Onion Seeds versus Onion Sets

 

Every year I have bought onion sets and have had a reasonable success rate
but I am considering, for the coming year, growing from seed. Has anyone any
experience of this and can advise me of the advantages and the
disadvantages.- and, perhaps, suggest any particular variety? I have looke4d
at the on-line catalogues but can't really make up my mind which to go for.



My reasons or wanting to change this year is that, the sets always get too
many small onions that never seem to do very well and, though they grow,
they remain fairly small. Also, I have no idea what type of onion they are
(this is because I buy them from my allotment shop and they don't seem
certain as to the type they've bought!!!)

As regards the position of my garden (which may well make a difference as to
what varieties I can grow) I live in Sussex, not far from the coast.

Regards,

John

 


I've tried both bunching onions and florence red from seed.  Fairly
easy but you got to start early.  They're pretty easy to transplant if
you don't mind little tiny plants that's just a stem and roots.  I
transplant them while the seed coat is still attached.

 


Sounds like Catawissa onions, a native American type of walking onion very  
similar to the Old World native Egyptian onion.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
    Cicero

 


Well, native as in "bred in the Americas" (in 1885) not as in "in the
Americas before Europeans arrived".

http://www.garys-genealogy.com/id85.htm
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ALPR6

 

Thanks for your replies! Here, in England, I've never heard of a 'walking'
onion so exactly what does it do - how does it walk???? Could be a bit
unnerving to see a herd (flock? gaggle? pride? school?) of these crossing
the road when you're driving along minding your own business!!! Only
kidding! But it brought so ,many amusing pictures into my mind!!!



We are growing tree-onions, which produces, firstly, a strong stem and at
the top of that a cluster of small bulbs. These appear green initially but
then turn brownish-red. They grow to about the size of a small gooseberry.
The onions also grow stems with proper onion flowers which turn to seed.



But you probably knew all that anyway!!



I will grow my own onions from seed next year where I have a more varieties
to choose from. What started me on this idea was that I ran short of onions
from the set so had to but small onion seedlings, rather as James said, and
I wanted to try it,



My regards to all and thank you again!



John