Autumn/overwintering onions

[sandy_v]

What is the best way to grow these. Where do you get sets or do you grow from seed?
I've seen 'Radar' mentioned but haven't seen them for sale. When can you buy suitable sets/seeds.
Thanks
Sandy

[sandersj89]

You can source the sets from most garden centers or on line from seed retailers such as Thompson and Morgan, Tuckers Seeds, etc, etc.

I normally buy in September or October, you wont see any in the shops right now as the set for planting now have been treated differently and are not for over wintering

HTH

Jerry

[Carole B.]

If you want to grow from seed then look for the specific overwintering/Japanese onions,most catalogues have only 1 or 2 varieties and sow in August.I sow mine in a small tray and prick them out into cell trays,grow on outdoors and plant out about the end of September depending on the weather.They seem to overwinter quite well for such frail looking things!
Carole.

[Chantal]

I'm growing from seeds this year (sown last year), purchased from my favourite seed company Seeds of Italy. Go to http://www.seedsofitaly.sagenet.co.uk/onions.htm to have a gander, and there's still time to sow them for this year or buy them to sow for next year.

[Allan]

Senshyu & Sonic for me. Sow late August/September, 6 seeds per pot. Thin to 3 or 4 per pot. grow on in cool sheltered area until the new year then plant out.You get lots of onions of a nice size. I had too many losses from over-winter sets.

[Beryl]

Autumn onion sets are in all the garden centres, large DIY (B & Q, Homebase etc), all the main seed cataloges from about late August/September onwards.
The sooner they are planted the better to give them a head start before the bad weather sets in but really anytime up to the end of October and they should survive.

Harvest from late May through the summer. Senshyu and Radar will store till Christmas but not as long as main crop.

Beryl.[/b]

[Sue]

This is a bit off topic, but has anyone tried overwintering shallots? I got a special deal pack last autumn which had onions, garlic and shallots. They are all coming up well and I was going to treat them all to a sprinkle of high nitrogen fertiliser (pelleted chicken poo) to top up the soil after the winter rains - such as they were. Is there anything else the shallots need?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Sue