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Post by daylilydude on Apr 1, 2017 16:47:21 GMT -5
How do you start onions from seed? I have never done it and know absolutely nothing about it, it just doesn't look all that easy??
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Post by paulf on Apr 1, 2017 18:09:42 GMT -5
Last year we had some free onion seeds so we had a granddaughter plant them when she visited. After a few days the seedlings were up and by late summer there were onions. Not being an onion eater I can't tell you how they tasted, but they did grow and were pretty good sized.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Apr 3, 2017 8:36:16 GMT -5
I think in MS you might need to start your onions from seed in the fall or winter to have seedlings in time for your spring planting.
What time of year do you normally set out onion transplants there?
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Post by daylilydude on Apr 3, 2017 10:37:29 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I usually put out onion transplants out in the fall here... paulf we can't wait to start planting seeds with the grandbaby.
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 13, 2019 23:22:56 GMT -5
I'm in the PNW in zone 8b. First choose which onion seed you can grow best. Long day onions are for the northern most states, short day onions for the southern most and Intermediate Day onions for the middle states. Onion seed does not keep well, so I always buy fresh onion seed. Old onion seed has a very poor, if any, germination at all.
I start my onions first thing in January after the craziness of the holidays. I like to use 5x5 inserts in a standard 10x20 tray. I am anal and make 4 furrows down the length and place 20 seeds in each furrow. They don't need extra heat like warm season crops. Once they germinate, I keep them trimmed down to 2-3". This keeps them healthier as they grow as they don't bend over and start rotting. I feed with some diluted fish emulsion fertilizer in the water, once a week.
Once I need the indoor space in Feb for peppers and onions, I will place them outside in a sheltered area (but we live in a fairly mild climate) They don't mind the cold, but I don't know that they want to be frozen! Once they are at least 1/8" thick, then I transplant them in the garden, which I can usually do by end of March. Hope that helps!
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Post by carolyn on Feb 14, 2019 7:57:45 GMT -5
I use a 288 plug tray and try to seed a couple seeds per cell. use steril potting mix a sterile tray a heating mat clear dome and cover the seeds with perlite.
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Post by brownrexx on Feb 14, 2019 8:00:57 GMT -5
I grew onions from seed for several years until a new insect in town, the Alium Leaf Miner, made it impossible for me to grow onions here unless I grew them under floating row covers. Growing from seed gave me access to varieties that were not available as sets. I started them indoors just like tamaraann, and then planted the tiny seedlings into the garden when the soil got warm. I got really nice onions this way. Onion plants grow slowly and the seedlings look like little blades of grass in the beginning. It is amazing that they turn into those large bulbs in a few months.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Feb 14, 2019 10:45:53 GMT -5
daylilydude , I did some research on onion planting dates in MS for you. Bulbing onions: Sow seeds in the fall - sow in Sept or early Oct in northern Mississippi. Anywhere in MS, sowing seed for bulbing onions in spring is not recommended because they don't have time to get big enough to make a nice bulb before the heat sets in. It could work, especially in a mild spring year. But you run the risk of winding up with a lot of really small onions. Set out transplants in the fall or early spring. Spring dates for setting out transplants are late Jan through March. For fall transplants, I would wait until you're sure you won't have any more hot weather to set them out so they don't get stressed. For Southern MS, adjust fall dates a few weeks later and spring dates a few weeks earlier, because it cools down later in fall and warms earlier in spring. Bunching onions: Same as above, except you can also sow seed in the spring, and the planting dates are a lot more flexible. _______________________________________________________________________________ So your method of setting out transplants in the fall is right on. But you could also set out more onion transplants right now if you want. Dixondale Farms has a zipcode lookup tool and zipcode chart that recommends the optimum spring transplant dates for each zipcode: www.dixondalefarms.com/shipping
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Post by meandtk on Feb 14, 2019 11:13:22 GMT -5
I haven’t grown from seed, but set out in late Oct or early Nov. I’d like to start seeds later this year.
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Post by paquebot on Feb 14, 2019 14:32:56 GMT -5
Whatever applies here is of little use in Mississippi. Virtually night and day difference. For me, it;s strictly long-day types. Used to start them inside about now, mid-February. Despite trimming, still hard to prevent them from becoming scraggly. Past few years they have been started outside in 8" or bigger pots and in late fall or early winter. That;s where Copra and Makö are right now and covered with snow. In a few weeks I will place plastic grocery bags over the pots. That will warm the soil and start germination. Size of the pots are big enough so that they will hold heat during the night and the plastic allows UV heat even on cloudy days.
Should also mention the medium that I use in those pots. There's about 6" of garden soil and compost mix. On top of that is about ½" of Jiffy Mix. Seeds are sowed on top of that and lightly pressed in. Then ¼" of No Damp Off completes the job. The No Damp Off and Jiffy Mix is important due to onion seedlings nasty habit of dampening off.
For the few gardeners left who grow their own sets, planting time for them are the longest day of the year, 21 June. They begin to produce bulbs as soon as they emerge and are dormant by 1 September. That's the only way to get edible bulbs from some varieties. For example, it may be down to just two non-Amish gardeners presently growing yellow bottle onions. If planted as seed or seedlings in the spring, they go straight to seed without bulbing. One must first plant seeds to obtain sets. Sets are planted to produce bulbs. Bulbs are planted to obtain seeds. Not many want to both with that but that is how it used to be before set production was commercialized.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2019 19:16:15 GMT -5
Started seed in pots months ago; finally sprouted six weeks ago. trimmed twice now.
I used the NO Damp and have had good luck. So far they are healty, big around as kitchen matches and growing. They will be late getting in, but they are growing. Leeks especially are showing promise.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2019 15:02:01 GMT -5
Trying again; if this is a double post forgive me; After a bout with pneumonia and bronchitis plus awful weather that kept me out of the garden I got onions and leeks into the ground yesterday.
The onions I planted with Martin's "push them in with a forefinger" method. I left the roots about a half inch long, putting my finger on that little clump of root to push them in about an inch.
The leeks I planted with the dibble method, watering them in. Last night it rained.
This morning the onions look as if they grew there from seed, green, erect and pretty as can be. The leeks, not so much but experience tells me they will grow. Late as it is we'll see about the onions.
The Dixondale onions, Candy, in my raised bed are looking better every day.
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Post by paquebot on May 21, 2019 15:18:25 GMT -5
Ox, you must have searched far for the "push" method. Nothing new or unique about it as it's the way they are planted in fields when done by hand. If some don't know what it means, you select an onion seedling. Grasp it at the root base with thumb and forefinger. With finger and seedling at about 45º angle, push it into the ground until fingertip is about an inch into the soil. Straighten the seedling with the thumb and fill the little hole at the same time.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 9:51:51 GMT -5
Martin: I tried to answer yesterday, but the storms cut me off.
Some time in the past you posted your forefinger method of planting seedling onions and I paid attention because I wanted to learn. This is the first time I've had good transplants that would permit that handling.
Late as it is, I am happy with the way they look.
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Post by paquebot on May 22, 2019 19:21:07 GMT -5
I was nervous about my Makõ onions as something went wrong with the starting medium. Started more in straight Jiffy Mix topped with No Damp Off. They could hardly wait to germinate and start growing, Only about 15 got into the garden but they are catching up. Same for some Walla Walla and Yellow sweet Spanish started from seed. Dixondale plants, from Jung's, are way ahead of expectation. Redwing are already 15" or more That's a new one for me and supposed to be a good keeper. Also have some Ailsa Craig and Candy looking great. The cool wet spring has been perfect for onions so it's going to be a super harvest.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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ponyexpress
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on Jun 10, 2020 12:29:36 GMT -5
This is an old thread but it's a good one. I like tamaraann's idea of using diluted fish fertilizer which I'll try next winter.
I'm in Massachusetts so I started my seeds the first week of Feb 2020. I used those clamshell salad containers to act like mini-greenhouses. I put in about 3" of soil and made two long furrows the length of the containers. My seeds were old (3-4 years old) except for the red onion seeds I harvested last fall so I put lots of seeds in the rows. The varieties I planted were: Superstar, Utah Jumbo, Stuttgarter, and "My Reds". Covered the seeds with soil and watered it.
Did not use damp off. Just Coast of Maine potting soil that has lobster compost and other stuff. For watering, I have a small garden sprayer that holds 1.5 gallons of water. It's a lot easier to use than the small hand pump squirt bottle.
I keep the lid down to keep the temperature warm and they're in a south facing window. Whenever we have a sunny day, I put the mini-greenhouses out during the day and the temp easily goes to 20-30deg higher than the outside air temp. When it gets about 50 outside temp, I will open the cover of the container.
I keep my onions trimmed to 3" max. Planted them outside around April 10th. At that time, they were the size of a fat toothpick. I think next year I will start them Jan 1st and try the fish fertilizer method. Otherwise, I was very happy with the quality of my onions.
I forgot to mention that I also started leeks (Gevaria from Johnny's Seeds) at the same time in its own container.
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Post by paquebot on Jun 10, 2020 22:25:36 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with bringing this thread back up. Look through the few remaining forums and there is little about how to start onions. Many would ask why bother when sets are so cheap and plants available from many varieties. It's fun and rewarding to take onions from seed to seed, the way it was for centuries.
Martin.
The truth is more important than the facts.
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ponyexpress
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on Jun 11, 2020 11:33:21 GMT -5
I agree that it's fun. Plus, it gives me something to do when it's gloomy outside with snow on the ground. Dixondale carries a lot of varieties but there are still many more varieties that are only available with seed.
My goal next year is to get seedlings the size of a pencil and superior to Dixondale's.
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