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Growing onions
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Potato onions - note the many bulbs forming from the one central
point
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Onions are a wonderful vegetable to grow. Home grown onions are much
better than the store varieties. I've never cried when chopping spring
onions until my last harvest when I became all teary.
Growing conditions
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In subtropical, temperate and cool climates onions are usually sown
in winter, growing through spring and harvested in summer.
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They love sunny well drained beds, especially when the bulbs mature
in summer.
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Remember to always lime your soil well a week or two before planting
onions. They love a sweet soil. Don't forget avoid applying manures
and blood and bone to the beds in which you're about to sow. In the
past we've given our soil a boost with mushroom compost instead. Or
better yet grow them in a soil manured last season.
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In a 4 bed rotation system onions are
grown with carrots, leeks, garlic, parsnips and other root crops.
Garden care
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We've grown all sorts of onions including brown long keeping onions,
potato onions and spring onions.
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Onion seeds are best sown into seed raising mix.
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They can be transplanted to garden beds when the seedlings are around
3 inches (8 cms) tall.
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There is a secret to planting onion seedlings. Instead of planting
them sticking straight up, we lay them down in a trench and move the
soil back over their roots. In about 10 days they're standing up and
growing along strongly.
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Potato onions are different to most onions. Their bulbs multiply
so for every one onion you plant you get another half dozen or so.
You screw them into the soil, leaving just their tops sticking out.
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Hand weed around onions to avoid disturbing their roots and bulbs.
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Keep away from nitrogen based liquid fertilisers when your onions
are maturing. Otherwise their efforts will go into their leaves instead
of their bulb.
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Regularly water your onions. Lack of water can delay growth or split
the bulb.
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Because of it's strong taste pests generally leave onions alone.
Harvest time
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Harvest onions (except spring onions) when the tops yellow
and start drying. This usually takes 6 months.
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Pull the whole plant from the ground and leave it to dry in
the sun. Turn it every few days and avoid getting them wet (eg
dew or rain). Hang them in a cool dry place for around 3 weeks
to cure.
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Eat the bulbs without a good dry skin first.
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Spring onions are different. They taste great in salads and
stir-fry meals. The big advantage with spring onions is they're
harvested without all the preparation long keeping other onions
need. Just dislodge their fibrous roots from the soil and bring
into the kitchen when needed. The other added bonus for these
guys is the growing season. They can be grown all year round,
although most people prefer growing them during spring and summer.
Last Updated
17 November, 2008
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