Kitchen Garden Forum

my onion seedlings are at the crook stage will it be OK to put them in a cool window it in a shed window open to the sun or will they need to be somewhere warmer
regards nemo

Yes, it should be fine but give them as much light as possible.

I've only ever grown onions from sets. Do you really get onions of a decent size if you grow them from seed? It seems they start off with a very serious soze disadvantage from the sets and a relatively short growing season in which to make up the difference?

Dear Primrose, all the giant Onions you see and read about are grown from seed.
They soon catch up, and then over take Onion sets.

Primrose, I grow our onions from seeds deliberately so that I don't get them too large! I sow about 8 or 10 seeds in each cell of rootrainers and then plant them out in clumps, as sown. The onions soon push each other apart and you end up with clumps of onions of different sizes, from large ones for stews, casseroles etc and some tiny ones, enough to make, say, bread sauce. In autumn, I always sort them out roughly in size order so that I can grab the appropriate sized onion for each cooking job.

Besides that, having grown onions from sets in the past, I think seed-sown ones keep better. But that might just be because of the different varieties.

onions from seed is easy once you get going
i get my onion seed from Russia they are an old variety the onions can grow to 3 kg

I don't use sets at all any more, I found they bolted too easily, despite being "heat treated to prevent bolting".

I grow from seed and last year I had the biggest onions (Ailsa Craig) I have ever grown.

Only two onions went to seed and I'm still using them as they've kept beautifully.I have noticed that the smaller onions keep much better, the large ones needed using well before Christmas.

the big ones are great for making chutney that is put into sterilized jars.i also use the big onions to make tomato sauces that i freeze in batches.when we need a batch of sauce we just put the frozen sauce into a pot then put it on the range to defrost and in about 30 minutes we have a ready made sauce much better and healthier than dolmio ..they are an heirloom variety i never saved seed from onions yet this is my first year with the Russian seed .if i let a onion grow until full size then pull it up for a week or so then replant it this should fool the onion into thinking that it is dieing and it will produce seed quickly otherwise it will take about 18 to 24 months to produce seed naturaly.what method do you use .will my method work to get successful seed please let me know what you think
regards nemo

Chantal wrote:I don't use sets at all any more, I found they bolted too easily, despite being "heat treated to prevent bolting".

Would you recommend a similar approach for shallots (or isn't there as good a choice of seeds for them)?

We discussed this inconclusively a while back - I am growing Prisma and Picador from seed and no sets this year. Just started germinating today.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6380

I've never tried shallots from seed and as I understand it, they're best grown from bulbs.

I grew Piglet's banana shallots two years ago, put out the survivors last year and harvested the seed I have yet to use this year.

Nothing produced clumps either year.
Interesting mix of sizes and shapes, best was close to a 1/2" diameter 6" leek with onion leaves.
Second year just went to seed as hoped for.

I grew shallots from seed last year with excellent results, better than those that I grew from seed.
If starting from Shallot seed, sow 3 or 4 seeds in each module of a tray, from January onwards in gentle heat. Move to a cool greenhouse or cold frame once germinated, and grow on till April. Plant out each module at 15 cm apart with the rows at 30 cm apart. No need to separate the seedlings as they will just push each other apart as they grow.

The advantage of growing Shallots from seed is that they will not form flower buds and you cannot bring in any diseases into your plot.

However, the Shallots will not be ready to harvest until August or even September. Again lift the Shallots and place them in a sunny, dry spot such as in a cold frame for several weeks, to completely dry off.

Suggested varieties of Shallot Seed.

Ambition F1.



So called “Banana Shallots” or “echalions”, are best grown from seed each year. You get much bigger shallots and they do not go to seed.

Thanks Realfood, I may well give this a go next year. I'd always rather grown from seed where I can.

Just thought I'd mention that the beautiful large Ailsa Craig onions I grew from seed are still in good condition(although there aren't many left now).

I've been on holiday, so my seed sowing is rather late this year, but I'm getting some in this week anyway.

I've also got a couple of pots of leeks that I've grown from the "grass" the little green leeks that grow from the seed heads of last year's leeks. I've not tried it before, but they look very well considering they've been under snow for three weeks.