Kristen,
I tried it once and in my zone it didn't work. Because the seeds were planted very early they took about 3 weeks to even come up. By the end of the season they were about the size of sets.
If you are going to try it I would suggest that you at least sprout the seed indoors to give yourself a little extra grow time.
-Gary

I trying shallots from seed here, and have planted several in small pots indoors. They will get replanted outdoors about mid April or May, depending on whether the temps hold above 32 degrees. Right now, for the next week, the temps here will hover in the mid 30's at night. My garlic chives will drop seeds nearby the main clump in late summer, and the next spring I see new shoots and plants by about mid June. Someone said that my shallot seeds will mature in about 100 days, so I figure if I start them now indoors now, they will be getting about a 100 days of summer growth, which is more than enough time to 'mature'.

Hi Kristin,

I put some of my plants out today. Usually I wait until mid-April. I broadcast the seeds in trays, generally in the second week of February. It is a little too late now to get good sized onions from seed. I would suggest buying healthy plants this year if you want large onions. You may be able to get some decent medium sized onions if you start them now and grow them as fast as you can in fertile soil. Good luck to you.

David

MY shallot seeds have just started to show green shoots. They are in very small one inch pots, and will soon be set out in my greenhouse for a week or so, and then planted outside in a few weeks once they show a bit more leaf.

david, darn, I wish you had an e-mail so I could send some!

So you say you broad cast over a flat... tell me more about this... how deep is the flat and what kind of soil? And what kind of flat? I have the black plastic ones without holes -- solid flats-- and it seems ot me I need some with drainage. I do have some of those also, but not many. And, they'll leak everywhere. Tell me more about how you do this?

I know I'm really late!

I'm fine with small bulbs this year! I just want to figure out how to do it right so I do it VERY well next year. :)

Kristen

Kirsten,
Use the flats with the clear plastic covers and use bottom heat! Onions really like it. Here I can sow outside about Oct 1 and transplant about Nov 15. Harvest around 1st to 15th of June. I have started seed around 1st of feb in the covered flats and transplanted out about 15 March. That way I get medium
onions, but the quality is best.
Take the covers off as soon as they sprout and keep well lighted and ventelated. Watch out for damping off. Try the week tea spray to prevent.

In the past I have had a lot of problems with wire stem/damp off and wondered if the heated/covered tray with one inch or ferti-cubes would be a good thing?

I'm in the north, where long-day onions are needed, and may be different than the short-day types better suited to NM, but here goes...

Direct-seeded onions will usually not do particularly well here, so I plant them inside in pots. I've learned that the onions need lots of root space...they won't do particularly well for more than about 2 weeks in a small pot or in a 10x20 flat. Give them barely enough water, and enrich the water you do give them to boost nutrient levels...miracle grow, or manure/compost/worm casting/etc. teas, as you prefer.

I find that little onions about 6" tall and nearly 1/8" thick take off fastest. Smaller than that and they languish a lot longer.