As a beginning gardener, I have found onions to be one of the easiest vegetables to grow.
They are available as:
Onion seeds (in packets like many other vegetable seeds),
Onion bulbs (very small dried bulbs in mesh bags), or
Onion sets (sprouted onion bulbs sold in bundles).
I like to buy the onion bulbs.
I divided this package of 80 bulbs into 4 groups. One group I gave to a friend.
The other three groups were planted 10 days apart in March.
We like long green onions so I cover the bulbs with about 3 inches (8 cm) of soil.
The other three groups were planted 10 days apart in March.
We like long green onions so I cover the bulbs with about 3 inches (8 cm) of soil.
For larger, round onions, plant them more shallow and farther apart.
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These were planted on March 8.
We pulled the first ones to eat seven weeks later on April 27.
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If onions are left in the ground long enough, they will bloom and make seed.
I plan to save seed from this one (planted last year) and sow them in the Autumn.
I have not done this before, so we will see how this experiment goes.
I have not done this before, so we will see how this experiment goes.
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Occassionally there are twins!
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Even if you have to buy all your other salad ingredients as I did this week,
(lettuce, tomatoes, baby carrots, mushrooms, and sweet pickles),
Adding home-grown onions makes it special!
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In case you are wondering about my Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce:
I am in the southeastern United States zone 7.
I am in the southeastern United States zone 7.
When our temperatures go over 80F (26C), it is good-bye lettuce.
I can sow more seeds when the weather cools in September.
BTW, it is not unusual for our Summer temperatures to be over 100F (38C).
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Happy Gardening!
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If you are interested in growing your own salads,
Visit Veg Plotting for this month's Salad Days: Click Here!
Visit Veg Plotting for this month's Salad Days: Click Here!
It's always fun to grow "something" that you can harvest and eat. I usually grow pots of herbs. Love to reach down and rub the leaves everytime I walk by. Mint, of course, is the "best" fragrance. Have a nice Memorial Day weekend. Mickie :)
ReplyDeleteYou know I've never thought about planting them in stages. That's a very good idea.
ReplyDeleteHappy holiday.
Hi Lea - thanks for joining in this month :)
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a similar experiment with some small garlic cloves I had left over this year. The idea is to harvest them as green garlic so we have garlic a little earlier than usual.
BTW bees absolutely adore the flowers of any of the allium family!
Hi Lea, growing your own beats anything you can buy! I haven't got much room to grow vegetables, and my garden is not very practical for growing veg either, but I have window baskets for salad, radish, beetroot and herbs. I have already had my first salad dinner this year, lovely :-)
ReplyDeleteTake care, Helene.
I left one of my white onions in the ground in 2011 and it flowered profusely in 2012. It's a flower that bees absolutely adore so my veg patch was buzzing last year - hurray!! And I was able to save the seed in due course ;)
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