Growing Onions 101
Onions were one of the first vegetables I ever grew. I didn't know much about growing them, but they required very little babysitting, and were some of the finest onions I've ever eaten. They tasted like butter....in a good way.
While the soil I was working with spoiled me - 300 years of cow poop made for an AMAZING garden - I've done a bit more research on growing onions so that I can be successful with any type of soil.
Onions play as big a role in my kitchen as, say, garlic or potatoes. I try to add them into nearly every meal we have. In scrambled eggs, soups, casseroles, bakes...you name it.
Nutritional Info on Onions
They are one of the sulfur-rich foods Dr Terry Wahls recommends play an important part in our diet. They're also high in biotin, manganese, copper, Vitamins B6 and C as well as other phytonutrients. They've been scientifically proven to help prevent some cancers, reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke, and even regulate blood sugar in diabetics.
Medicinal Uses of Onions
Medicinally, onion juice has been used to treat skin irritations and cuts because of they're anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Warm onion juice can also be used to treat earaches. I've even heard of securing a sliced onion on the bottom of your foot with a sock and sleeping with it there to treat common colds and flues.
Growing Onions
You can grow onions from seed, but I recommend buying onion "sets" - or already started onions. If you start your onions from seed, dig a 1/4 inch trench and sow them in a straight line. You'll pinch off the ones that don't thrive.
If you start your onions from sets, plant your sets in groups of four - they'll grow away from each other and be easier to weed and water.
Soil pH
5.5-6.5
Sunlight
3+ hours per day
Water
Roughly one inch per week
Planting Time
Start your seeds in Jan-Mar. Plant your sets as soon as the soil is warm enough to be worked.
Companion Plants
Beets, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, roses, chamomile
Avoid Plants
Beans, Peas
Spacing
4 inches
Maintenance
Weed and mulch
Harvest
When the stalks turn yellow and fall over
Preserving
Dry your onions in a light, airy place with the dirt and dry skin peels still on. Or make onion soups and can it. Or slice thinly and dehydrate to make onion powder. Or slice and keep in a freezer baggy in the freezer.
I gotta tell you, I read about onions and legumes not playing well together and, as any sensible person would do, planted onions and legumes in the same bed.
Onion sets and chickpeas, to be precise. Well my son planted all of those, to be super precise. The cat did not help. At all.
And it worked beautifully! Three months later, the chickpeas were in full bloom and the onions, planted along both edges, were the most vigorous, compared to the other batches that we planted along tomatoes, carrots and some mixed herbs.
So it's worth putting such accepted notions to the test! :)
I love it! I'm sure the legumes added nitrogen back to the soil that the onions appreciated, and the onions probably kept the bugs from getting to the legumes! I've been dying to try the three-sisters planting method too...I wonder what else great combos exist out there, just waiting to be discovered!
BTW - that cat looks like it could pull a cart!
Just followed you so I can creep on your posts and hopefully learn more about permaculture!
Great info on onions, thanks for sharing! I am currently growing some red onions along with carrots and cabbage. Thankfully it isn't too cold where I am so they are looking happy though growing quite slow :)
Where are you located? My garden is grey and sad right now in Virginia :(
I'm in Spain :) when is your garden due to turn around?
Our last frost is late April, but we'll put cold weather plants in maybe Feb or Mar. our weather is really unpredictable. We could have 3 ft of snow, or 60 degree weather in March!!
Wow that really is unpredictable. I hope for your sake it's 30 degrees this coming March!
I always mean to try onions from seeds (I have always done them from sets as well) this year I am trying a new thing I saw online starting everytthing out in January in Milkjugs, I am not sure it will work, as I live in Cold New England, but since I am starting it in January I am going to try out onion seeds and see what we get. I'm following you now too, by the way. I love the homesteading and art on steemit (I am also an artist) ;)
Just followed you back and I can't wait to check out your work! I'm not nearly as creative as I wish I was, but maybe I just need to make it a priority in my life.
I haven't tried them from seed yet - do you have a grow lamp? I think you would almost have to if you're starting in January. Let me know how it goes!
Very informative post about onions. they are necessary for almost every food. Green onion is essential for Chinese rices ,otherwise it is tasteless .
Nice post. I pulled all my onions and they are on the window sills in my porch. It's pretty cold and I'm guessing it will drop below freezing. I don't know enough about storing onions. Somewhere cool and darK but not too cool? Can I lob them in a cupboard under the stairs?
I'm guessing the best thing will be a clamp or some kind of root cellar.
Are they susceptible to be damaged by light freezing do you know?
I liked your post.
Following.
I would avoid them freezing if you can, they tend to get mushy. I would recommend hanging them under your stairs if you can. I've seen people take old panty hose, put an onion in and then tie a knot, and add another onion on top, tie a knot, etc. It helps keep the air flowing around them. Thanks for following! I've followed you back and can't wait to check out your page!
wonderful! That sounds really doable. I have space under my stairs for this too and my daughters are always laddering tights! I'll raid their draws!
Thanks for the suggestion. :-)
Onions are great. They should be in every garden
I concur! I'm going to try planting them more around the perimeter next Summer to keep pests out. We'll see how it goes!
felicitaciones por este post
I have never had luck with onions. From seed or set. But I am not a quitter! Following.
What seems to happen? They don't grow or they Rot?
I've grown onions from seed for many years. I start them inside and when they come up, put them under good plant lights. I am in Zone 4a so direct seeding doesn't work, as they are a day length sensitive plant. So much so, that with the gloomy weather we had here in New England last year, my onion crops were a failure. But I have hopes for this year! They will be in a different area, so we will see.
I love this! I gave you follow, hope you'll post more about growing your own food :)
Followed you back @yogimeg! Can't wait to check out your page. I'm an avid yoga practitioner and am on a mission to live my most natural and best life! You'll be seeing a lot more about my garden come the Spring!