Kitchen Garden Forum

In response to Johnboy's query, this is how I make my own onion sets. It started a couple of years ago when I had sown a 1/2tray of onion seed with a view to planting them out when the time came. I planted normal bought setts and never got round to planting my seedlings but I kept on watering them in the tray and when the time came to pull up the sets I had planted,I looked at the little onions in the tray and thought how much they looked like sets,so i dried them off and put them away for the winter. Last year on checking them, a lot had shrivelled up and I had to discard 60% but I planted what was left and they came up OK. At the same time I planted up a 40cell tray with bedford giant and looked after them a bit better than the first lot so this year I've got almost a full trays worth of Bedford setts waiting to go in.
Ilike to experiment a little bit.
I sowed Asparagus seed Conover collosul! last year and have made a bed in the garden but have planted 8 in my polytunnel these have grown well ,big ferns on them and one or two very thin long spears which I just had to taste,if thats the taste of things to come I might just convert my tunnel to asparagus only. Anyway I earthed them up January because of signs of growth and now I've got 2 cracking fat spears coming up and I'm told not to pick them for 2 years, is that cruel or what.Probably the most notherly asparagus in the world, unless you know different.

I've been looking for an article I read on onion sets but can't find it. From what I remember it said to sow seed either late april or early june fairly thickly, then by harvest time they have grown to the size of purchased sets. I might get around to trying it this year.
Pete

Thank you Arthur. I too will have a look at this
as I love experimenting and have masses of Onion seed to play with.
I have often wondered if the tiddlers you get at the end of the season would grow again next year but never managed to replant any to find out.
Thanks once again.

Hi all - I found this method in John Yeomans Lazy Kitchen Gardener book and it sounds very like what Arthur tried. I was going to have a go with my spare seed.

This is what Mr Yeoman recommends. Sow thickly in a deep tray or seed bed and don't thin. Ease the plants gently half out in autumn leaving roots still in the compost or soil. After a week trim the roots and dry the sets for planting next year.

Sue