. Organic Control of Onion Maggots
Not sure what to do about them, they were in soil id never grown onions in before. It says I can put out yellow sticky traps but that will kill beneficials too :/