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I am going to try onions from seed this year - I've always bought sets before. According to my veg growing calendar for London, January Week 4 is the kick off date for sowing onions!!! Getting quite excited!

I'm trying onions from seeds again this year too. I've grown from seed before and had a very good return. Because of the dratted onion leaf miner I'm going to grow from seed and plant out later. I've got two varieties Rjinsburger and a lovely old French variety Doux des Cevennes both good keepers. Definitely going to save seed.

I envy you.I have White Rot in my ground.Its thought that set growing is the main cause of this.Guilty as charged! So seed growing is probably a good idea.Interesting though ,that any perennial onions are unaffected.

I had a thing in my mind about garlic being used to clear White rot, and upon a google it seems I was right.

https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/how-to ... white-rot/

GARLIC EXTRACT CURE FOR WHITE ROT?

There is a glimmer of faint hope, and that’s adding garlic extract to the soil. The idea is that this causes the sclerotia to sense allicin, the chemical that gives onion family plants their scent. This tricks the sclerotia into germinating and, finding no host plant to infect, they will starve and die. This may help reduce, if not completely eliminate, the disease.
To make garlic extract, take a bulb of clean, disease-free garlic and discard the papery wrappers and the basal plate. Crush the whole bulb into 10 litres (two gallons) of water. Water it onto areas of your garden that you’re not currently using for growing allium family crops. Don’t be shy – use a lot!

The whole 10 litres (two gallons) should be applied to two square metres (21 square feet). Do this when temperatures are between 15 and 18°C (59-64°F) as this is the optimum germination temperature for the sclerotia. An easier option is to rake or water in garlic powder, which you can buy quite cheaply in large containers from equestrian suppliers.

And these comments might be of help.

"Hi I use garlic powder on the ground with the crop before my onions, sweet corn is the norm.
I dress the area in mid June then again in mid July Then last of all mid August.
in 2014 I lost 95% of my crop of onions to white rot last year 2015 I lost 20% but that was with only one dressing this year 2016 with 3 dressings I lost 1 onion out of the 500 i grew
Yes Garlic Powder Does Work"

There is more from the guy further down in the comments. Maybe worth a try?

I have read of this.I am going to try this on a strip of ground,and earmark it for onions next year.It sounds very plausible and practical.

I have bookmarked that link,thanks Brambles.

Tomatoes and chillies now sown in the propagator.Many varieties to try this year.

Peas, beans and chard sown indoors. Although the Beast has passed I'm still a little reluctant to start sowing outside yet!

My youngest works at a rather upmarket garden centre.She brought home an indoor mushroom kit.Seems that is the next project.

Tomatoes all germinated. Woo hoo! Summers coming!

I'm going to buy a few trugs and have a go again this year.