|
|
Which
Type of Onion To Sow or Grow?
Consult
the table below to weigh up the good and bad points of onion
varieties
from seed and onions from sets.
If you are a beginner, try the
heat-treated onion sets first. These are easiest to care for and
will give you the best chance of success. |
| ONION
SETS |
ONION
SEED |
| Fewer
varieties, and restricted to the major seed merchants. |
Greater
choice of varieties from a large number of suppliers |
| More
expensive |
Cheaper |
| More
reliable performance all round, less work |
Less
reliable, more chance of failure. Harder work |
Can
be infected with disease when
bought. |
Seeds
are disease free. |
Recommended
Varieties of Onion
The table below gives our recommendations for each of the
different types of onions - in the end it comes down to personal
preference on taste and appearance, so try a couple of varieties
to discover your own favourite.
| Type |
Variety |
Colour |
Comments |
| Maincrop
seed |
Ailsa
Craig |
Gold/straw |
Good
for exhibition, but not particularly easy |
| |
Rijnsburger |
Gold/straw |
Keeps
well - good all-rounder |
| |
Kamal |
Red |
Great taste and lovely red colour. This now replaces
Dobies All Rounder as our favourite onion seed. From
Suttons. |
| |
Red
Baron |
Red |
NIAB
approved - keeps well and good colour |
| Maincrop
sets |
Centurion |
Gold/straw |
Reliable
in poor weather conditions |
| |
Orion |
Gold/straw |
Available
as heat treated - good all rounder |
Spring
Onion |
Lisbon |
White |
Good
all-rounder, reliable |
| Japanese
Onion |
Express
Yellow |
Gold/straw |
Matures
early summer, excellent. | |
