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~ ONION SEED: NORMAL BULB ONIONS ~

Many people 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, with someheat, so that they get going early enough to make nice big bulbs. They will grow on without heat (for example in a cold greenhouse) once germinated. 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.) 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 around 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 LARGE PACKET
This is a well-known and reliable onion for early spring sowing, making large golden-brown bulbs that store quite well. If started early enough it can produce a really good crop of big bulbs.

Sow this in Spring for autumn harvest. (But as it is quite cold-hardy, you could also experiment with some seed sown in August as an overwintering onion - if it works you will get very big onions the next year.)

Traditional for early sowing in Spring.

Improved for 2013: a BIGGER , BETTER VALUE packet for growing EVEN MORE ONIONS.

Order OnST 600 seed £1.64

Early Paris White

It is also sown in spring for producing small white bulb onions to use fresh, so you can do half your packet each way.

For full-size onions:
Sow it around 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. 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 baby onions:
Sow in late spring and about 3 months later you'll get small white bulb onions with a long green top, you use the whole thing (bulb and greens) chopped 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 overwinter.

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

Order OnYR 350 seed £1.64

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.

Red sweet bulbs, use by midwinter.

Order OnAM 350 seed £1.54

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

It produces 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 £1.64

Jaune Paille de Vertus

The name means "The straw-yellow coloured onion from Vertus", which is a town in France. This very popular heirloom onion is at least a couple hundred years old, and makes flattened bulbs about 3 to 4 inches across, with a brown-yellow skin.

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

We find it works best started in trays, rather than sown outside.

Order OnJV 300 seed £1.64

~ It is easy to grow SHALLOTS from Seed, too ~

Zebrune Shallot REALLY GOOD
This has been a real winner these last couple of years, outperforming our other onions by a noticeable margin. And they have a really good flavour, too. If we had to chose just one onion to grow, this would be it.

Shallots are similar to normal onions, but with a slightly different ancestry. They are narrower and longer, with a different mix of flavour compounds - less strongly 'oniony', and therefore sweeter & milder to taste.

They grow really well from seed, and Zebrune is a fairly modern variety; it makes bigger bulbs than traditional shallots, so there is less peeling to do, and it was deliberately selected for growing from seed rather than sets.

This kind is popularised on TV cookery shows as a 'banana shallot' (because it is slightly curved). Excellent in salads or cooked.

They do not make as many seed as ordinary onions, and they are quite rare, but we have still made up a packet that is pretty generous, while holding the price down as much as possible.

An easy, fine-flavoured, large, sweet & mild shallot. Sow in Spring, inside in heat if possible.

Order OnZS 300 seed £1.89