VEGETABLES > ONIONS
IN THIS GUIDE
Allium cepa GUIDES
Companion PlantingHarvestingPreventing BoltingSowing
Onions are an extremely utilitarian addition to your home - grow diet , and can be utilitarian as fellow industrial plant for other craw too .
Onions are of course extremely prized for their savor .
When in outgrowth , their inviolable pungent scent is said to deter or disconcert a range of gadfly .
Onions are not tremendously difficult to develop , specially if you plant life sets ( young medulla oblongata ) rather than produce from seed – but there are some thing you require to carry in mind to get the adept possible issue .
In this guide , we ’ll tell you more about these plants , and the varieties that you might consider .
We ’ll plow the canonic environmental and care requirement and help you empathise how to grow onions from start to finishing .
Overview
PreferredFull Lord’s Day
ExposureSheltered or unwrap
Height0.1 – 0.5 MB
Spread0.1 – 0.5 M
PreferredRich loam
MoistureMoist but free draining
pHNeutral to slightly acidic
People have been cultivating onion for over 5,000 years.1Onion History . ( 2019 , December 1 ) . National Onion Association . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.onions-usa.org/all-about-onions/history-of-onions/
It is a biennial plant , related to idle specie which occur in the state of nature in Asia , but in gardens and on farm , it is more typically spring up as an annual craw .
A bit of different onion plant , or works in the Allium kinsfolk are normally grow in gardens .
In this clause , we are referring specifically to the bulb onion plant , or common onion plant : Allium cepavar.cepa .
This is link up to but has dissimilar care requirement from perennial onion types , and other close congenator commonly cultivated in annual gardens including garlic , leeks etc .
The shallot is another related plant , which has been classified as the same species ( var.aggregatum ) since 2010.2Allium ascalonicum . ( 2023 ) . United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=2221
Common Varieties
Onion mixed bag which have been award with the RHS Award of Garden Merit ( make them particularly suit to originate in the UK ) include :
When choosing onion varieties , it is important to guess about whether you would like to produce onion from seed , or leverage sets or young onion plant to found ( which is the easier option ) .
It is also important to considerhowyou wish to use the onions ( and whether you need them to lay in well ) .
You also need to believe aboutwhenyou are sowing – some varieties are better for spring planting , and some for overwintering .
Growing Onions
As mention above , you’re able to inseminate onion plant seed , or you’re able to purchase sets and implant these .
Deciding which of these pick you will take is one of the first things you need to decide when growing onion plant at home .
If you decide to opt for the more challenging ( but cheaper ) alternative of sowing seed , the come can be sown indoors or outdoors .
When sowing indoors , you will sow the seed in mid to late winter .
you may also direct sow Allium cepa where they are to grow from late winter until mid - spring , as soon as the ground is becoming less damp and is starting to warm .
“ Often , keen gardeners will sow too ahead of time in spring and get strike by a cold charm which can make plants bolt , ” explains Master Horticulturist Dan Ori .
“ abscond is what we call the reaction of the plant life when due to a tension factor the plant sends up a bloom stalk .
“ The flowering of an onion affects the quality and store qualities of the onion medulla oblongata , as the plant will put most of its energy into producing seed rather than developing the bulb .
“ you’re able to get bolt - resistant varieties like ‘ Centurion ’ that I would commend . ”
Seeour elaborated guide to sow onionsfor more selective information .
Planting
Onions seed from seed , or Allium cepa sets , are planted out in March or April .
Certain varieties can also be plant in October or November and overwintered for an earlier crop the following twelvemonth .
winter onions is an choice for those who do not have heavy clay dirt or a location prostrate to wintertime waterlogging .
Onion sets can molder when placed in to a fault wet conditions .
However , providing the metier is free draining ( or you grow undercover ) winter onion can be a outstanding idea .
onion have clean limited theme systems , which means that it is significant to ensure that the sphere where you are planting them has the nutrient they require , and that the soil is healthy .
Usingno dig methods to enrich the grow areaor create it in the first place , is a great idea .
A ‘ lasagna garden ’ or other no - dig raise bed can be the ideal environment for mature onions , just as it can be dandy for other crops .
check that that there is plenty of compost , well - rot manure or other constituent matter in the garden sphere .
Harden off indoors seedling before transplanting into the ground in saltation – or pot up into containers if you are continuing with indoors growing .
harden off seedlings simply means bit by bit increasing exposure so they are bit by bit acclimatised to outdoors status .
Planting out onion sets just take choosing a worthy web site , then placing the set pointy end upward in the background ( or the container ) .
specially when overwintering , but also in springiness , it is a good idea to mulch well around the plants .
A mulch including potassium - rich leave of absence of dynamic accumulator plants like comfrey , for example , can help oneself onions grow well .
A mulch spread over the surface of the layer or grow domain can also thinly cover the sets or untried onion plant and stop bird from pluck them from the ground .
If unmediated sowing , the seeds should be sown around 1 curium abstruse , in words 20 atomic number 96 aside , thinning to 10 curium between plants , or around 9 per straightforward foot .
Spacing is rough and you’re able to vary it , depending on how large you would like the bulb to become and the varieties you are growing .
As a rough rule of ovolo , onion sets should unremarkably be placed around 10 - 15 cm apart or , again , around 9 per substantial human foot .
When planting onion sets , the pointy top should just show above the control surface of the soil or growing intermediate .
Plant Care Guidelines
Onions should ideally be develop in full sun for best issue .
weewee onions every two weeks or so during prolonged wry spells – more frequently if the onions are produce somewhere where they are not getting rude rain , or when grow them in container which will dry out more quickly .
Whenever tearing , seek to water at the land level , not from overhead , since overhead watering can increase the incidence of fungal infections .
Once the onion bulbs have expanded and swelled , by around mid - summer for spring sown crops , stop all watering .
If you continue to water past mid - summer , the onions will not store as well .
Nutrition will largely be provided by the soil or growing medium , which should , as advert above , be mulched with compost or other constitutive matter upon institute .
Adding a potassium - rich mulch or plant food in around June can help encourage healthy bulb geological formation .
Autumn planted onion will also benefit from top dressing with a atomic number 7 - ample mulch or organic fertiliser like dry domestic fowl manure in late winter .
Onions are one crop that does not cope very well with rivalry .
Unfortunately , since onion do n’t give just ground cover or produce much shade , weeds can easily jump up between them .
It is authoritative to keep on top of weeds .
A mulch will help to keep down the weeds , but you are probable to still have to do some weed .
Since onion have shallow rootage , these can easily be damage by regardless hoeing .
Weeding by hand , little and often , or careful role of a hoe , can help you keep on top of things .
Lift and discharge one-year weeds on the surface of the ground , or consider collecting more pernicious locoweed and using these to make a fluid fertiliser for your garden .
Common Problems
onion plant fly is one of the best - bang pests of an onion plant crop .
Unfortunately , the first sign will be drooping icteric leafage ( before you would expect to see this as harvest approaches ) .
But by this time , the larvae will already be nibble off , destroying the bulb .
flora carrots and parsley in rows between onions , or in among them , to reduce the incidence of this job .
These works can slightly mask the scent of the onions and so make it less potential that onion tent flap will find them .
Onion neck rot can be a problem during wet summers , especially in locations with heavier and less free - draining soils .
You ’ll see brownish mark and a fluffy grey mould may seem .
Avoiding overcrowding and improving drain may reduce the relative incidence of this problem , and electric light should be dried thoroughly so this problem does not happen in storage .
