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Planting onion seeds indoors

On the first of March I planted seeds of Patterson and Copra Onions, King Richard leeks and Prisma Red Shallots. This is the earliest I’ve started seeds, but onion family plants take a long time to get to planting size if started from seeds, and after all the snow this winter I am ready for spring!

Onion seeds planted in flat, ready to grow

I planted some onions in straight planting medium, others in a 50-50 mix of planting mix and compost. I want to see if the plants respond differently. One thing I noticed is that the 50-50 mix is much easier to get moist prior to planting. Planting medium is peat-based and very dry when it comes out of the bag. When you water it, the water tends to run right through, but when mixed with compost it holds water nicely. The compost will provide nutrition for my seedlings that a straight peat medium will not. One way to moisten the peat planting mix is to set your containers in water and let them suck up water from below. It takes a while, but will do the job well. Once the medium is moist there is no problem watering in the future.

I planted my onions in 5-inch square containers. In each I planted about 25 seeds, which is quite a dense planting compared to other veggies. But they grow well together and will separate easily when I plant them outdoors in April. I am growing them under lights, as just putting them on the window sill doesn’t really provide enough light. I acquired some new LED lights from Sunshine Systems (www.sunshine-systems.com). These lights (Glow Panel 45) use just a fraction of the electricity of my old fluorescent lights.