can i still plant overwintering onions?

misskool

ok ok I forgot I had some senshyu yellow overwintering onions.

Is it too late to plant when it thaws in a week or so? Or would I be better off trying to get them into some compost and baby-ing them indoors? OH might have words to say with 200 baby onions in the front room though...:rotfl:

valk_scot

I went and looked up the planting instructions for these, because I had this vague thought they should have gone in Aug/Sept, in which case you are very late.

Sow early Autumn, 50-60 plants per m². For baby veg a closer density up to 120 per m² in twin rows 30cm apart with plants 4cm apart into a good fertile well draining soil. For even smaller veg try sowing March to May 15cm between rows 2-3 cm between plants. Harvest when 75% of leaf has fallen over.

So I would leve them till March+ if I were you and grow them for salad or pickling onions instead. If you plant them now they will probably just freeze solid and die. You could try a dozen in pots though?

angelavdavis

I did the same last year and ended up planting them in modules which I popped out and used to replace the other onions that didn't make it through the winter. They cropped well enough considering they were late-comers!