How To Grow The Best Onions From Seed In The UK - You Won't Regret It

Growing onions from seed is probably a lot easier than you think for and also it gives us a few benefits that we don't get when we use sets. The onions are actually a bi-annual and that means that they produce their bulb in the first year and then their second year they produce the seeds. So by using sets they can often think that they're in their second year and run to seed really quickly and then they can also bring issues with disease Onions can be grown at two different times of the year from seeds and we're going to be doing a grow along for both of those periods this year. So the first one that we're going to be looking at is actually from a mid-August to a mid-September sowing so we're going to start this one at the beginning of September. Growing onions at this time of the year isn't something that many people seem to do and actually there is only a few seed providers that provide seeds that are suitable for this time of the year. You can't just use any seeds they need to say that they are suitable for overwintering but what this can do is give us some really large onions if the weather is favourable over winter and also it's going to leave us harvesting them around the same times as if you were going to be sowing them from sets. So I've got two varieties that I'm going to be using for this grow along. The first variety is called Mizona. Now this is a white onion that doesn't actually store as well but it is a seed from Tama Organics. I try to make sure all the seeds are from the same company and then the second seed is actually from a different company and these are the ones that I've grown this year so they're called Winteria. They just have these seeds available now they've just come in so they'll be nice and fresh which is perfect for what we need. These grow to a really quite large size. These are also a storing variety so they will do really well compared to these that will need to be processed quite quickly, eaten quite quickly or popped into the freezer for us as well. Other varieties that you can also use over winter will be Augusta. That's a really good one, it's one I've used for quite a few years actually and then also Senchu Yellow. Both of these two store well and will be absolutely fine to be kept for quite a few months as well. The first company that come up for Senchu Yellow is actually quite expensive. There are plenty of other options of seeds that are much cheaper if you're going for that variety then do have a bit of a shop around. The same company also have a variety called Carmen as an overwintering variety and as far as I'm aware that isn't actually an overwintering type so do be aware if you are going to look at that one. And then the next sowing that we will be looking at as well is the more traditional time that we do see onions sown from seed. So this is going to be traditionally, it's actually done on Boxing Day but right up till March and you can use any variety that does say is suitable for sowing within this time. The varieties that we're going to be using for this particular grow along is a Long Red Florence and then also the Joestar. Both are available from Tama Organics. Don't forget there's a discount code for Tama Organics in the newsletter so if you'd like to sign up for that just comment newsletter and I'll send you all the details over. Onion seed really does need to be fresh so we don't want to be using any seeds that are older than two years. If you do have a back stock that you have just kept and not really want to do with, if they are in date but you've had them more than a year then I definitely wouldn't depend on those. I would buy some fresh seed as well. For this grow along as well as our seeds we're also going to want some trays. We're going to also have a go at seed snails for this one so you want just an old compost bag or something like that and some string and then obviously you're going to want some either seed which is multi-purpose compost or some seed and cutting compost as well. You can also sow these directly into a bed and use it as a seed bed and they will be fine because they're planted out around February usually and then as I said we're going to be looking at harvesting them around June. If you have issues with Allium leafminer then you will possibly want a net to cover your seedlings and then you will definitely want a net for covering them once they are planted out as well. The other issue that we might have once we do plant them out is pigeons or blackbirds so actually a more open net for that will be absolutely fine and that one can be removed if you don't have the issues with the Allium leafminer. Germination temperature for these is around 10 to 30 Celsius so we should be absolutely fine for them to germinate outside either undercover or in one of your beds. They don't like a lot of competition from weeds so we're also going to want to keep them quite well weeded and they are going to want to be reasonably well watered especially at the beginning. They are quite shallow rooted plants. When it comes to preparing the bed if you do no dig like myself then we'll be absolutely fine with just adding a layer of compost or if you're going to add some well-watered manure or something like that and then if you just use amendments then bloodfish and bone or chicken manure pellets will be absolutely fine and once your beds are empty I would add them sooner rather than later just to get them prepared and ready especially if you're using manure. And then we're going to want a sunny well-drained site to plant them out and spacing is around 10 to 15 centimetres. We want to avoid any beds that have had alliums planted in and just taken out of especially so this is going to include onion, garlic, leeks, spring onions and chives and if you like myself do a one-year rotation then it's almost something has been planted in between and the plants that came out were healthy then that should be fine. If you're following a four-year rotation then you want to make sure that they haven't had any in for the three years in between. This is really just going to make sure that we don't get any pests or disease build up within those beds. Onions can be harvested at any point so you can harvest them green at any stage but once they are actually completely ready and the foliage has fallen over then at that point we're going to be looking at curing them to be stored in a cool dry location that is frost free. You are going to want to make sure that you've either got a garage or we keep ours in the kitchen just anywhere that isn't going to get any damage and doesn't get too warm. The only thing you might find if they do get a little bit too warm is they might start shooting a little bit earlier. We will also be looking at seed saving as part of this grow along so once we have cured them and they are starting to sprout then we will be looking at how to do that. If you want to join in with that then make sure that you haven't got an F on variety and the varieties that you are growing are open pollinated. When it comes to is probably the main one that the majority of us are going to have experienced. It's a tiny little fly that is making its way up from south to north. I'm in South Shropshire and actually we've had a terrible issue with them in the past but once you do make sure that you've got completely clean beds i.e. there hasn't been any aliens that have been affected by them in the last year or two and that they are netted then you should have no issues continuing to grow them. But you are going to want to make sure that any nets that you do use are fine and are marketed to make sure that this tiny fly can stay out of them and to have that net on particularly in their most active periods. If you've had some issues with your aliments before and you're not quite sure then the growth is twisted. The fly actually lays sort of higher on the leaf which makes its way down into the bulb and then you'll get little cream initially and then they go to brown little pupae that are in the layers of the skin as you open them and they sort of cave their way through so they stop the onion growing continually very well. So if this is something that you've had an issue with then just make sure that you don't plant into that bed again and that you go for a bed that you know has had no issues with alien leaf minor in the past few years. And then there's white rot that causes yellowing of the leaves and then they'll just sort of collapse and they won't continue to grow. Now these are often some things that can be brought in via sets and then continues to be in the ground so it can be quite an issue. So by growing from seeds we're also hopefully avoiding that issue as well. And then we have downy mildew that can happen in late spring early summer this is going to make the leaves go all brown and just stop the plant growing. It's not something that I've ever found an issue with so hopefully it's not something that you will either. The main thing with them however is that the onions aren't going to store so at that point any that are good still we're going to want to chop up and preserve in the freezer. And then powdery mildew can come in late summer or early autumn this is just going to show as a white powder but luckily this doesn't actually cause anywhere near as many issues as some of the others and you'll usually find that they will store fine going forward. So I do hope that you're going to join in and especially if you haven't ordered your sets yet then giving the seeds a go beforehand is going to be really worthwhile. And if you do have any questions then please do let me know.