Your advice will be gratefully received, I'd like to try a few different varieties this year, red and yellow
Overwintering onions
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
My first Senshyu Yellow overwintering onions from seed sown in August last year have been a great success. For sowing again this August, what overwintering varieties would you grow, and why?
Your advice will be gratefully received, I'd like to try a few different varieties this year, red and yellow
Your advice will be gratefully received, I'd like to try a few different varieties this year, red and yellow
I go along with seed rather than setts for the over-wintering onions. As far as I know it has to be Sonic or Senshyu for over-wintering from seed, I have looked for a red one but found nothing available in seed form.
Allan
Allan
Thank you Allan, Senshyu did so well, I'll be planting it again, and my neighbours rate Sonic too. These are the other overwintering varieties I've found to choose from:
Express Yellow
Hi Keeper F-1
Keepwell F-1
Stuttgart Giant
Toughball F-1
Imai Yellow
Red Onion of Savona (Franchi)
Radar
Electric Red
Too much choice
so your recommendations highly prized 
Express Yellow
Hi Keeper F-1
Keepwell F-1
Stuttgart Giant
Toughball F-1
Imai Yellow
Red Onion of Savona (Franchi)
Radar
Electric Red
Too much choice
so your recommendations highly prized 
Hi Sprout,
Could you please put a catalogue to the varieties that I mention below.
I have grown Stuttgart Giant and Radar as a maincrop Onions but not as a Winter Onion and had no idea that they could be sown in both periods.
Toughball F1,
Electric Red,
Red Onion of Savona (I take Franchi as Seeds of Italy?)
Could you please put a catalogue to the varieties that I mention below.
I have grown Stuttgart Giant and Radar as a maincrop Onions but not as a Winter Onion and had no idea that they could be sown in both periods.
Toughball F1,
Electric Red,
Red Onion of Savona (I take Franchi as Seeds of Italy?)
JB.
Sorry to be thick!
Are we talking about onion seed that you sow as seed in August and then the onions come up when? I didn't know you could grow onions over winter - I might give it a try - do they need polytunnels or cold frames or any other special equipment?
sorry again for asking questions that I'm sure are obvious to the rest of you!
Are we talking about onion seed that you sow as seed in August and then the onions come up when? I didn't know you could grow onions over winter - I might give it a try - do they need polytunnels or cold frames or any other special equipment?
sorry again for asking questions that I'm sure are obvious to the rest of you!
LOL Zena, it was my first try too last year. Sown around mid August (I used home made seed tape with newspaper and glue), lo there were nice fresh onions ready for use from April. They were covered in mesh for the whole winter.
Like you I'm aiming for year round growing/harvests - plenty of rain - that's why I'm looking for recommendations.
Thank you Johnboy:
Toughball F1 - Medwyns, Seeds-by-size
Electric Red - Robinson's
Red Onion of Savona - you were right, Franchi Seeds of Italy
If you've grown S.Giant and Radar, how do you rate them?
Like you I'm aiming for year round growing/harvests - plenty of rain - that's why I'm looking for recommendations.
Thank you Johnboy:
Toughball F1 - Medwyns, Seeds-by-size
Electric Red - Robinson's
Red Onion of Savona - you were right, Franchi Seeds of Italy
If you've grown S.Giant and Radar, how do you rate them?
Hi zena, spacing small seeds evenly in rows can be tricky, preparing your own seed tape makes it easier. You can buy seed tape for most salad veg, carrots etc. from the catalogues, but it's expensive and making your own is easy.
1. Cut newspaper into strips about 1cm wide
2. Make up soluble glue - non-fungicidal wallpaper paste or plain old flour and water
3. Paint generous dots of glue at required spacing
4. Put one or more veg seeds on each dot
5. Let dry (the seeds will stick on), then put them in large bags or jars to transport with their labels.
They will look something like this:
6. Preferably on a rainy day, lay seed tape in a furrow and cover lightly. If no rain, water to dissolve the 'glue'. The newspaper will rot away.
Try seed tape e.g. for spinach, kale and other greens, spacing one seed per inch, and eat the thinnings until the plants are 9" apart.
Making seed tapes can be done when it's too cold/wet to sow, kids/grans can help.
Whoops, should this have been in a new thread? 
1. Cut newspaper into strips about 1cm wide
2. Make up soluble glue - non-fungicidal wallpaper paste or plain old flour and water
3. Paint generous dots of glue at required spacing
4. Put one or more veg seeds on each dot
5. Let dry (the seeds will stick on), then put them in large bags or jars to transport with their labels.
They will look something like this:
6. Preferably on a rainy day, lay seed tape in a furrow and cover lightly. If no rain, water to dissolve the 'glue'. The newspaper will rot away.
Try seed tape e.g. for spinach, kale and other greens, spacing one seed per inch, and eat the thinnings until the plants are 9" apart.
Making seed tapes can be done when it's too cold/wet to sow, kids/grans can help.
Whoops, should this have been in a new thread?
Hi Sprout,
I appreciate what you are endeavouring to do but module trays are surely better than all that sodding about. Forgive me if you do not see it that way.
I can sow 240 seeds in a space of about one tenth of the area in a module tray which is easy to handle, easy to water and easy to transport. So the plants have to be planted out and planting out Onions from the tray literally takes seconds and not minutes.
However each to their own.
I am familiar with Radar but never grown it but with S.Giant I had complaints from the kitchen because it is a large squat onion which my wife found it difficult to process. At the time I couldn't really see the problem and still cannot but I suppose you have to put that down to the vaguaries of the female mind!
I only grew this as a main season onion and have not grown it in any other season.
I grew Senshyu several years ago and it was very good.
I appreciate what you are endeavouring to do but module trays are surely better than all that sodding about. Forgive me if you do not see it that way.
I can sow 240 seeds in a space of about one tenth of the area in a module tray which is easy to handle, easy to water and easy to transport. So the plants have to be planted out and planting out Onions from the tray literally takes seconds and not minutes.
However each to their own.
I am familiar with Radar but never grown it but with S.Giant I had complaints from the kitchen because it is a large squat onion which my wife found it difficult to process. At the time I couldn't really see the problem and still cannot but I suppose you have to put that down to the vaguaries of the female mind!
I only grew this as a main season onion and have not grown it in any other season.
I grew Senshyu several years ago and it was very good.
JB.
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Chantal
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Do these seed tapes keep for a while or do they need using pdq? I appreciate what you're saying about the speed of sowing seeds as opposed to making tapes JB, but this would give me something to do on those cold winter days when I have to stay at home.
Chantal
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I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
Hi Chantal and Sprout,
My thoughts are that the tapes can only be used PDQ as you say because you are introducing moisture to the seed if you use a non-fungal wallpaper paste.
If on the other hand you used something like Prit you may well be able to do them long term.
Having thought about my previous posting and I can now see the merit for a small producer and I must have been having one of my more senior moments because I obviously didn't think it fully through.
I am sorry Sprout but I now see the merit for somebody going down to the allotment, which thankfully I do not have to do, having everything carefully worked out before hand.
To coin Herby's saying "there is no fool like an old fool."
My thoughts are that the tapes can only be used PDQ as you say because you are introducing moisture to the seed if you use a non-fungal wallpaper paste.
If on the other hand you used something like Prit you may well be able to do them long term.
Having thought about my previous posting and I can now see the merit for a small producer and I must have been having one of my more senior moments because I obviously didn't think it fully through.
I am sorry Sprout but I now see the merit for somebody going down to the allotment, which thankfully I do not have to do, having everything carefully worked out before hand.
To coin Herby's saying "there is no fool like an old fool."
JB.
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Geoff
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I've never tried over winter onions. My main crop onions I sow about 6 seeds to a flimsy square pot - the sort you can get 15 of in a standard seed tray - then plant them out as a block about a foot apart. Can you treat winter onions this way?
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Compo
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My winter onions did not do very well this year, poor in comparison to the spring planted ones, can't remember the variety, the shallots are so small the spring ones have over taken them. Although I have noticed that some of the spring planted red baron variety are seeding early before they have really matured, But we have had freaky weather here, extreme heat then lots of rain, so that might explain it. Still I will pull the earlies and dry them for later use.
If I am not on the plot, I am not happy.........