anyone here grow onions from seed?

we normally grow our yellow onions from
sets from the greenhouse, but i've managed
to get some seed heads on an onion sprout
that was left over from last year.

now i have three large flower heads
full of seeds ripening and would enjoy
hearing from people who've done this.

my basic plan is to get the seeds
planted as soon as i can get a spot for
them and then they'll grow through the
fall and come back next year to form the
onion bulb.

if i want more seeds i'll have to leave
an onion from this year alone to flower
again next year.


another type of onion question.

i have picked up some bunching onion seeds
and they say to plant in the spring so i'll do
that. but for flowering and more seed production
could i put some of those out now and get them
going so they will bloom next year or do i need
to wait until spring and they will bloom the
same season like our chives do?

thanks for your replies.


songbird

songbird wrote:

ha, and even more but this is more
experimental in nature.

i have taken the bottoms off of cut
onions (with roots attached in some cases)
and buried them again. i'm hoping the
left over nutrients in the bulb will feed
the roots and (apex i think it is called
but we can call it anything you'd like)
eventually sprout some onions again from
that. keep it moist and get a few clones
from the original onion to grow out next
year.

anyone else tried this?


songbird

songbird wrote:
anyone here grow onions from seed?

we normally grow our yellow onions from
sets from the greenhouse, but i've managed
to get some seed heads on an onion sprout
that was left over from last year.

now i have three large flower heads
full of seeds ripening and would enjoy
hearing from people who've done this.

my basic plan is to get the seeds
planted as soon as i can get a spot for
them and then they'll grow through the
fall and come back next year to form the
onion bulb.

if i want more seeds i'll have to leave
an onion from this year alone to flower
again next year.


another type of onion question.

i have picked up some bunching onion seeds
and they say to plant in the spring so i'll do
that. but for flowering and more seed production
could i put some of those out now and get them
going so they will bloom next year or do i need
to wait until spring and they will bloom the
same season like our chives do?

thanks for your replies.


songbird



If you plant them now, don't pamper them if they come up. You want
the bulbs really small when they go dormant for the winter. Not sure
what the cutoff size is, maybe a centimeter; much bigger than that and
they will bloom next year instead of growing big.

I would wait until just before the grown freezes to plant them where
you want them to sprout in the spring.

(I have some onion seeds drying too. Gonna do the same thing)

-Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
....
If you plant them now, don't pamper them if they come up. You want
the bulbs really small when they go dormant for the winter. Not sure
what the cutoff size is, maybe a centimeter; much bigger than that and
they will bloom next year instead of growing big.

we have about 4 weeks of time before the frosts
will start hitting. i'm thinking of dividing the
seeds in half and plant some now and then the rest
next spring.

i did some research at the library today and
found one book that mentioned growing from seeds
and what you've mentioned about size (when buying
onion sets, not in particular about growing from
seed).


I would wait until just before the grown freezes to plant them where
you want them to sprout in the spring.

(I have some onion seeds drying too. Gonna do the same thing)

we really enjoy having onions out there when we need
them instead of having to run to the store. the trouble
we had this year was the growing medium the onions were
sprouted in had something the raccoons liked so they
were digging them up. the rest of the years we've grown
onions they have been inside the fenced garden so the
raccoons left them alone. by growing from seed in the
spot where they'll be at next year they won't have any
funny medium underneath them to attract raccoons. they'll
smell just like the rest of the millions of chives/alliums
we have around that don't ever get bothered.

at least that's the theory. thanks for answering.


songbird

"songbird" wrote in message
...
zxcvbob wrote:
...
If you plant them now, don't pamper them if they come up. You want
the bulbs really small when they go dormant for the winter. Not sure
what the cutoff size is, maybe a centimeter; much bigger than that and
they will bloom next year instead of growing big.

we have about 4 weeks of time before the frosts
will start hitting. i'm thinking of dividing the
seeds in half and plant some now and then the rest
next spring.

i did some research at the library today and
found one book that mentioned growing from seeds
and what you've mentioned about size (when buying
onion sets, not in particular about growing from
seed).


I would wait until just before the grown freezes to plant them where
you want them to sprout in the spring.

(I have some onion seeds drying too. Gonna do the same thing)

we really enjoy having onions out there when we need
them instead of having to run to the store. the trouble
we had this year was the growing medium the onions were
sprouted in had something the raccoons liked so they
were digging them up. the rest of the years we've grown
onions they have been inside the fenced garden so the
raccoons left them alone. by growing from seed in the
spot where they'll be at next year they won't have any
funny medium underneath them to attract raccoons. they'll
smell just like the rest of the millions of chives/alliums
we have around that don't ever get bothered.

at least that's the theory. thanks for answering.


songbird

If you don't do well with the seeds have a look at www.dixondalefarms.com .
They have varieties suited to particular latitudes. Reasonable prices, free
shipping and super nice folks, I have no connection with them other than
being a satisfied customer for many years. This year the variety "Candy"
gave me almost a bushel to the bunch of the sweetest onions I've ever eaten.
The famous Vidalia isn't even close.
Best of luck with whatever you decide,
Steve

Steve Peek wrote:
....
If you don't do well with the seeds have a look at www.dixondalefarms.com .
They have varieties suited to particular latitudes. Reasonable prices, free
shipping and super nice folks, I have no connection with them other than
being a satisfied customer for many years. This year the variety "Candy"
gave me almost a bushel to the bunch of the sweetest onions I've ever eaten.
The famous Vidalia isn't even close.
Best of luck with whatever you decide,

thanks! i try to support my local greenhouse people
with as much business as i can. i'll pass along the
site to them. perhaps they'll pick up some of the
varieties for their own stock.

we'll see how the rest of it goes. i think i
just finagled a new space for bulb crops next
year. we don't have much light soil space at all
so this is good news. it will make rotating much
easier. one or two new gardens. i was just sitting
here thinking and the lightbulb came on. Ma was
walking by, and i said, "I have an idea." and she
said, "i like it." before i said a thing. then
after i said what i was thinking about this one
garden she says, "I was going to rip all of that
out anyways, i hate it." so there we go. then
she was going to throw another garden right next
to it in the mix. um, oy!


songbird

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

anyone here grow onions from seed?

Yep. It's the only way I can get the variety that I want. I buy them from
these folks: http://sustainableseedco.com/home.php.

seeds aplenty already.


....
my basic plan is to get the seeds
planted as soon as i can get a spot for
them and then they'll grow through the
fall and come back next year to form the
onion bulb.

I think that's the way most folks do it. At least, down here in the sunny
South, that's how they do it. I'll be planting mine in early-mid October,
depending on average temperatures. I start seeds in a container and transplant
into raised beds. Since I've never got a satisfactory answer to "why", I've
determined to prepare a few square feet of a bed and direct-seed a few this fall

i suspect because the idea is to keep the spacing
uniform after the seedling has grown up a bit (and not
all seeds germinate so this way you avoid gaps in the
bed). they don't need as much space to start them
and then you can select the strongest seedling for
replanting and space them out properly to grow.

i'm pretty sure i'll have enough seeds for three
plantings so some will go out immediately as soon
as i can figure out where to put them. others i'll
wait a month, and the rest i'll put out next spring.

the bunching onions i'll plant most of next spring,
but one package of seeds i'll put out soon to get a
flower crop from next year (if they survive the winter).
i always like to see what a plant looks like when it
flowers.


songbird

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

i have taken the bottoms off of cut
onions (with roots attached in some cases)
and buried them again. i'm hoping the
left over nutrients in the bulb will feed
the roots and (apex i think it is called
but we can call it anything you'd like)
eventually sprout some onions again from
that. keep it moist and get a few clones
from the original onion to grow out next
year.

anyone else tried this?

I do it all the time with what's sold as "green" onions at the grocery
store. Just poke'm in arbitrary places around the garden where there's a bare
spot and sunlight. Most do well; some don't; some get eaten by beasts. They're a
long day white variety that doesn't make bulbs down here but they do make tender
shoots for garnishes. I just leave them undisturbed (but am not religious about
it -- if I need the space, up they come) because the blossoms attract a
multitude of insects.

the ones i've stuck in the ground aren't bunching onions,
so i'm not sure if they'll go or not, but i figured it was
worth the grins. i couldn't figure out last fall where this
one onion that grew had come from other than it was left
over bits that had stayed in the ground when it was pulled.
i figured a test of the method was fitting. even if they
do nothing other than put up seed heads next year that would
be fine with me. as you say, they get a lot of activity
from the insects.

right now we have a lot of honey bees around on some
blooming plants. it's the first time this year i've seen
this many at a time. i'm hoping there is a wild colony
someplace around here. i don't know of anyone keeping
them.


songbird

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:34:08 -0400, songbird
wrote:

anyone here grow onions from seed?

we normally grow our yellow onions from
sets from the greenhouse, but i've managed
to get some seed heads on an onion sprout
that was left over from last year.

now i have three large flower heads
full of seeds ripening and would enjoy
hearing from people who've done this.

my basic plan is to get the seeds
planted as soon as i can get a spot for
them and then they'll grow through the
fall and come back next year to form the
onion bulb.

if i want more seeds i'll have to leave
an onion from this year alone to flower
again next year.


another type of onion question.

i have picked up some bunching onion seeds
and they say to plant in the spring so i'll do
that. but for flowering and more seed production
could i put some of those out now and get them
going so they will bloom next year or do i need
to wait until spring and they will bloom the
same season like our chives do?

thanks for your replies.


songbird


I swithched to growing from seed about fifteen years ago. I get much
nicer onions than I did from sets and there's more variety. I buy the
seeds though. Here in Ohio I usually get the "day neutral" types. I
prepare the soil in fall so I can put the seed out in early Spring
when the grounds too wet to work. My soil is too heavy for small seeds
to sprout well so I cover the seed with soil mix.

Bobo wrote:
....
I swithched to growing from seed about fifteen years ago. I get much
nicer onions than I did from sets and there's more variety.

we've always been happy with the onions
we get, we just don't like that the
raccoons are digging them up to get
at the soil mix they are started in.


I buy the
seeds though. Here in Ohio I usually get the "day neutral" types. I
prepare the soil in fall so I can put the seed out in early Spring
when the grounds too wet to work. My soil is too heavy for small seeds
to sprout well so I cover the seed with soil mix.

what types have you grown and are happy with?

our soil is mostly clay here, but i'll have a few
new spots to work with (eventually) that are lighter
soil and they will be much appreciated for shallow
bulb crops.

thanks Bobo,


songbird