Onion

Plant family

Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Seeding distance

15 cm

Row spacing

20 cm

Seeding depth

1 cm

Instructions

Mid of October

Harvesting

Description

Perennial amaryllis plant, which in the first year forms the bulb as a storage organ. Onions include several groups: Leek and spring onions, shallots, summer or kitchen onions, and vegetable onions, all of which differ greatly in growth habit. Furthermore, a distinction is made between "summer", "spring" and "winter" onions. Our usual edible onion is called "winter onion" when it is sown in the fall, cultivated over winter, ripens the next spring and then harvested. Harvesting is a little earlier, but they become very soft and can hardly be stored. Therefore, the edible onion is usually sown or set as a "summer onion" in the spring. Then they can be harvested from July for direct consumption or from August to October for storage. There are also special cultivars of 'Allium cepa' as spring onions. They do not form bulbs, but long, soft stems and grow quickly. Due to the storage organ, the onions are adapted to rainfall fluctuations and drought. Nevertheless, to harvest large onions need a lot of water.

Growing tips

A distinction is made between seed or plug onions. Summer, kitchen and vegetable onions are usually planted as plug onions in the spring. The plug onions are planted only deep enough to be just covered with soil. Sowing in the spring is also possible, and the bulbs are usually slightly smaller when harvested and can be planted as plug onions the following year. It is also possible to grow seedlings in planting trays. Then the seedlings are planted in the bed as soon as the 3rd-4th leaf is visible and as soon as no more severe frost is expected. Harvesting is done as soon as the leaves fold in by themselves and turn yellow and the leaf base dries up. To do this, you should wait for a dry, sunny day and let the bulbs dry out before storing them.