"Planting Onions"
for eating!

Planting onions in your garden will ensure every meal is a winner.

You can eat onions green, or dried and stored during the winter months.

They really are a very versatile vegetable, and the range of varieties is enormous...

Planting onions - your choice

There are many varieties of regular onions, and even more if you look around!

We have grown 'everlasting' onions for years in our garden. These onions go under many different names, but basically they grow as a clump, rather like large chives. During the winter months every year, you dig up a whole clump of onions, use most of them and re-plant a couple with a few strong roots. These re-planted onions will multiply the following spring and give you another crop of green onions from late summer onwards.

The onion family is huge - ranging from garlic through to leeks, including chives, shallots and regular onions.

Not only do these wonderful vegetables add flavour to your everyday meals, they are also very good for you.

Seeds or Sets?

You can start onions from seed or buy the small onion 'sets' which are just like baby onions. I've tried many times to grow onion from seed but the only success I had was with spring onions - and they did very well. However, if you can get them going, planting onion seed is much cheaper than buying sets.

Planting onions from seed

Start your onion seed in situ as early as possible in the year. Cover with a small cloche if necessary to protect from cold nights.

The soil needs to be worked well, and raked to a fine tilth. Remove all weeds and stones before planting. This is best done whatever seeds you are planting.

Plant your seed in a very shallow trench - only a couple of centimetres deep. Check on your seed packet as some onion seed should be scattered and simply pressed in to the soil gently with the back of a rake.

Thompson & Morgan online deal with global seed supplies and you can browse their pictures in your own time.

For US deliveries click here Thompson & Morgan US
For UK deliveries click here Thompson & Morgan UK
Deliveries to other countries, click here Thompson & Morgan homepage

Water the seed and keep weed free. Onion seed is notorious for taking it's time with germination and you could wait several weeks before the new onion shoots appear.

A little patience is needed when planting onions!

Keep an eye on the birds, especially if you scattered the seed rather than buried it.

Looking after your onions

As the new shoots appear, be vigilant with the weeds. For some reason, weeds seem to love growing around the onions. Although many gardeners will say that onions will grow in a bed of weeds, you will undoubtedly get a better crop if you keep as weed-free as possible.

Keep watered but don't allow the ground to become boggy. The onions will rot very quickly.

Depending on the variety, your onions will probably need 'thinning' out at some point. Check on your seed packet for more info on your particular variety.

Generally though, you will need to pull out some plants, leaving space for the others to swell and develop properly. If you leave them all squashed in a line, they won't do what you want them to! Do this a couple of times during the growing period. Use the thinnings, the small plants you pull out, in the salad bowl or add to stir-frys.

Later when you have only a few onions in your row, remove alternate onions as you need them. The others will grow even fatter!

Planting onions from sets

By far the easier way! Choose your sets from a reputable supplier...there are a few online.

Thompson & Morgan again - but they only deliver onion sets to UK.

"Hyred" "Senshyu" "Shallot"

All the varieties above are available for UK deliveries at Thompson & Morgan. This link will take you directly to the onion pages.. Planting Onions at Thompson & Morgan

Amazon have onion sets available for US deliveries.

Onion Red Baron Hybrid

Onion Candy Hybrid


Otherwise get yourself down to your local garden centre. Planting onions is an early gardening job and onion sets won't be available after late spring.

Choose a variety of onion you prefer to eat! Ask local onion growers which varieties they grow. You don't have to listen to their advice, but often you'll find some of it makes sense! I've had great success with shallots almost every year. They are fun to grow as they make a great clump of small fat shallots from one tiny shallot set. You can use them green, they don't need to be dried. Grate one in a salad bowl or just use as regular onions.

Planting onion sets - when and where?

As soon as the ground is workable, work it! Prepare your onion patch to a fine tilth and dig in some well-rotted compost. Don't plant onions in boggy ground. They'll rot very quickly.

Push your onion sets into the fine earth at intervals of approx 4-6 inches, depending on the size of the fully developed onion. Give them space to grow!

Don't push too deep into the earth. Leave a tiny piece of stalk showing above the soil. This ensures air and light.... but you will have to check for birds. I've seen the birds lift my onions clean out of the ground the very morning after I'd planted them.

If birds are a particular problem, cover the stalk of the onions very lightly.

NB: Onions like to grow in full sun.

Planting onions: after care

Keep watered and weed-free, have a chat with them every day and they'll be fine!

Sometimes the onion will 'bolt' or try to go to seed. When this happens you will see a single stem much more rigid than the other foliage, and a bulb will appear on top. This shouldn't happen with hybrid plants but nature is powerful! If you do spot one of your onions bolting, you can cut the offending stem and hope for the best! The plant may just do it again. If so, pull the onion and eat it!

Onion fly can be a problem in some areas. Avoid using products if you can, unless you have an excellent organic supplier. Companion planting can be used here. Carrot fly hate the smell of onions and onion fly hate the smell of carrots.... Plant carrots and onions side by side and you ( hopefully ) eliminate both types of fly.

I've always grown onions and carrots close together and - touch wood - never yet had a problem with either of these pests.

Harvesting onions

Onions should be left in the ground until the foliage is lying down and starting to die back.

Late in the summer, before the wet weather sets in, you will need to pull all of your onions.Choose a warm sunny day and pull all the onions up gently and lay on the soil in the sun to dry. Turn after a few hours and bring them in at night.

Put them out again in the sun for a few days if you feel they need a lot of drying. This will depend on the size and variety of the onions.

Storing

Onions can be stored in a dry dark place very successfully over winter. To store at their best, you could try plaiting them and hanging from a hook in an outside shed or garage. Or place single layers of onions in cardboard cartons.

The storage environment should be

a stable temperature - frost will rot!

dry - damp makes onions soggy and they will not keep well.

fairly dull light - not in direct sunlight

good ventilation, air flow.

and definately mouse-free!

Planting onions in your garden is one of the most rewarding experiences. Onions are an everyday vegetable and a must in the kitchen!

You can find more about onions and even a few recipe ideas in my book recently published with Findhorn Press. Grow Your Own Pharmacy You really can grow enough fruit and veg to keep your family glowing with good health!

Happy Gardening!

More "Onion" Reading

www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/planting-onions.html