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Post by daylilydude on Mar 19, 2019 4:55:12 GMT -5
Does anyone here start onions in the garden from seed or do you just buy the plants?
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 19, 2019 8:20:03 GMT -5
I have started onions from seed in the past but you need to start them early because they really grow slowly. I no longer grow onions because the Alium Leaf Miner came to town 3-4 years ago. It is a small fly from Asia and it devastates onion plants and ruins them. It also infects garlic. pepperhead212 I was reviewing my gardening notes and I noted that I planted some onion sets at the end of May last year and harvested them in Mid August. They were not infected. The flies die or quit laying eggs after laying their first round of eggs in April and the new flies do not hatch until late August so there is an opportunity to grow onions while the new flies are in the maggot stage in other people's plants. I would expect that the ALM has reached New Jersey and your area by this year.
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Post by september on Mar 19, 2019 9:33:57 GMT -5
I start early indoors from seed. I can plant sweeter and more interesting varieties than are available in stores locally and way cheaper than ordering plants online.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Mar 19, 2019 9:51:36 GMT -5
I've never tried to be honest. I buy 1015 sets.
Heresy says onion seeds only good for one year, but I don't know that to be fact or fiction.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 19, 2019 10:14:04 GMT -5
brownrexx KOW, I haven't seen any signs of ALM in my area. Last year, I wasn't really able to get out there and cover the garlic, so I just said what will be will be. And none of my garlic had any signs of it. And none of the garlic chives or regular chives had any, either. I'm hoping that those single digits temps may have done a number on them these last two winters. Time will tell. I only grow onion sets for scallions, and start them in mid-may now, just to be safe. I still watch closely, and I'll put up some yellow sticky tape around my garlic and chives. That's not enough to get all of them, if they do show up, but it will tell me if they are there - I do this with my peppers, for that pepper maggot fly. I put some on the covers in the beginning, and they get a bunch on them in the next couple of months, and at the end of July, when they usually disappear, I put a new piece of sticky tape over the old, and watch for any showing up. When they aren't showing up, I uncover.
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Post by paulf on Mar 19, 2019 11:15:14 GMT -5
We did seeds last year and they did fine. Very few onions are used in our household since I will not eat onions. No plans to grown onions this year.
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Post by coppice on Mar 19, 2019 11:17:04 GMT -5
I have started from seed. Best with a fully developed bed. Like after carrot, so that soil is sifted etc.
Onion seed is fragile. often it is double wrapped in a air-tight second envelope. Once that inner envelope is opened, the clock starts running. I rarely got a second year out of an open pack.
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Post by september on Mar 19, 2019 14:24:00 GMT -5
I've never tried to be honest. I buy 1015 sets. Heresy says onion seeds only good for one year, but I don't know that to be fact or fiction. The percentage of germination does drop off after about a year, I have combined and used some older packets and still get some germination the second year, but it's probably not worth it by the third year. I'm buying fresh seed each year these days.
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Post by paquebot on Mar 19, 2019 20:02:04 GMT -5
My method has worked great. That is to start them outside in 8" pots. Place a plastic bag over them and create a mini-greenhouse. Pots heat up during the day and hold the warmth during the night. With natural sunlight, they don't get as scraggly as when started inside. I only start those which I can not buy locally. Jung's has almost all which Dixondale has so no need to start those from seed.
Bunching/scallion types are planted direct. In fact, sowed Purplette and Tokyo Long White today.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by spike on Mar 19, 2019 20:45:32 GMT -5
I have never had any luck starting from seed.
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