Few cooks would disagree that the most useful vegetable in the kitchen are onions. What’s more these vegetables are among the easiest to grow in the garden.
Experienced gardeners grow their onions from seed; this method gives them a greater choice of varieties and of course is very cost effective.
Gardeners that want a fast and efficient way to grow a crop of onions are better opting for onion sets. These are specially prepared, ready to plant baby onions that will mature into large, tasty onion globes by mid to late summer.
Sowing Onion Seeds
Spring-sown seed can be sown in trays under glass in midwinter. Harden off and plant out in rows in mid-spring.
Planting Onions
Onions should be planted in an open position in a light soil that has been manured during the previous autumn, try using Westland Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure for great results. Plant them at 10cm/4in intervals in rows that are spaced about 30cm/12in apart.
Keep the plants weed free. There is is generally no need to water unless the summer is particularly dry.
Harvesting Onions
In mid to late summer when the leaves start to yellow and die off lift the onions slightly out of the ground so that the sun can reach the base of the bulbs. As soon as the foliage has died off completely the onions can be further dried inside the greenhouse or shed before stringing them and storing them for winter use.
