Onion sets - is it all a matter of size?

[newspud9]

Well as it's been a month since I last posted a question..... I've just received my onion sets for autumn planting (if it ever stops raining). I've got Shakespeare, Radar and Snowball (which I'm sure I didn't order but that's another story). As I go through them all to chuck out the mouldy ones (just what you want), some are at least twice big as others.  Should I expect the larger ones to produce larger onions?  Many thanks for the responses.

[newspud9]

[Tee Gee]

Should I expect the larger ones to produce larger onions?  Many thanks for the responses.

Not necessarily as they are all (subject to variety) genetically the same, its just that they have all developed at a different rate possibly due to the  type of season they have had.

[saddad]

The smallest may fail to get going if the weather is particularly miserable... having fewer resources to put out roots.

[newspud9]

Many thanks for the comments

[Beersmith]

I plant some onion sets in autumn to grow over winter - I like variety radar - but In also plant some in spring.  The ones grown over winter are ready earlier, but in my experience they do not keep as well as the ones started in spring.

The latter if sound and properly dried and ripened will last for months if stored correctly. So it might be worth thinking of planting more in the spring.

[ancellsfarmer]

While currently I do not grow Autumn onion sets; I have found that few survive on my site that has a high groundwater level in normal winters; they simply rot. I have taken to starting sets in trays of compost I use the carry trays that garden centres receive their potgrown bedding in. 18 x80-100mm potsize This gives a good 'plug' to plant out when ground conditions are fit in Spring. No doubt you could do the same with your 'tiny' Autumn sets, just keeping them moist and crawling along through winter. They could be in a sheltered place outdoors or within a tunnel. Providing a supply to replant any losses from your recently set onions.