Onion 101: A Beginner's Guide to Growing Onions and Spring Onions from Seed for Large Harvests
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- Onions from seed have less disease problems than onions from sets. I show a simple multisow method to start them undercover, and the high yield of bulbs - 12kg/26.4lb from 8 modules. Plus a harvest of 1.3kg/2.8lb spring onions. Also see how to grow early spring onions, from a sowing in late summer.
Filmed and edited by Edward Dowding February to July 2017 in my no dig garden at Homeacres UK, zone 8 climate.
More info in my books and website here - www.charlesdowding.co.uk/stor...
and my twice monthly blog here - www.charlesdowding.co.uk/blog
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MORE FROM CHARLES
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#nodig #growyourownfood #nodiggardening #onion #growyourownveggies 
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Folks like me with no gardening experience have been growing enough vegetables for a family, year after year, ONLY with you as inspiration. You have given us the gift of appreciating nature! Thank you ‘sir’ Charles 😇
I am so heartened to read this, and wish you all success with your harvests
sorry to be so off topic but does someone know a method to log back into an Instagram account..?
I somehow lost the account password. I love any tips you can offer me!
@Marcus Kylen Instablaster ;)
@Everett London I really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and I'm in the hacking process now.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Everett London It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thanks so much you really help me out :D
Does anyone else watch Charles Dowding videos before bed as a sort of meditation or way to unwind?! Just me?! 😍
That's nice! I have seen other people make this comment 💚
I thought I was the only one haha!
He has a soothing voice! 😂
I do and I love. All the way from South Africa
4 am when the house is super quiet, before the sun rises here. It’s a great way to wake up and start planning out the garden day.
I don't want to overly dramatic, but THIS IS LIFE CHANGING!! Growing in sets? Little modules? Seedlings growing up with their friends? It may not be a new idea, but it's a new idea to me. Thank you, thank you for sharing!! I'm going to prep my winter/spring vegetable seedling sets tomorrow!
Great!!
I know! This is such a great tip.
It’s fantastic to have a video that tells the entire story from seed to harvest!
Yes, exactly!
Another video where Charles passes so much knowledge on without sounding like a "know it all" You really have to love what you do to be able to relay so much information and that comes over so well. I never tire of listening and learning, and hope there are lots more videos to come.
Many thanks, my pleasure :)
I love that you show every stage in one video
I actually did a dance when you said "It's onion harvest time". THIS WILL BE THE YEAR!!
Haha so nice!
How pleasent the presentation is😃 no unwanted music etc....great video
Thanks Renu
Amen.
I don’t know, could really use some royalty free dubstep to knock it up a notch. I think that would eliminate the handful of dislikes ;-)
GREAT just the way it is. I loved hearing the horse neigh in the background and the crunch of the onion stems as he harvested them. Gardening has a MUSIC all its own! Thank you!
Ditto, total relief there is no music. Folk tend not to talk thru music videos, for a reason.
You're one of the best humans I've ever seen on RUclips!
Ah thanks Megan
Bold to assume his species!
Had never grown onions from seed before and so having watched this video we gave it a go, and we have just harvested a bumper crop - mostly great whoppers of onions! Not a single mouldy or rotten onion either - a far cry from our past experience of growing from sets. We should be self sufficient in onions for several months even as a large family! This is such a fantastic discovery and is definitely the way ahead! Many thanks for the tutorial.
Happy to read this Frances, and they will store well if you don't eat them first
@@GuacamoleyNacho I leave about five or six onions in the ground to go to seed, collect and dry the heads on the window sill, then roughly clean the seed by winnowing. You don’t need to be too careful, and store them in a labelled tub. I normally do a test sowing on the window sill to make sure they are viable. Once the onions have been planted out, grown and ready to harvest, they are dried in the sun during the day for a week or so till the outer skin is dry and brown and then string them into bunches of about fifteen or twenty onions (depends on the size and how strong your string is) to hang in a cool dry place. When you are stringing them it is an ideal opportunity to trim the roots and inspect each onion for quality. Any soft, damaged, less than perfect or rotten ones can be discarded, or if not too bad can be set aside for immediate use. The end result is very satisfying and if you have a load to get through can be a pleasant family activity. I do the same thing for storing shallots, although I normally save a couple of strings of shallots each year for planting out in November (south coast UK) as sets rather than planting out as seedlings. If you save the dry, papery onion skins that you rub off, they can yield a lovely yellow clothes dye if you are into that sort of thing.
As an aside, the lady at my hardware store sells her own minted, pickled onions which are delicious. She just slices normal onions and with a good bunch of chopped mint, covers them with white vinegar, they are awesome!
Seeing the joy in Charles while harvesting his onions is just so nice and contagious!
I'm off to my garden!
I’ll say! His passion is definitely contagious.
Note to self. - before I sow anything I haven’t grown before I must check and see if Charles has video on the topic! I’ll try it this way next year! 😊
funny!
Charles needs to use "AMSR" as one of his tags, his voice is so calming, lol
You can eat the grass lol
Oh I love @YouCantEatTheGrass.
Hello Charles. I stopped by to say that I currently turn to your videos whenever I have a question about a specific crop. In this case, onions, which I'm going to try for the first time. Thanks for the great explanation.
Lovely to hear this Claudia, may your onions grow well!
It took a lot of thought and foresight to make this video over such a long period of time at the right times of the plants life cycle, thank you for doing this. I like this crop-specific style, please consider doing more for other vegetables. Onions have always been a bit of a mystery to me precisely because they're grown a bit differently than most other garden veggies, and this was very helpful.
Thanks Ted and have fun growing them.
Totally agree Ted, these videos are a godsent!
Me too.
Same here Ted my sentiments exactly - nice one Charles
homesteader fifty w/ ricky & martha , buy one of his many books. Then you’ll be paying HIM for this service! 😀💜
You’re an absolute genius! All of us in the gardening world are lucky to have you!!!
I’m starting onions this last week of February, and I searched your video from 4 years ago!! ❤️
Best of luck Sarah and thanks
Every time I watch one of Charles' videos I just want to get out into the garden.
I love how complete this video is! Seeing the process from start to finish is so very helpful 😀
Yes, instead watching several videos for, when and how to start onion seeds, when and how to transplant onion starts, when and how to harvest onions. 😅
I forgot to say thank you for another fabulous video.
Charles! I just had to report to you about my onion crop following your instructions here. I planted the varieties: Candy and Whitewing by seed in clusters -- 5-8 seeds per soil block. I set the fine seedlings out looking very fragile, but despite a chilly spring and even some hail, they survived and produced HUGE onions for me. I am just pulling them up today and I am so impressed. I don't know what it is about growing onions in clusters, but they seem to love it. I also enjoyed a few early spring onions along the way. My mature onions are as large as softballs. Thank you, Charles, for teaching us and sharing your garden knowledge. You're my garden hero! One more thing -- I've discovered winter onions or bunching onions that keep on giving and giving small green onions year round. I live in southeastern Montana, USA.
Hi Jody, thanks for the lovely feedback and I am happy to imagine your huge harvest, what joy, food for the year ahead. The seedlings like being with their mates 💚
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you for your kind reply. From your student.
Mr Dowding knows his Onions,bravo!
Your methods are making gardening so much easier, Thank You
Brilliant video. Magnificent harvest. Cheers from Ottawa, Canada 🇨🇦
Glad you enjoyed it
Best gardening yt channel, especially for the UK 👌🏼👌🏼
Husain B also for Holland where it’s nearly the same climate zone
Today I harvested my onions which I grew following this method. 36 modules, multi-sown with 8 seeds. Variety is Yellow Rhysburger which we got from Real Seeds. One of the trays was knocked over by our toddler, so we ended up transplanting about 20. We had a good harvest of around 30 spring onions in May and today I harvested 98 mostly good sized onions (a few small ones amongst the plump ones). Happy about this as it was grown in such a small space and gave us multiple harvests through the season. Thanks Charles!
Hi Dylan and thanks for the harvest report, nice result.
Charles Dowding A small update - I entered 3 of the onions into the local gardening club's competition (Mey, by Thurso) and they won in the "3 onions from seed" category as well as winning the overall "Best Exhibit in Vegetables" award. Surprised! (my 2nd year growing). Your method produces good lookin onions too!
Dylan that is wonderful and thanks for sharing your success. Showing vegetables is not easy and you ticked all the boxes. I don't have time for it now so am especially pleased to hear of others showing.
Charles Dowding Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your endless knowledge on gardening!
Onions have been hard for me. And now I see what I have been doing wrong.
I hope you realize how much you are helping educate us US gardeners! Love your videos!!
Hello Annette and thanks for the compliment, happy to help. I appreciate the enthusiastic feedback from you US gardeners.
the smile on your face pulling up all those beautiful onions....
💚
I'm loving how each one of your videos is basically a project. This video was made over the span of 1 year for us to clearly see all of the stages in one convenient video. Thank you so much!
Our pleasure Mikolaj
So much excitement knowing the new season is approaching ! even better that i got your diary for Christmas ... thanks and keep them coming!
Nice to hear and have a great season
I'm so thankful for your channel ... I'm a relatively new gardener and your videos make it feel like you are right here with me guiding. Makes me less nervous ♡ thank you for sharing your experience with all of us ♡
Ah good. and do dare to try a few things, with the information I share. Best way to learn and improve is well-informed practice. Plus you het food 🧅
LOVE the start to finish videos! Appreciate you taking the time to follow up from the moment sown to the harvest.
Glad you like them Sarah!
Thank you Charles for very good information for novices (like me) and accomplished gardeners.
Glad you find it helpful
Hello from Norway, love your movies. I have just started my own kitchen garden, I learn som much from you. Thank you so much💚
Ah thankyou nice to hear!
You have the BEST videos I've seen so far. I love the fact you show and tell us everything in stages over time. Keep it up!!
Thanks Farhana. We do what we can in the time available!
I've learned so much from these how to videos. Please make more, my garden and family will be forever thankful.
Thank you Joe and we did, but I can't afford to keep going like this all for free and I have embedded them in lessons of an online course, Seed to Harvest. We are running an offer at the moment, for example you can buy how to grow carrots for £5 and it has a huge amount of information as well as a how to grow video charlesdowding.co.uk/product/from-seed-to-harvest-8-carrots/
Charles you have a lovely soothing voice as well as being thoroughly informative. I am sure I feel calmer as well as feeling more confident and knowledgable. Who needs meditation when we have
you?
How nice, thanks Wallace
Yippee - I've been waiting for this one! What a masterclass on onion growing and what a spectacular harvest. Thanks Charles and crew!
Thanks for your lovely feedback.
Charles, I have tried your multi sowing technique and you are definitely on to something. It works very well for me with leeks, turnips, onions, but also with carrots (the round Paris market variety). I will try parsnips next year. The transplanted clumps seem to recover much sooner than single plants, plus they make a dense foliage to shade out weeds and conserve moisture. Really great method for an intensive, market-style garden, where space is at a prime.
That is good to hear.
It's simple really, when planted, multisown modules like being with their mates!
I have done it with carrots but find direct sowing easier. Good luck with parsnips.
I love the way you’ve followed them through in the one video -thanks
You’re welcome Sue 😊
It’s great to be able to go to the video library and pull up this very complete tutorial. I am starting onions from seed this year for the first time. As others have mentioned, this video provides the entire process, start to finish. The viewer is not left hanging, wondering what to do next! After growing onions from sets last year, I really appreciate also getting your wisdom on curing and storage. I lost quite a few, and see from the details you provide how I can do better. Spring is coming! 🎉
Glad it was helpful! Have a great onion year :)
I tried to plant spring onions this year but did not get very good results at last.
I have been looking for videos of how to plant spring onions from seeds tonight. I spent hours but did not get anything I need and full of questions in my brain.
When I see your video, I feel very impressed. You have answered all the questions I had in my brain so far and show me a very clear pictures of how to do it properly next year.
I just want to leave my first youtube comment to your video. Thanks for your great work and introduction.
Thanks for writing me take, I am so pleased this helps you, may your spring onions be good next year
Brilliant content and infectious enthusiasm. Thank you.
I really have learned a lot from this gardener. He filled with all season knowledge.
Nice 🌱
This will be our 2nd year growing our own veg and fruit (yes - lockdown gardeners!) Last year I tried with some shallot sets and, although they grew, we didn't get a brilliant harvest. After seeing this video, this year I am trying onions from seeds, following your guidance! I have about 40 white and 40 red onion seedlings in the spare bedroom where I am working from home. They were sown 2 weeks ago and I will be waiting for the middle of March before they go out into our raised bed. Looking forward to reporting how the harvest is later in the year! Thanks Charles for providing much needed help and support for all of us newby food gardeners! 👍
Nice to hear Paul, sounds promising and I am delighted to help new gardeners, we need you!
Wow never knew you could do this with bulbing onions, I can't wait to try it thanks!!
Beautiful sweet tasting veg, that gives enormous pleasure when harvesting, storing and then eating for months. Charles sums it all up to perfection. Multi sowing definitely the way - especially for springs. Sets can be planted only 4" apart in rows too, spaced 8-10" between rows. Very productive. Very nice. Thank you.
Nice comment thanks.
Charles really knows his onions.
always going away from old ideas and proving , cant thank you enough
How I wish I had more space, Charles! I did, however, follow your multi-sow module method for some red spring onions this year and they were lovely. I wish I'd done more in fact.
Thanks Jane and well done.
I really enjoy your videos, they keep me encouraged through all MY ups and downs of gardening. Thank you for all you do!
Keep your light burning!
Sowing onion seeds today indoors - Happy 2024! 🎉 I’ll move them out in March. I’ve watched this video for years and love the refresher every year! Thank you! 😊
Hello Charles! This is the first video of yours that I watched two years ago - you helped me get through a miscarriage and I ended up with a beautiful, productive garden! Last year this time, I had my eighth child and suffered terrible postpartum depression that basically paralyzed me from doing what I love - gardening. Now, here I am, looking at your videos to start again! Thank you so much for your simple teaching and peaceful videos. Your impact is more than you can imagine!
Oh wow I feel honoured to be able to help, and I wish you best of health. Keep absorbing the microbes from your homegrown food and garden 💚
I love your videos! I always learn something new. I’m in the eastern United States and am dreaming of my new veggie beds come spring 😀 I’ve never grown onions before but I think I’ll start some from seed next month. Thank you so much for all your expertise.
Nice to hear, thanks Sheri
I like how you did this from seed to harvest!
Thanks :)
Thank you Charles for all your time, effort and for making such an interseting video to watch. There are very far and few videos from seed to harvest. Enjoyed watching all of your videos. I am a big fan. I will be trying this method very economical and time saving. Love the sound of the freshly picked onions!!
It's April 6th 2023. I'm about to plant out my first ever onions.
I have sets and I have clumps ready to go. Watching you encouraged me to grow from seed thank you
Lovely, wish you the best
So impressed by the effort and organisation put in to show us a process over time. Thanks so much Charles, really appreciate it.
Thanks Ian that is a nice acknowledgement. Edward's editing is a great help and being able to work together has been rewarding for both of us.
Thanks Charles. I’m gardening in Holland, also on heavy clay. Your opinion of no-dig is so helpful for me.
Nice to hear, thanks
Inspirational! I will try onions from seed this year. Always done sets before.
Great way of merging two crops into one space
Thank you for sharing your rooms. Your house seems so much bigger to me. You inspire me to love my home
I love onions, I’m going to try and copy you Charles with your multi seeds in a station,then pick for spring onions and hopefully get a good harvest after 🤞🤞🤞 thanks for great videos!
Thank you for doing a sowing to harvest video like this, this took a long time to put together and I am very grateful. Absolutely love your content! Thank you!
Great thanks
Wow as a new grower this year this has helped thank you
Great video! I had never considered planting onions so densely... Can't wait to try it!
Wonderful... I'm always learning.. thanks so much for your awesome information 👍👍👍
Thank you very much for this and all other videos. I’m very much inspired, and, full of dare, have started my own onions.
Ah good! I like the "full of dare"!
I love listening to uncle Charles. I'm going to plant some onions today.
Just started gardening two years ago and I wanted to say how immensely helpful your video’s have been to me as has your No Dig book. Thank you, Charles!
Great to hear! 💚
Brilliant clever video to show how you can harvest spring and full onions throughout the year. I asked my wife for your book and diary as a birthday present and I did get them, yay. Enjoying reading the book and the diary is a great idea to just have months and day numbers with tips about what to do that month, it will get some real usage :)
Nice to hear your Diary comments, thankyou
My wife gave me the exact same combo as a B-day present! :)
Sounds like we got awesome wives!
(Mine also loves weeding so that's a winner)
Charles Dowding book
Beautiful. Love your videos, Charles :)
Thanks Inger
Charles. You are a gentle and great garden teacher.
Cheers Jim
I love your channel! You consistently and quietly mutter little truth bombs that radically changes my work:harvest ratio.
Cheers Phillip and I like your phrase, truth bombs!
Thank you. I've never been able to figure out onions
You give all these information with recording the whole process... Mr Dowding, thanks sir. And also your videos made me a 'No Dig' fan even i haven't tried it yet.(due to lack of compost) :) Greetings from Istanbul.
Many thanks.
Do try no dig with less compost or any other organic matter
Thank you Charles, for taking the time to teach this from beginning to end. I am off to the allotment now to see what space I have for my intended onion patch.
You are welcome Victoria, I wish you onion success :)
So many growers channels I watch praise you. I'm a recent subscriber and I see why.
Ah that's nice thanks 💚
One of my favourite videos! So incredibly satisfying to watch the whole process. Thanks for all your videos. I revisit them often haha :D
Thanks Katie
I’ll second that!
what a great video and tremendous harvest. i tried a spanish clumping onion two years in a row with little result. after watcging this persentation i will try again with a larger sweet onion in 2019. thanks for sharing knowledge!
Thanks Charles fab Video. Very practical, informative and very helpful to the novice like me.
im growing onions from seed for the first time in 2021! Thanks for the great video
Good luck!
Great info! Now I know why my onions did not store well. Will push them down like you did before pulling them up and curing. Thank you!
Here in the US. We don't push them over. They do on their own. Than you lay them out in the sun for a couple big days and hung up on ropes. They last for 6 months.
Great video! I really do have to learn to watch your videos before I plant... Looks like I'm going out to plant some more onions!!!
great 😀
Brilliant stuff. Thanks for another very helpful film.
Once again thank you Charles for your invaluable knowledge feel more confident now to give onion growing a go!
Well done Charles another great vid, you're an inspiration to us all 🌱
I wonder why most of the farmers in Greece use small bulbs to grow spring and bulb onions witch they buy very expensive. It seems so easy from seed. Your videos are indeed very helpful.Thank you for that
Thanks, and I am happy to help people save money!
Great video! Cabbage will always be my favorite vegetable, but onions come in for a close second!!
finally the onion day length mystery explained in a way that is very understandable... thank you!
Omg that looks amazing
Really informative. Thank you!
Nice to hear, thanks Suz
Love this! Fantastic teaching, thank you Charles!
Lovely upload Charles.
Nice to see the onions progress through the season too.
Many thanks
Mike
Cheers Mike, yes we worked at the progress bit!
Thanks for the info. I learned alot
Thank you for inspiring me
Absolutely wonderful video from seed to harvest!
Such a well-thought and well-done video. Thank you!
I love watching your videos, I have a lot to learn , my best wishes for 2020, hope it’s a great growing year
Many thanks, enjoy the journey
Charles Dowding Thsnk you Charles , I will , I love gardening & growing food , I hope for my own channel to be as great as yours one day , I have loads of really great plans , hope to chat again, my best wishes
Hi Charles, I love these videos and your books, and (as a new gardener) have been following your advice really closely. I find it so reassuring to have an intelligent, experienced source of information that I feel I can trust on the internet - that is so crucial these days. Just to say, I tried the onion sowing to the letter but for anyone out there reading this I am harvesting now and it’s worth noting that if you don’t feel that you will pull onions early for use as spring onions then just stick to three or four per module. That’s what I think I’ll do next year and maybe sow spring onions separately. I didn’t end up cooking with spring onions so it ended up hampering my onion harvest somewhat, and that’s my own mistake, but it’s worth bearing in mind. Got a good harvest nonetheless though!!! Cheers.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Philip, nice you are working it out :)
Thank you so much for showing us the various stages from sowing to harvesting onions.
Our pleasure!
Wow again I am learning so much and spoilt for choice over what to try! Thanks