Scallions tips turning brown

[kbrown1337]

I have been trying to start scallions from seed and the tips of them keep turning brown, and many of them just fall over. I'm currently growing some in my raised bed, and others in a bin with potting soil (just as an experiment).

Here's some pictures: http://imgur.com/a/POjMl

(Here's one of the pictures I copied over the link and put between img codes so it would display here for easier viewing -Applestar)


Is this normal? And if not, any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

[imafan26]

The soil in that bed is a bit rocky. I usually grow my alliums in finer soil, not so much rocks. They like an evenly moist soil.
There is an onion maggot that will turn green onion tips brown, but I usually see it on fully grown onions. It is a little early but they might be out already since it is warmer and wetter than usual for this time of year.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/cro ... 00-017.htm

I think the soil is probably drying too fast with all the rocks in it too.

[applestar]

I think you are right imafan. This happened to me when I was trying to grow onion seedlings started from seeds in egg cartons. When the seedlings first come up they are in a loop, and then when they unfold, the roots grow rapidly, as long as they are tall on top. My onion seedlings browned like this when the roots hit the bottom of the egg carton. I grow the seeds in deeper containers now.

Maybe something similar is happening to them in this bed.

[jnunez918]

Would u guys suggest bagged seed starting mix until they are bigger?

[imafan26]

Onion seedlings are delicate in the beginning and I grow all my onions from seed. They are also pretty slow to grow, so I start the in community pots. I use 3.5 or 4 inch community pots with MG potting mix or peat/lite with osmocote that I mix myself. They need the root space so they don't do well in very shallow containers. When they get bigger I transplant them to the garden or divide and pot them up in gallons. My mix is designed to drain and dry fast so I need to water every day.

[Taiji]

I'm always surprised at how much water my onions need. If I go a couple days without watering them, the tips start going brown too. I guess when you think about it, a long thin leaf stretching straight up; a long ways for the water to go, especially in my arid climate!

[imafan26]

I planted more Koba onions. I made my own peatlite with osmocote. I do a lot of potting so it is cheaper in the long run to make my own soil mix. I also have fewer problems if I can make a mix that works with my watering habits. I water every day. If I use potting soil, it does not contain as much perlite and especially with seeds, I have more dampening off issues.

What works for me is to use premoistened mix and I sprinkle a generous amount of seeds over the top of the container. I press them in but do not cover them. They seem to like being exposed to the light. I water once daily, but humidity is high here around 80 percent ave and my bench is out in the yard. Once a day is enough watering for me. If your soil dries out faster you need to either adjust your soil mix and/or watering habits for your situation. My mix will usually still be moist to touch the next day, but a day and a half and it will be bone dry. Seeds need to be evenly moist. Some of my seeds shifted when I watered because I got lazy and the soil mix was not evenly moist so I had some dry spots and uneven distribution of seeds, but it will work out in the end.
I keep most of the onions in gallon containers for my use. I don't use that much and they are cut and come again. They will live for a couple of years before they get too fat for anything but hekka. My sister can kill them in three months so she gives me back the dead pots and I refill them for her. They are tedius to transplant one by one, but it can be done especially with leeks into the garden. I don't have a lot of space in the veggie garden so I usually keep longer lived plants like onions, tomato, pepper and eggplant in containers and save most of the garden space for annual vegetables. I am thinking I may have to grow more of the space hogging annuals in pots too to improve the yield. If I don't have a lot of things I want to plant, it does not matter I can give the space to the space hogs. Usually, I plant corn in summer since, although it does hog the space, it is something that never goes to waste, but yields per plant are low. I have a lot of squash seeds and corn seeds that will expire and I know they won't keep so I have to try to get both of them in.