Onions are a must to grow — and so easy, says Bob
Red or yellow, mild or strong, there’s an onion for every garden as long as you get the timings right, says Bob
SOMEONE with good gardening knowledge is often said to know their onions. Which seems odd, as onions are not all that difficult. OK, they can be fiddly, as they’re small and you need a lot of them. But they are not actually very tricky, apart from needing fertile soil.
Perhaps it’s because there are many ways to grow this valuable crop. You can direct-sow some such as Japanese varieties at the end of August, and these will then grow through the winter to give a very early crop – although they will not store well for long, though.
In autumn, you can plant out specially treated sets (tiny onion bulbs), which will also give an earlier crop than those started later. From the new year until Easter, you can sow onions under cover in trays or cells to plant out several weeks later. Likewise, you can start more sets under cover, each to its own cell – this is my favourite way, as when planted out the plug of roots and compost is fixed in position, and stops the birds and worms moving the sets out of place.
Once the soil is friable, more sets can be planted direct in situ and indoorstarted seedlings can be put out. Then, as it warms up even more, onions can be sown direct in situ.
Diligent weeding, careful spacing and good thinning are essential if you want the largest onions. But you do not need to grow onions singly – clumps of three do just as well, simply getting smaller than would one in the same place.
So you really are spoilt for choice, to say little of the huge range of varieties in red, white and yellow, strong, sweet or mild. Harvesting could not be easier: just lift them once their tops die down and store in a dry, airy place. Job done!
“Diligent weeding and careful spacing are essential”