Kitchen Garden Forum

I'm waiting for the lorry load of sand and deckchairs to turn up.

Book your tickets for Punch & Judy now.

Onions !!! that's the way to do it.

Westi, I'm trying Golden Bear this year, bought the seeds from Premier Seeds Direct on eBay. Chiltern's describe it:

Highly tolerant to downy mildew and resistant to white rot, this is an extra early maturing, high yielding Onion. It produces impressive, 300g. globe shaped bulbs on vigorous plants.

Simple question requiring simple answers for now please. Subject may get expanded upon


Who uses seeds and DOES NOT grow their onions from sets

I have tried seeds for local show purposes only, use sets for home consumption

I normally grow from sets but I found a packet of seeds in the seed box, I sowed them last November and planted out in February they seem to be doing well a lot bigger than the sets I've put in , I will probably do the same in November

I almost invariably grow from seed only resorting to sets if something goes wrong.
My method is derived from Geoff Hamilton's block growing system, I used to use it but compost that made stable blocks seemed to disappear. Now I sow about 6 seeds in a 7cm square flimsy pot, the sort 15 of which fit in a standard seed tray, in gentle heat around 20th February. After growing on, mainly in a cold greenhouse, they are planted out in clumps as they have grown in the pots on one foot centres about 10th April.

I'm a sets grower! I've loads of onion seed I would love to try but too disorganised & run out of room as it is! When I have more hours in the day or room in the greenhouse or become organised (the last unlikely) I will try to grow from seed! I am quite happy about my sets though & have a wee card that says 1st on the shed wall!

Only tried once growing from seed. They dampened off and died so moved to sets thereafter because I don,t have a great deal of indoor space to accommodate them in the early stages. Having said that, my last two years of growing from sets have been disappointing so am now reviewing where I go with onions going forward. I would love to grow what I always used to call the large mild flavoured Spanish onions but what variety are they?
And do you have to grow them from seed? I don't t think I,ve never seen sets of them, (not advertised under that nomenclature anyway)

I used to buy the delicious Sweet Sandwich onion seeds from Marshalls. They were a good size but didn't keep as well as some. I've been too lazy to bother in recent years but thinking about it they are very easy and tend not to run to seed as much as sets.

I used to grow onions from seed always sown on Boxing Day morning which was really a way of recovering front the previous days excesses. Ailsa Craig and Bedford Champion were the onions in vogue in those days so it shows how long since I have sown an onion for seed. Ailsa Craig were the ones my wife used to like but I laid great store in the Bedford Champion because they store for a really long period of time.

Primrose if the Spanish onions you are talking about are the large white ones usually sold in packs of three in the supermarkets over there I will pick you a packet up on my next visit but I don't know when that will be probably september

It probably is. I used to have a rather quirky uncle who used to make himself Spanish onion sandwiches. He would carve off thick slices of onion and load them up between two slices of bread. We kids always used to avoid sitting next to him at family meals but actuall I recall them as being a mild sweet onion if it,s the same variety as I'm thinking of.

It probably is they are very mild go great with cheddar cheese

Hi,

I grow shallots and spring onions but don't bother with onions anymore. We cook with onions a lot so can't grow enough in the space we currently have to be self sufficient. I will one day but only varieties whch differ massively from the shops.

When I have, always from sets. Never overly impressed with the outcome for the price. Tried shallots from seed but didn't have great results.

Pawty

I used to grow Robinsons Mammoth and got onions in excess of 5 pounds in weight, I remember she said "what am I supposed to do with that", when I proudly plonked one on the kitchen table(they are a tad useless unless you have a BIG family to feed lol.
Growing Dobbies F1 Red Pearl from seed this year.

Oh I would love to be able to grow onions that size. I,m thinking back to stories my mother told me about the wartime shortage of onions. That would,probably have fed a family of four for a fortnight! I really must get some seeds for this autumn and give it a go but I suspect my designated growing area will need some real bulking up with a generous supply of manure first.