Growing Onions. Summer Onions and Winter Onions.

There are two type of bulbing or globe onion. There is the winter onion which is referred to as the Japanese onion and there is the summer or main crop onion.

I will start by explaining a little about how to grow the summer onion or main crop onion. Basically this also applies to the winter onion also. You can grow onions either from onion sets which are small immature onions or you can grow them from seed. The most popular choice for growing onions is to grow them from sets. There are many advantages to growing onions from sets rather than seed the main advantage is that you already have a small onion to start with and all you need to do is to put the onion in the ground and water and feed it to help it to swell and form the proper onion bulb. Also onion sets do not need a ground that is heavy on organic matter so if you are just starting a new vegetable bed then the onion set is the best choice to start you off growing onions. Of course with every advantage there are disadvantages. The disadvantage of growing onions from sets are you do not get a large choice of varieties as you would do if you where growing them from seed. Also there is the cost. If you grow your onions from seed then you will be saving a lot of money because onion sets cost more than onion seeds. Like I stated before if you are new to vegetable gardening then the preferred choice are the onion sets.

To pre pair the bed or place of planting for your onions it is best to choose an area that has full sun as they like light and warm conditions to grow happily. Dig the bed in winter if possible and include plenty of organic matter. Make sure you remove and perennial weed roots like couch grass or dandelions. In the spring March-April rake in a general purpose fertilizer a week before planting. plant your onion sets in the ground with a spacing of 5 or 6 inches apart with 9 inch between the rows. Keep a check on the onion sets in the early stages as nesting birds mistake the tops as nesting material so they pull them out of the ground. If that happens then just push them back in the ground. That is basically it for onion sets. All you need to do now is to make sure they are watered and weed free and you should have a good crop of onions to show for your time and effort.

Planting the Japanese onion or the winter onion is roughly the same. Plant the winter onion in a bed that has been dough in august. I personally like to use an old pea bed or a place I grow my peas because if you leave the pea roots in the ground and dig them in it adds nitrogen to the soil as pea root hold a lot of nitrogen. Plant the winter onions from September - Mid November. In spring give the winter onions a balanced fertilizer and keep weed free. Harvest winter onions from June to July.