Putting the onion sets in the ground doesn't take long and usually promises a secure yield. Every self-supporter should not do without this reliable method of growing onions in order to harvest the aromatic tuber early in the year.

Make the right decision when choosing a variety

With the variety of varieties that is offered in the trade, there is certainly something for every taste. Basically, it's about whether you prefer

  • fine-spicy shallots,
  • strong kitchen onions or even
  • huge green onions

want to process in his kitchen. You also have to choose between winter and summer onion sets.

If you are not sure which bulbs you want to grow, try combining small batches first. However, the different types of onions must not stand next to each other in the garden because they do not get along well. There is nothing wrong with putting winter and summer onion sets in different places in the garden. In any case, preference should be given to the hardy varieties that can survive a cool, damp summer unscathed.

prepare ground

Plan an onion bed in your garden design in good time. There, the soil should first be freed from weeds and loosened well. Digging up with organic fertilizer is recommended well in advance of planting. For example, the beds should be prepared in autumn for planting in spring, but in no case immediately before planting the onion sets in the ground.

Care should be taken not to place the onion sets in the same spot in the garden for the second time in a row. Incidentally, the bulbs leave well-loosened soil, so that they can also be used to improve the soil in desired places in the garden. Onions do best in a sunny and airy spot.

Prepare onion sets

As a rule, the plug-in material purchased in specialist shops is ready for use. However, if you grew the onion sets yourself from seeds in the previous year, a little "heat treatment" before planting is recommended to prevent them from shooting. About four weeks beforehand, the onion sets are kept at temperatures between 25 and 35 °C.

Onion sets are planted in autumn or spring

Winter onions are planted between August and October, summer onions from the end of March. The only thing to note here is a sufficient row spacing of 25-30 cm. The distance between the bulbs should be 5-10 cm depending on the variety (follow the instructions on the packaging!). The bulbs are not fully planted in the ground, a tip should still stick out. The beds with the planted onions should be kept evenly moist and weed-free.

tips and tricks

Put some onion sets in the salad beds between the individual lettuce plants. This will help keep the voracious snails away from the fresh salad greens. Because snails don't like onions.

Category:

Vegetable garden