288 onions seeding in one flat?

NHGardener 2/19/2013, 10:31 am

Think I can sow 288 onion seeds successfully in one standard-sized tray? (the kind with the dome lid) They grow like grass, so I'm thinking they can be pretty close together, and separating them to up-pot shouldn't be too big of an issue?

9 per square, 4x8 box, = 288 plants.

I don't see a reason to use 2 trays if one will work.

littlejo 2/19/2013, 11:10 am

I don't see why it wouldn't work, onions are pretty hardy as far as the root system, and if you are willing to take the time to separate them. You could always take each cell full and dip in water to separate. I've been told to snip a bit of the tops after they get a few inches tall to make them grow better(haven't tried this yet)
You might see if you can find out (on the internet) how the professional growers do it. I just buy them already grown, but I was told at the farm store to snip the tops a little bit when I plant them. I'm going to try that when I plant them.
Jo

NHGardener 2/19/2013, 11:57 am

Waterlogging the soil to separate them - now there's an idea.

littlejo 2/19/2013, 1:07 pm

I've done this with other plants that the roots were very intertwined.

southern gardener 2/20/2013, 2:51 am

We were given a bunch of onions that had sprouted and looked like grass. We popped them out of the little 6 packs, and swirled the dirt/roots in a cup of water, they untangled in seconds! We got a LOT of onion starts that way....easy peeeezy!!

NHGardener 2/20/2013, 3:58 am

Great tip to keep in mind!

**camprn** 2/20/2013, 6:22 am

NHGardener wrote:Waterlogging the soil to separate them - now there's an idea.

This is also what I do. When the onion seedlings in the little mushroom containers looks like grass and they are all ready for transplanting I pop the whole root ball out of the container and put it in a shallow bucket with water and swish it around. This allows any loose mix to come out of the root ball. After gently separating the seedlings and having them in a bunch, I trim the roots to about 2 inches, which makes the transplanting manageable.

cheyannarach 2/20/2013, 10:10 am

What a great idea, I think I am going to get my onions started today this way!

countrynaturals 10/17/2019, 10:54 am

littlejo wrote: I've been told to snip a bit of the tops after they get a few inches tall to make them grow better(haven't tried this yet)

My onion seedlings are always weak and puny. Anybody try this trick? Does it work? idk

OhioGardener 10/17/2019, 8:21 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
littlejo wrote: I've been told to snip a bit of the tops after they get a few inches tall to make them grow better(haven't tried this yet)
My onion seedlings are always weak and puny. Anybody try this trick? Does it work?

I trim them several times while they are growing seedlings under the lights. I trim them back to 3", and let them grow again - the cuttings are great in salads, too! This makes for sturdier plants when I am ready to transplant them into the garden.

yolos 10/17/2019, 8:44 pm

OhioGardener wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:
littlejo wrote: I've been told to snip a bit of the tops after they get a few inches tall to make them grow better(haven't tried this yet)
My onion seedlings are always weak and puny. Anybody try this trick? Does it work?

I trim them several times while they are growing seedlings under the lights. I trim them back to 3", and let them grow again - the cuttings are great in salads, too! This makes for sturdier plants when I am ready to transplant them into the garden.

+1

countrynaturals 10/17/2019, 9:16 pm

I'll add this info to my journal and start trimming, tomorrow.

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288 onions seeding in one flat?

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