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~ ONION SEED: NORMAL BULB ONIONS ~

Many people still grow onions from seed as it is so much cheaper than from sets,
and the range of varieties available is better.

Onions won't germinate in cold soil, and need quite a long time to make a bulb,
so there are three times to sow onions from seed:

Easy Option 1 - Indoors
The usual and most reliable option is to sow indoors in trays very early in January or February, under heat, so that they get going early enough to make nice big bulbs. Turn the heat down once they've sprouted. Transplant out about 4"-6" apart once the soil warms up:

Easy Option 2 - Outdoors
The other common way is to sow seed outdoors directly, in this case you should wait until March or so when the soil has warmed up a bit. (Your onions will be a bit smaller as they've had a shorter growing season, but its less grief than option 1 above.) Thin your rows in stages to about 4"-6" apart as they grow:

Harder (but bigger onions) Option 3 - Overwinter
The final option is a bit more of a gamble but if it works can give really large onions. If you have mild winters, you can sow seed outdoors on August 18th (not earlier) the previous year, with a cold-hardy variety that will survive the winter outdoors. If successful, this can give an early crop of very large onions the next summer. If you want to do this , use Sturon or Paris Early White:

The only other thing to remember is that Onions HATE shading.
If they get shaded by other plants like grass or weeds, they won't bulb properly. It's easy - just keep them well weeded.

Right, now that's explained, on to the Onions!

Sturon Onion EARLY SOWING
This is a well-known and reliable onion for early spring sowing, making large golden-brown bulbs that store quite well, so you can save some for use overwinter.

If started early enough it can produce a really good crop of big bulbs by early autumn.

Traditional for early sowing in Spring. Moderately cold-hardy, so you can also experiment with sowing August the 18th & see how it does overwintered.

Order OnST 350 seed £1.60

Early Paris White

For full-size onions:
Sow it on Aug 18th in a closely-spaced row. At the start of October they will be a decent size and you just transplant them out to their final position spaced about 15cm apart.

Then they stand through the cold overwinter, and as soon as the weather improves in spring they'll be off and away, giving you earlier / larger onions than you would get otherwise.

For small baby onions:
Sow in late spring and about 3 months later you'll get small white bulb onions with a long green top that you can use in salads or cooking.

Not a storage onion, this is one for eating fresh as and when you harvest it.

Order OnPE 300 seed £1.60

Yellow Rynsburger - LONG STORAGE
This is a very well known traditional deep yellow-brown onion with a high yield and nice dense bulbs.

We have chosen it because it stores for a long time after harvest, so a great one for all your winter cooking.

Sow in spring for harvest in August/September, it will store until the following March!

One of the most grown onions in the UK, because it keeps so well.

Order OnYR 350 seed £1.50

Amposta

Sow in Spring for Autumn harvest. The round bulbs are a mellow red colour, and they store for a while, but not hugely long. Sow in Spring.

Red sweet bulbs, use by midwinter.

Order OnAM 350 seed £1.50

Red Brunswick Onion - PURPLE
We find this a good reliable red onion, it has very dark purple skin to each ring when sliced.

It can produce a good crop of medium-sized, slightly flattened red bulbs by late summer. Best used fresh, but it can store quite well.

Purple and sweet. Sow in Spring - don't try to overwinter this one as it's not very cold hardy.

Order OnRB 350 seed £1.60

Jaune Paille de Vertus

It was traditionally a winter-storage onion; it keeps very well after harvest in August-September.

We think best started in trays in Feb.

Order OnJV 300 seed £1.60