Onion Sets? Ha!

[digitS']

Well, of course I put out onion sets every spring. They and the shallot sets are the first things in the garden each year. One of these first days, I'll order some Stuttgarter seed, that's a variety used for the purpose. Then, I can grow my own sets !

Growing onions from seed isn't tuff! I'd have to see how growing the little sets would go when I finally get a round tuit. Starting seed in flats in late winter, setting out the plants in the spring and having nice green onions for the 4th of July - that's easy! They were essentially grown without heat since they were started before I turned the furnace on in the greenhouse. I had to pay a little attention to them to keep the soil from freezing but they were out hardening off while we were still having snowstorms.

Those are white sweet onion and they've been coming out of the garden ever since the green onions from sets played out, weeks ago! I've got 3 types of sweet onions: Utah, Walla Walla and Ovation. Here they were in late winter as they were just emerging:

How well I can get the sweet onions thinned will determine how large they will be as they bulb up. That process will be happening soon and I've almost always got them a little too crowded. They do make nice green onions while they are immature. The red ones are a bulbing onion also - Red Beret. There are bunching onions in the garden, too.

I'm not about to rely just on sets. No sir! . . . now, if I can just get those Stuttgarter seeds so that I can grow my own .

Steve

 

[baymule]

Those are some nice looking onions Steve. I planted Stuttgarter onion seeds last fall. They made little green threads and finally got big enough to see. I had to move them this spring and they are making bulbs now. Not big, but making bulbs. I read where Stuttgarter are long day and long day onions don't do well in the south. :/ By the time they should be turning into nice onions, the heat here will tell them to go dormant. But at least I know I can grow onions from seed now. I will do it again in the fall, I can plant mine directly into the ground and they do fine all winter.

 

[digitS']

Stuttgarter may well be what is sold as sets here . . . and, that I buy . . . and set out. It will probably involve a skill set that I don't have to start them from seed ~ I guess ~ about August and store them until they can go back in the garden in the spring. I really should, should, should try it, since I've been talking about it for years!

Finding the sets is easy but finding those Stuttgarter seeds isn't. About the only place I know that has them is Baker Creek and I've never ordered from the outfit.

My rocky darn soil doesn't grow everything well - how about, not much of anything. Onions do okay.

I am thinking that a cold frame would work fine for starting them early. I used to use the south window in my utility room, where I started all of my plants. I could keep it cooler than the rest of the house much of the year but it had good light. The only thing about onions grown this way is that it takes 'em a good long time to get to transplant size. I do have to move the flats around a little to keep them out of harms way - things like freezing potting soil and hail storms, for example.

The bunching onions were started a little late this year. DW isn't too happy with them being as big as leeks late in the season. It seems that the bunching type that is easiest for me to grow - Tokyo White - grows like that. There are others tho' and I've left Tokyo White on the bench this year. Now, I'll see how those non-bulbing onions behave themselves going out a little later than the sweet onions.

Steve

 

[vfem]

Mine need to go in with the garlic in october. I totally forgot when I ordered the garlic I was short. Kicking myself!

 

[digitS']

I can't seem to get away with the more traditional way to grow sweet onions, plant the seed in late August. At least, that's how I understand the Walla Walla's are grown.

It was one of those "try 3 times" things. Twice, the plants bolted to seed in the spring. Or at least, the majority of them did. I guess it might have been just too cold during those winters, here, 200 miles north of Walla Walla, WA, Wah?

I've kind of got to be careful in the greenhouse with cold. Their soil has frozen and I decided that couldn't be a good thing. Now, the flats are pulled off the bench and covered when I think it may freeze that hard in the greenhouse.

Steve