Onion Growing, how to grow onions with pictures and advice.

Growing Onions

Onions
Easy to grow with a long storage life, onions are one of the best vegetables for the home gardener.

They have the advantage of being a sensible proposition in both the large and small garden, and can be grown in the same position for several years. With a little planning, they can be available for nearly all year round eating.

GROWING ONIONS
QUICK GUIDE

Latin Name
Allium cepa

Type
Edible bulb vegetable

Site and Soil
Full sun on most soils.

Plant to Harvest Time
Spring onions 11 weeks
Onion from seed 24 weeks
Onion from sets 20 weeks
Japanese onions 46 weeks

How Many?
Spring onions 60 per 1m (3ft) row
Onion 7 per 1m (3ft) row

The introduction of heat treated onion sets (small onion bulbs pre-started into growth before sale) now means that growing onions is almost fool-proof.

Where To Grow Onions
Picture of Onion Variety 'Red Delicious' Onions prefer a a sunny position with a rich but light soil, however they will do well in most soils as long as it is firm. For this reason it is best to prepare the soil well in advance of planting - December time is fine for maincrop onions, June is best for Japanese onions. Dig the soil to 45cm (18in) deep, working in any organic matter available - remove any stones in the soil that you come across during the digging. Just before planting, tread the soil down so that it is firm.

Onions are ideal plants for growing in small confined spaces, they particularly thrive in raised beds. For more information click here to go to our page on raised beds.

When To Plant Onions
Onions should be treated differently according to their type. Each is described below.

Maincrop onion seed and sets (small, part grown onion bulbs) should be sown outside starting March. If they are sown under cloche protection, they can be sown four weeks earlier.

Japanese onion seed should be sown outside in mid-August.

Spring (or salad) onion seed should be sown at three week intervals from early April to early June.

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT ONION PAGE