Kitchen Garden Forum

oops yes - your right Allan - thanks for picking that up - SHORTEST DAY -

I always grow Rijnsburger Balstora 5 because they are beautiful keepers, in fact, most years our onions see us through to the new season. I sow 7 - 8 seeds in a rootrainer cell on the windowsill in a very cool, though frostfree, room. They are then moved to the unheated greenhouse but are covered up with fleece or brought into the house on frosty nights until it's mild enough for them to stay there permanently. They are planted out under fleece in about April amd the fleece removed about end of May. The cluster sowing produces lots of onions of different sizes from huge ones (for a family stew!) to tiny ones (for, say, bread sauce for two people).

This year I also planted some sets of the overwintering Radar. They ARE growing but very, very slowly. I assume they will take off in spring.

Mine are sown with some gentle bottom heat ( ) as prescribed.

Kept back a few for disasters.

Tigger, that was just too much detail for me.

I am now stuck with an image of a broody you squatting over your seed trays, rustling your feathers and clucking contentedly.

Bet you thought I'd say something else.

All I can say is that's a perfect image Peter.

Dear God that's an awful lot of seed Tigger!
Hope Lyndon and yourself have a very happy and prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
JB.

JB!

Happy New Year to you too - and all our fellow KG peeps.

Well - the bottom worked! First signs of onions through this morning.

Gosh a bottom with magical powers, it just had to be Tigger's.

got my onion seeds today and planted them ,posted money on 21 dec got them today that has got to be quick even for xmas.
they said average of 100 seeds, got 157 and no i was not sad enought to count them got the boy to do it instead .
www.mammothonion.co.uk
thes onions are ment to grow to 6lb so we will wait and see.

I have sown some pelleted onion seed and it is in a cold frost free place ... ( ie what was a garage but is part of the house and unheated .. with tons of light) but was worried the temperature will be too low ? Looked on the web and found a temperature chart that suggested germination temperatures of 70 - 75 F !! Should I be molly coddling them a bit more ? Never grown onions from seed before - thanks to Johnboy for the chance to try it !!

the onion seed i planted recommended growing temp of 12 deg, the hotter the temp the less chance off them storing well.
the ones i planted are the big onions shown on (grow your own veg) last week and that nursery has an onion bed 140 years old .
mine are planted twenty seeds to a cut off 6 pint milk carton put in side a fish tank out side with a glass cover and they said they would germinate within 14 days and they did and that was in january ( av temp 8-12 deg daytime) total so far 72 plants out of 157 seeds.
if you look on the web site on my other onion post , they give cultivation tips for growing onions and other veg.

thanks I will be patient ... sowed them about 7 days ago .... even though it may be cooler given the recent delightful cold clear weather !!

I reckon to give a bit of heat to germinate them, then grow them cool until planted out. I am doing the same as Monika even to the point of trying Rjinsburger smething this year, my regulars have disappeared from the catalogues except for Red Baron which I always grow.
I looked at my seed packet after sowing a generous batch, There are far more left than I used but it isn't worthwhile trying to find a use for the rest as the cost of the packet was not that much and onion seeds don't store well so I shall keep the surplus until I am sure that resowing this year will not be necessary.
Allan

Yummie, I think the cold spell is coming to an end now, not before time.

I sowed Ailsa craig seed on Jan.6th in 3"pots and kept them in a cold shed covered, was giving up hope as no sign of germanation, so took them into the house, the small bedroom have a small wide window ledge and on Tues 23rd. plenty of green shoots to be seen.
Patience is a virtue,I can never find it when I want it.
Bren.