How to Grow Onions
Onions are great raw or cooked. They are used in many recipes and are very nourishing. They have been a main staple in human diets since ancient times. You can grow your own very easily. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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All plants in the onion family are heavy feeders so make sure you give them rich soil, plenty of water and ample sun. There are ornamental members of the onion family, Allium, that will offer big lolly-pop spheres of color in your garden. These are most frequently bought as bulbs from garden centers, catalogs or other retail venues.
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Grow the kind of onions you will use most and those that do best in your area. There are a lot of different types of edible onions, but the most commonly used are the big yellow, white or red bulbs, leeks and scallions or green onions.
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If you choose to grow these from seed, you will find a plethora of interesting colors and growth habits. Some areas have problems with onion flies that lay eggs in the young onion plant and decimate it before it gets a chance to grow. If you live in an area with this pest, you might want to start your seed indoors, under covered protection, or plant onion 'sets'.
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In mild winter climates the autumn is a great time to plant onions as they'll have a long season to grow big. You can also plant them in the early spring when residents of frostier climates will be planting theirs.
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Scallions or green onions will form bunches and can be pulled carefully as you need them. I find I can leave a few in at the end of the season and they will start new clumps next year. I do not have hard frosts (cold enough that the soil freezes at least an inch or two down) where I live.
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Leeks, Allium ampeloprasum are usually grown from seed. They are sprinkled in a small area, and when they grow to 3 - 4" tall, I make holes about 6" deep with a dibbler and drop a young leek down into it, then water it in. The soil will fill in by itself blanching the base to form those nice white leek stems that cook up so well. The leek has long flat leaves rather than the cylindrical leaves of the scallion or the bulb onion. Most of the leaf is used in cooking as well as the stem.
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The familiar bulb onion, Allium cepa, can be grown from seed planted about 6" apart in rows, or you can buy small onions called 'sets' and push the bottoms just about half way at the same distances. Check to see that birds don't pull them out again. Like all onions, they too, need rich soil, plenty of water and occasional feeding to help the bulbs grow large. At the end of the season the foliage will start to brown and die back. You can pull the onions once that foliage is mostly or all brown. Let them air in a cool place for a couple of days and store them where light is low and air is dry. The best 'keepers' are the yellow onions.
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- Photo Credit Photo by GardenGates
