Growing Onions from seed

Onions basically form 3 groups, the ordinary bulb varieties, the salad varieties and the Pickling varieties. All are grown in the same way. The hardy Japanese varieties can be grown to fill the traditional June to July gap that there used to be between the end of the winter stored and the new crop ripening. They are over-wintered and are ready earlier than the traditional varieties.

Onions grown from seed need good light soil with plenty of organic matter and good drainage. If your soil is heavy, consider planting sets instead of using seed. Prepare the bed by digging over and incorporating organic matter. Rake flat and firm the surface and rake in a general fertiliser at the rate of 2oz per square yard.

Sow the seed either in the greenhouse in cells in January or in shallow seed drills in February or March. Leave 9" between rows and thin the seedlings to 4" apart. Plant indoor sown plants the same distance apart. Salad Onions need only 1" between plants with 4" between the rows.

Keep weed free and only water if the weather is extremely dry. Break off any flower stems that appear.

Harvest Salad Onions when they are the thickness of a pencil.

When the bulb is mature the foliage will droop and dry off. Leave a further fortnight and the lift the bulb using a fork. Do this on a dry day. Place the onions on a tray (split up Shallot sets) and leave in a dry sunny place to ripen. Sort the onions and remove any that are damaged or have thick necks. Use these first, the good ones can then be stored by stringing together (see instructions) or putting in net sacks for use over the winter.

Onions can suffer from many of the general garden pests and diseases including Aphids, Onion fly, Onion eelworm, neck rot, white rot and storage rot. (See relevant Pests or Diseases sections)

© copyright 1999, P. A. Owen