Onions are popular and an indispensable part of the kitchen because they give most dishes an aromatic taste. If you have the opportunity to plant onions yourself, you can cultivate the undemanding tubers without much effort.
How to plant onions correctly?
To plant onions, choose a location with slightly sandy, humus-rich soil, plenty of nutrients and good drainage. Sow onion seeds in the fall or plant onion sets in the ground in the spring. Maintain moderate humidity and avoid waterlogging. Harvest the onions when the greens wilt and the stems bend.
Where are onions best grown?
The best location for an onion bed must meet the following requirements:
- slightly sandy soil
- humous nature of the earth
- abundant nutrients
The soil must be well loosened and free of weeds. After the harvest in autumn, fertilizer can be applied for spring planting. The onions do not tolerate fresh fertilization. It is better to incorporate ripe compost when preparing the bed in spring. Onions can also be grown on the balcony in sufficiently deep pots (€75.00 on Amazon) and flower boxes. The soil here should also be fresh, loose and full of nutrients.
cultivate onions properly
Onions can be grown from seeds or cuttings.
Growing using seeds
The seeds go into the ground in autumn. Sow thinly in rows about 25 cm apart. The onions can then develop over the winter. Harvesting can begin in late spring next year.
Culture with onion sets
Cultivation using onion sets is more popular and begins at the end of April, when night frosts are no longer expected. The small bulbs are planted in rows about 25 cm apart in the loose soil. Every 15 cm, an onion set is inserted so far into the ground that no more than a third of it sticks out.
Care measures
Since the bed was fertilized during preparation or in autumn, there is no need to add fertilizer now. Onions love moderate moisture. However, they should only be watered sparingly during dry periods. It is important to ensure that no waterlogging occurs. It causes the onions to rot.
Harvesting and storing onions
Once they have formed a beautiful bulb, the bulbs prepare for the winter season and send all the nutrients into the bulb. The green receives little nutrition and slowly turns brown. When the stems bend over, the bulbs are ripe and can be pulled out of the ground.
However, they must dry sufficiently before being stored. To do this, you can store the harvest in airy boxes in a dry place or tie the onions together in several bushes and hang them up in an airy manner.
If the onions are drying lying down, they must be turned from time to time. As soon as the outer onion skins are dry, the bulbs can be stored in a dark, airy and dry place. First, shake off the excess soil, shorten the roots and cut the stem down to 5 cm.
