Fed up with the birds hooking out and scattering the Onion Sets each year,
SWMBO, 'The Gardener' of the house, has planted the Onion Sets in Plug Size
trays. We don't need a lot, in fact we can't plant a lot as we only have a
small garden.

Anyone else tried this and does it work?

AND, do they come out of the plugs OK?

Mike


--

....................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
....................................

"'Mike'" wrote in message
...
Fed up with the birds hooking out and scattering the Onion Sets each year,
SWMBO, 'The Gardener' of the house, has planted the Onion Sets in Plug
Size trays. We don't need a lot, in fact we can't plant a lot as we only
have a small garden.

Anyone else tried this and does it work?

AND, do they come out of the plugs OK?

Mike


I put 4 sets round the outside edge of a pot about 6" dia, then when I've
got a pot full of roots, and shoots about 6" high, I plant the clump. It
works a treat.

Steve

On 07/04/2011 15:42, shazzbat wrote:

"'Mike'" wrote in message
...
Fed up with the birds hooking out and scattering the Onion Sets each
year, SWMBO, 'The Gardener' of the house, has planted the Onion Sets
in Plug Size trays. We don't need a lot, in fact we can't plant a lot
as we only have a small garden.

Anyone else tried this and does it work?

AND, do they come out of the plugs OK?

Mike


I put 4 sets round the outside edge of a pot about 6" dia, then when
I've got a pot full of roots, and shoots about 6" high, I plant the
clump. It works a treat.

Steve
Planted mine out yesterday after planting them in plugs 5 weeks ago in
the greenhouse, worked well last year so hopeful for this year

Barry

--
Corporal Jones
"Don't panic don't panic"
Life will go on albeit somewhat reduced

'Mike' wrote:
Fed up with the birds hooking out and scattering the Onion Sets each year,
SWMBO, 'The Gardener' of the house, has planted the Onion Sets in Plug Size
trays. We don't need a lot, in fact we can't plant a lot as we only have a
small garden.

Anyone else tried this and does it work?

AND, do they come out of the plugs OK?

Not going to answer the question you asked, but .. I've always planted my
onions a bit deeper than they're meant to go, and have rarely had a problem
with any going missing.

On 07/04/2011 23:21, wrote:
wrote:
Fed up with the birds hooking out and scattering the Onion Sets each year,
SWMBO, 'The Gardener' of the house, has planted the Onion Sets in Plug Size
trays. We don't need a lot, in fact we can't plant a lot as we only have a
small garden.

Anyone else tried this and does it work?

AND, do they come out of the plugs OK?

Not going to answer the question you asked, but .. I've always planted my
onions a bit deeper than they're meant to go, and have rarely had a problem
with any going missing.

Ditto that. Perhaps one in every fifty onions gets relocated by the
birds - and there is no shortage of birds here! Apparently the oldsters
trick is to trim off the top dead bits of onion sets prior to planting
them so the birds aren't tempted to pull them. That is probably less
hassle than setting them in plug trays. Personally I just plant them so
the tip is barely out of the ground. By the time they've rooted and
start to grow the tops of the bulbs soon appear above the surface of the
ground anyway - which I gather is important to help them ripen.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

David in Normandy wrote:
Ditto that. Perhaps one in every fifty onions gets relocated by the
birds - and there is no shortage of birds here! Apparently the oldsters
trick is to trim off the top dead bits of onion sets prior to planting
them so the birds aren't tempted to pull them. That is probably less
hassle than setting them in plug trays. Personally I just plant them so
the tip is barely out of the ground. By the time they've rooted and
start to grow the tops of the bulbs soon appear above the surface of the
ground anyway - which I gather is important to help them ripen.

Actually, maybe my success is due to the fact that I rarely remember to
plant my onion sets until they have a huge chunk of green sticking out of
the top. :-)

On Fri, 8 Apr 2011 Vicky wrote:

Ditto that. Perhaps one in every fifty onions gets relocated by the
birds - and there is no shortage of birds here! Apparently the oldsters
trick is to trim off the top dead bits of onion sets prior to planting
them so the birds aren't tempted to pull them. That is probably less
hassle than setting them in plug trays. Personally I just plant them so
the tip is barely out of the ground. By the time they've rooted and
start to grow the tops of the bulbs soon appear above the surface of the
ground anyway - which I gather is important to help them ripen.

Actually, maybe my success is due to the fact that I rarely remember to
plant my onion sets until they have a huge chunk of green sticking out of
the top. :-)

Here's something to make you laugh.

I bought a string bag of onion sets in France the other week. There must
have been around fifty to a hundred in the bag. I left them overnight on
the floor.

Next morning my wife saw them and thought, "Oh good, David's already
planted some of them," but didn't think to mention it to me. In fact I
didn't get round to planting them the day after that, by which time
there were just *four* (yes four!!) sets left in the bag.

Wretched mice! I looked all around to see if I could find where they'd
stored them but to no avail. Silly me, I knew we'd got mice because last
time they nicked my chocolate from my desk drawer! All of it!

Moral: don't put off until tomorrow what can be done today. Next time,
I'm taking the cats!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK
http://rance.org.uk

wrote in
:

David in Normandy wrote:
Ditto that. Perhaps one in every fifty onions gets relocated by the
birds - and there is no shortage of birds here! Apparently the
oldsters trick is to trim off the top dead bits of onion sets prior
to planting them so the birds aren't tempted to pull them. That is
probably less hassle than setting them in plug trays. Personally I
just plant them so the tip is barely out of the ground. By the time
they've rooted and start to grow the tops of the bulbs soon appear
above the surface of the ground anyway - which I gather is important
to help them ripen.

Actually, maybe my success is due to the fact that I rarely remember
to plant my onion sets until they have a huge chunk of green sticking
out of the top. :-)

Spot on!
I always have left onions and garlic until I can see where I can plant them
after everything else has been planted. Finding a spot in a kitchen garden
is impossible when in the planning stage. A few spots in the asparagus bed?
A small gap after the broad beans have been gobbled up? The allium bed is
where we can find a gap for and that means anywhere there is space for.
This is only my view.

Baz

Baz wrote:
Actually, maybe my success is due to the fact that I rarely remember
to plant my onion sets until they have a huge chunk of green sticking
out of the top. :-)
Spot on!
I always have left onions and garlic until I can see where I can plant them
after everything else has been planted. Finding a spot in a kitchen garden
is impossible when in the planning stage. A few spots in the asparagus bed?
A small gap after the broad beans have been gobbled up? The allium bed is
where we can find a gap for and that means anywhere there is space for.
This is only my view.

Heh, I do that with leeks. I have leeks all over the place atm!
But the onions cover about 1/4 the plot (and potatoes about 1/2 or more!).
I have just put in my 7th row! (First white row)

wrote in
:

I have just put in my 7th row! (First white row)

Onions or potatoes?

Yep. I can see some old forgotten garlic showing now which should have been
dug up. The shoots can liven up shop bought salads at this time of year
when, for us at least, nothing else comes from the garden.

I think that this is the best time of year despite nothing edible.

Baz

On 10/04/2011 15:42, Baz wrote:


Yep. I can see some old forgotten garlic showing now which should have been
dug up. The shoots can liven up shop bought salads at this time of year
when, for us at least, nothing else comes from the garden.

I think that this is the best time of year despite nothing edible.


I don't know about nothing edible... we've got lots of asparagus, spring
greens, lettuce, chives and garden cress. The late planted carrots and
parsnips from last year are just about big enough to eat now and there
are several rows of leeks to eat. Just polished off the last of the
curly kale.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"Janet" wrote in message
...
In article ,
am says...

On 10/04/2011 15:42, Baz wrote:


Yep. I can see some old forgotten garlic showing now which should have
been
dug up. The shoots can liven up shop bought salads at this time of year
when, for us at least, nothing else comes from the garden.

I think that this is the best time of year despite nothing edible.


I don't know about nothing edible... we've got lots of asparagus, spring
greens, lettuce, chives and garden cress. The late planted carrots and
parsnips from last year are just about big enough to eat now and there
are several rows of leeks to eat. Just polished off the last of the
curly kale.

We're still eating delicious new growth on last year's cavolo nero kale;
plus new rhubarb, chives, and last year's parsley re-sprouted.

Janet

We brought home a dozen or so radishes today. French breakfast, sown in the
greenhouse for an early crop. Also some overwintered everlasting onions.

Steve

Baz wrote:
I have just put in my 7th row! (First white row)
Onions or potatoes?

Onions. And one of the rows is garlic actually, I think.
So far put in 5 lots of potato (2 first earlies, 3 2nd earlies - 3 lots of
2nd earlies and 2 maincrop to go ... yes, I know we're late, but ironically
all these bank hoildays have made it harder to get anything done!

I think that this is the best time of year despite nothing edible.

We still have lots of kale (keeps going to seed, but the chickens like that
bit!), the peas are starting, and a few lettuce kept over winter. Not that
I eat lettuce, but the thought is there.

David in Normandy wrote:
I don't know about nothing edible... we've got lots of asparagus, spring
greens, lettuce, chives and garden cress. The late planted carrots and
parsnips from last year are just about big enough to eat now and there
are several rows of leeks to eat. Just polished off the last of the
curly kale.

Oh yeah, just brought in the leeks that were in a spare patch, cos Nick
wanted to rotorvate. So now I have a bag of 20 or so leeks and no idea what
to do with them! I presume I can saute and freeze?