Get growing
Onions
Just stick them in the ground. That’s it.
- Not even slightly difficult to grow. Just plant sets (small baby onions) in the spring. Dig them up from late summer.
- Experiment with whole range of different onions: spring, pickling, shallots
- With a big enough plot you could easily to get a year’s supply from one crop (if stored well, they keep for months)
Complete growing directions
- Buy ‘sets’—tiny immature onions made for planting.
- Make V-shaped trenches in the soil, 10 inches apart (use the edge of a rake or hoe).
- Place the sets upright in the rows 4 inches apart and replace the soil right up to their necks. Water and wait!
- Hint: birds might tweak your bulbs out by their necks, thinking they are worms. If they do, just pop them back in.
- To harvest let the leaves turn brown, lift out the bulbs and put them somewhere to dry.
Watering
- The easiest way to tell if something needs watering is with your finger: poke it into the soil to test.
- If the soil is damp just under the surface, don't water. If it is dry up to the first crease of your finger then you need to water.
- Seeds and seedlings need care when watering – use a fine-head watering can so you don't over-water them.
- It is better to water well infrequently than to sprinkle a little every day.
Compost
- Buy peat-free ‘multi-purpose’ type compost, ideally organic.
- Plants growing in growbags and containers will need weekly plant food after 6 weeks, whereas plants in the ground won't.
All about Onions
- Plant: Late February–April
- Harvest: July–August
- Container: The ground
- Location: Garden
- What to sow: Plant
