Onions

Onions are a main staple to most cooking dishes so to grow your own is an added benefit to your kitchen. They can be easy to grow as long as you look after them. You can grow them from small onions these are called sets. Lets find out how to grow onion sets.

Caring For Onions

Onions need us to look after them when they are growing or you may just end up with small little ones. With the right care you could end up with some really big ones that could feed a family.

If the weather is warm in the spring and summer give them a occasional feed with a general liquid fertiliser

Once the Onions have swollen in mid summer you can stop feeding them and stop watering them.

Onions do not like to compete with weeds so make sure you hand weed regually round the onions being careful of any roots growing round them and not to damage the bulb.

If you see any flowers appearing or spikes coming out of the top cot them off as this will stop the onion from growing.

Planting Onions

When choosing the right area for you onions these need to be planted in a sheltered site that is fertile and drains well. Do not plant your onions in acid soils.

Before you plant your onions you need to add some nutrients to the soil. Mix some compost in the soil or well rotted manure. Then add some general purpose fertiliser.

You can plant onion sets around 10 cm apart this will give them the room they need to swell plus plenty of room to weed in between them. The rows need to be 30cm apart again this is so you have room to weed in between. The key is to keep them weed free.

To plant the onions they need to put in the soil from around the middle of March through to April. If you are growing them through the winter you can plant in October.

Put the onion set gently in the soil so that the tip is just popping through the soil. gently firm the soil around them.

Earlier I mentioned that birds especially pigeons are a problem with onions, they like to eat the tops off them or pull them out. The best thing to do is either cover with netting or fleece.

Onions need to be grown in the ground they are not suited to being grown in containers or pots.

How to plant onion sets video

Watch how to grow Onion Sets by The Yorkshire Gardener in the video below:-

Harvesting Onions

The time to harvest onions is when the leaves start to turn yellow and bed over. This is usually late summer and early autumn if you planted them in the spring.

Before the leaves completely die you need to pull them up. Gently use a hand fork and lift them out. Put the Onions on a grill or a rack in the full fun or in a greenhouse is ventilated for around 2 to 3 weeks to ripen off and dry out. When the leaves are dry and papery the onions can be stored in a cool, dry light place to store until needed. A lot of gardeners hang them up.

Common issues

Now you will know how to grow Onion Sets but there are a few issues that can affect the growing of onions. Here you can see what those issues are.

• Onion downy mildew – this is a disease that can damage the leaves and also the onion bulbs. This will affect your crops and the yields you grow. This usually happens when the area is too damp. Make sure your onions are grown where there is plenty of light and air around them. Plant them at the correct distances and keep them weed free.
• Leek Rust – this disease is when you see bright yellow spots on the leaves. This usually looks worse when there has been a lot of rain
• Onion White Rust – This fungues is generated in the soil, it attacks the roots then working it’s way up to the bulb. It can also affect the foliage making it turn yellow. You will also notice black marks on the bulb. There is no cure for this issue. Make sure it’s not cross contaminated to the rest of the plot

You can find out more information on Onions here. You can also learn about growing other vegetables here. Why not try growing your own flowers with our tips here.