Growing onions.

From seed.

As a rule I sow onion seed Alsia Craig and Kelsae between Christmas and the New Year. These produce large onions which can be entered in shows but I usually give them to family and friends to impress them. Sowing this early in the year fills an urge to start sowing again. I have no heat in my greenhouse so I start them off on the kitchen windowsill in 40 module trays. Once germinated I move then to the greenhouse placing them in polystyrene boxes [ex fish boxes] and covering them at night to provide more protection. Around mid March when there is pressure for greenhouse space I move the boxes to a cold frame on the allotment; if necessary I will transplant them into 7cm pots gradually hardening them off ready to plant out at the end of April. If hoping to achieve large onions I plant at 20cm [8 inch] spacing, staggering the rows. I find they usually keep growing until mid/late August, these large onions do not keep very well although I find they keep until October; by then they have either been eaten or given away.

From sets.

Onion sets are easy to grow you just place the onion in the ground sometime in March and harvest in late July/early August. Yet they are pitfalls, if the weather is cold and wet at the time of planting there is a risk that they will, as a consequence, bolt and run to seed especially if the cold wet weather continues after planting out. Looking over my records of the past ten years I have planted sets outside as early as 20^th February and as late as 14^th March. To get onions growing and to benefit from a longer growing season I now plant a large batch in either 7cm pots or 24 module trays in late January/early February in the greenhouse. These are moved to a coldframes when the space is required, normally in mid March, gradually hardened off and planted out in mid-April spacing at 10/12cms in staggered rows. This spacing results in medium sized bulbs which seem to store better than large onions and keep, in the right conditions, until late April/early May. Depending on the summer they stop growing by mid July when the tops keel over and they become ready for harvesting. If the weather is fine and sunny I leave them outside on trays to dry and ripen. If the weather is inclement I complete the ripening process in the greenhouse.

Winter Onions.

I always grow these from sets planting them around the middle of September at 12/15cm spacing in staggered rows. At the same time I plant a batch at 2.5cm spacing to use as spring onions as and when ready. The winter onions are normally ready by the end of May but once the previous summer onions are finished in early May then I start using the winter onions when they reach the size of a golf ball.

Storing Onions.

I store my onions in a cellar but garages and garden sheds are suitable too. For my ‘onion rope’ I thread the ripened onions through the blue rope you find on building sites Another method is to tie three lengths of stout string together and thread the onions through these. I find that whilst the onions are still ripening, with the stems still slightly moist, is a good time to string them. They can then be left to the ripening process. Years ago I gave up trying to weave the stems together to make a ‘French’ onion rope.