After germination allow the seedlings to get to about 10cm tall and then thin to the required spacing. Sow thinly in rows about 20cm apart covering with 1cm of soil. Cloching for a couple of weeks prior to sowing until the onions are established can make all the difference but do not allow the temperature to rise above 15 deg C as the onions will get confused about what time of year it is and bolt later. The onion prefers a temperature of around 10 to 15 deg C which can be difficult to achieve outdoors early in the year. After mid-April you are better growing from sets than seed. If you can provide the right conditions, February is even better. Onions like a good long period between sowing and the summer solstice so ideally sow as early as possible in March. If the pH is just a little low, rather than add lime (preferably dolomite lime with it’s magnesium) consider adding calcified seaweed at between 100 gr and 150 gr per square metre which will raise the pH (reduce acidity) and add micro nutrients at the same time. They also like a fairly firm soil so treading down freshly cultivated soil is beneficial. The onion doesn’t require a great depth of soil but a fine tilth is essential. Onions are fairly tolerant and will grow acceptably in a soil with a pH ranging from 5.5 to 7.5 but prefer a pH (acidity level of the soil) near neutral. The organic fertilizers release more slowly and evenly than chemical fertilizers except formulated slow-release fertilisers. I use fish, blood and bone with a small amount of pelleted chicken manure to add a little extra nitrogen. I generally prefer a good flavour to large size with onions. High potash levels reduce the sulphur uptake so if you use low potash fertilizer you will get smaller but tastier onions eventually. The strong flavour of onions is caused by the sulphur content. This can be achieved by adding a balanced chemical fertiliser, especially for onions like Chempak onion fertiliser or by a general organic fertiliser like fish, blood & bone with added wood ash. A small amount of extra Magnesium can be useful. They like a high level of potash, which is found in wood ash along with moderate levels of nitrogen and phosphate. Regardless, the onions should be rotated around the plot to avoid the build up of disease and pest problems. I just used road salt that I had in store after winter. I used to be dismissive of this idea until I tried it and had a really excellent crop. Suggesting adding soot to darken the soil so it absorbs more sunlight and warms up faster, will probably end me up in deep trouble nowadays as soot was known to be cancer causing since the 1700s (Look up ‘chimney sweeps disease’ for more info)Īnother favourite was the adding of a couple of ounces of salt per square yard. They would often formulate recipes for the soil including the addition of soot to the soil. In days past the old gardening books laid great importance on the onion bed and would grow in the same place year to year. If the plants haven’t become well established by the solstice you’ll never get a decent sized bulb. Once the summer solstice is past and the days become shorter, the onion starts to put all its energy into bulbing up. The onion is one of those plants whose growth is guided by day length. Sets have a head start on seeds, they’re partially grown already, so if you’re late sowing seeds, after mid-April, you’re probably going to be best off planting sets. Onions grown from sets are more prone to bolting and they don’t seem to store as well although that might be just due to the varieties available as sets.Seed is far cheaper than sets, so far more onions for your money, especially when buying mail order as sets weigh a lot more than seed.The choice of varieties available as seed is far greater than sets so you can grow the perfect varieties for your taste and climate.Growing onions from seed is a little more difficult than growing onions from sets, especially for the new vegetable grower, but seed does provide some compelling advantages over sets.
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