Growing onions from sets or seed?

[digitS']

There are already little onion plants growing in the greenhouse. Direct-seeding in the garden will take place in several weeks. One thing - I want to kill as many weeds on that onion bed as possible. Really, it is easier to set out transplants or onion sets than to seed early and then try, try, try to get the weeds out of a garden bed without uprooting tiny, tiny, tiny onion seedlings.

So, you see, I will be planting into the garden my seedlings along with onion sets and sowing seed late. Along with my seedlings of various types will go some purchased Texas seedlings. I know . . . I'm cheating .

My sweet onion seedlings won't have the benefit of having been started in 2008. I used to do that, planting seed for Walla Walla Sweets at the end of August and then wintering-over the plants. Two times out of 3 - they would just bolt to seed in the Spring.

Like quite a few plants, onions respond to real cold weather by bolting as soon as it warms up . . . no nice sweet onions, just a flower . Cold temperatures as the plants are trying to grow results in this response.

Early, early plantings or over-wintering sometimes just doesn't work.

I'm a little late in ordering but my order for Texas Walla Walla's just went out. I got their onion plants so early the last few years that the plants had to stay a long time in the fridge before planting out. Heck, I woke up to a half-inch of snow Sunday and it's 34F with wind gusts of 35mph this morning .

Ahh onions! At least, planting the sets is foreseeable .

Steve

 

[seedcorn]

I've tried sets in past w/no luck. Now I plant seedlings and am having great luck.

With onion or garlic, when the flower staff comes, break it off or it'll go to seed and no bulb.

 

[Rosalind]

Our growing season is absurdly short for onions. If it rains a lot, as it did last year, I can't even get sets to grow to an edible size, there's just not enough heat. Although part of my garden gets part-shade, so that's sorta my fault. It's still absurdly short for onions, melons and squash. I tried onion seeds once, never again.

Last year I planted a bunch of sets and mulched the heck out of them, then let them overwinter. Raked some mulch off a couple weeks ago, and about half of them survived and might even grow reasonably strong.

This year I started leeks indoors in February, and they're going in the sunniest spots, companion planted with beans. They'll probably also overwinter, but at least leeks are good for that.

 

[Greenthumb18]

Onion sets are quicker to harvest, i believe these sets are onions that the grower grew last year from seed then harvest the "set". I hope that these sets will grow to the size as promised advertised in the onion sets bag. Maybe some fertilzer or good organic soil for reasonable eating size.

 

[momofdrew]

Our growing season is absurdly short for onions. If it rains a lot, as it did last year, I can't even get sets to grow to an edible size, there's just not enough heat. Although part of my garden gets part-shade, so that's sorta my fault. It's still absurdly short for onions, melons and squash. I tried onion seeds once, never again.

Last year I planted a bunch of sets and mulched the heck out of them, then let them overwinter. Raked some mulch off a couple weeks ago, and about half of them survived and might even grow reasonably strong.

This year I started leeks indoors in February, and they're going in the sunniest spots, companion planted with beans. They'll probably also overwinter, but at least leeks are good for that.

Have you ever tried floating row covers to extend your growing season...being north of you I have had to try all the little tricks of extending season...black mulch early to warm the soil row covers to keep them warm before last frost and after first frost and wall's of water for tomatoes peppers eggplant and melons are amazing

 

[Liberty7]

I'm able to buy a bag/quart of onion sets in either white, yellow, or red, at a local Minneapolis/burb hardware store, every year for only $0.99 which is CHEAPER than a packet of seeds and is less trouble and hassle than dealing with seeds. And, they grow BEAUTIFULLY.

 

[Rosalind]

Have you ever tried floating row covers to extend your growing season...being north of you I have had to try all the little tricks of extending season...black mulch early to warm the soil row covers to keep them warm before last frost and after first frost and wall's of water for tomatoes peppers eggplant and melons are amazing

I asked a friend who grew lots of cukes, and she said around here you have to start things indoors very early, set them out with cloches (she uses half milk jugs), and then take the milk jugs off in May. I've been collecting plastic apple cider jugs all winter, so we'll see...