I start onions from seed in six packs, several seeds per cell and then prick them out and plant in raised beds. Zone 10B Southern California, I’ll be starting my seed germination in a couple of weeks, I use the Winter Sowing Process in milk jugs to start them.
I start my alliums over the winter, & grow them for the "chives" for months, then plant them out in spring & they do very well. It doesn't matter if they're bunching scallions, bulbing onions, leaks, shallots, chives, etc. Starting allium seeds over the winter & transplanting in spring works best for me here in SE Michigan zone 6A.
@@StephanieZimmerman-cq3pv Hi! We found 36 inch long window planters on clearance from Lowe's a couple of years ago, they were $12 each then, $14 each now, the clearance price was about $2.40 each. They work out really well, we so the seeds very densely since alliums can grow just fine being crowded until you're ready to transplant them.
I always start my onions from seed on New Years Day! Very few bolt, I had 2 this year I think from the heat. I am also dealing with jumping worms here in south central WI, discovered them last fall. Because of that I could not mulch with the shredded leaves as I have in years past. Weeding the un mulched bed was a pain at 1st, then not so bad. Just me, a lot of sun, no weeds are 2 important factors for nice onions. Did not water much, moderate to sever drought this part of WI, did not seem to matter. Have some videos if interested, mainly focused on jumping worms. Stay Well!!!
Thanks for the info, I think I had the same issue with tomatoes, I was thinking next year I should plant them far away because the tomatoes have taken over for the 3 years I’ve been gardening. What do you think about starting the onions in fall? I’ve heard the results are better.
Weeding or vacation??? Hmmm lol All jokes aside, I think you have an incredible attitude, in spite of the disappointing harvest. I’ve never started onions from seed, but I’m anxious to try it. This year’s dry weather inhibited my harvest, but NO harvest would be worse!
Direct sowing is good, but do indoor starts as a backup. It takes around 21 days for them to sprout. Any drying of the soil, kills the seed. It can cripple your season. That's what happened to me the last 2 years. Now, regarding the onion size. In my opinion, your main problem regarding size, was sunlight. The bulbing is determined by the amount(hours) of sunlight it receives. If for some reason it gets less, it will start bulbing later or stop bulbing earlier. Water is not that big of issue, as long as there are few deep watering events. The less frequent you water, the deeper the roots go in search of water, exposing the plants to more nutrients, which is very beneficial. Lack of water would've dried the greens. Weeds are not good, but won't impact it that much if the roots went deeper. So I stand firm, lack of sunlight was the culprit.
My onions were small last year. This year they were great. I always start my onion seeds inside. I'm not sure what last seasons issue was though. Not a good tomato season for me this year though.🤦
My onions never do well, but my garlic chives are so prolific I can't even give them away anymore hahaha. That tomato plant is bonkers! I would be tempted to mound soil up around the roots or mist the roots with fish emulsion and see if it grew even better! 😊
I start onions from seed in six packs, several seeds per cell and then prick them out and plant in raised beds. Zone 10B Southern
California, I’ll be starting my seed germination in a couple of weeks, I use the Winter Sowing Process in milk jugs to start them.
I start my alliums over the winter, & grow them for the "chives" for months, then plant them out in spring & they do very well. It doesn't matter if they're bunching scallions, bulbing onions, leaks, shallots, chives, etc. Starting allium seeds over the winter & transplanting in spring works best for me here in SE Michigan zone 6A.
What size container are you growing them inside? I'm intrigued about the idea of fresh "chives" for winter use.
@@StephanieZimmerman-cq3pv Hi! We found 36 inch long window planters on clearance from Lowe's a couple of years ago, they were $12 each then, $14 each now, the clearance price was about $2.40 each. They work out really well, we so the seeds very densely since alliums can grow just fine being crowded until you're ready to transplant them.
I always start my onions from seed on New Years Day! Very few bolt, I had 2 this year I think from the heat.
I am also dealing with jumping worms here in south central WI, discovered them last fall. Because of that I could not mulch with the shredded leaves as I have in years past. Weeding the un mulched bed was a pain at 1st, then not so bad. Just me, a lot of sun, no weeds are 2 important factors for nice onions. Did not water much, moderate to sever drought this part of WI, did not seem to matter.
Have some videos if interested, mainly focused on jumping worms. Stay Well!!!
My volunteer tomatoes are doing the best. I'm going to save the seeds.
Thanks for the info, I think I had the same issue with tomatoes, I was thinking next year I should plant them far away because the tomatoes have taken over for the 3 years I’ve been gardening. What do you think about starting the onions in fall? I’ve heard the results are better.
Weeding or vacation??? Hmmm lol
All jokes aside, I think you have an incredible attitude, in spite of the disappointing harvest.
I’ve never started onions from seed, but I’m anxious to try it.
This year’s dry weather inhibited my harvest, but NO harvest would be worse!
Direct sowing is good, but do indoor starts as a backup. It takes around 21 days for them to sprout.
Any drying of the soil, kills the seed. It can cripple your season. That's what happened to me the last 2 years.
Now, regarding the onion size. In my opinion, your main problem regarding size, was sunlight. The bulbing is determined by the amount(hours) of sunlight it receives. If for some reason it gets less, it will start bulbing later or stop bulbing earlier. Water is not that big of issue, as long as there are few deep watering events. The less frequent you water, the deeper the roots go in search of water, exposing the plants to more nutrients, which is very beneficial. Lack of water would've dried the greens. Weeds are not good, but won't impact it that much if the roots went deeper. So I stand firm, lack of sunlight was the culprit.
My onions were small last year. This year they were great. I always start my onion seeds inside. I'm not sure what last seasons issue was though. Not a good tomato season for me this year though.🤦
My onions never do well, but my garlic chives are so prolific I can't even give them away anymore hahaha. That tomato plant is bonkers! I would be tempted to mound soil up around the roots or mist the roots with fish emulsion and see if it grew even better! 😊