The onion has been part of our vegetable growing culture for thousands of years and is the most common ingredient in the kitchen. That's why we can now fall back on a proven selection of varieties for the planting material.
General
The onion (Allium cepa) belongs to the leek genus and is also available as spring onion, sweet onion or shallot. The types of onions differ in their degree of sharpness, color and size. The shallots are finer and sweeter in taste than the onions. They are mainly used to flavor dishes. The vegetable onions have a very mild heat, are juicy and ideal for raw consumption. The onion has a strong taste and is suitable for frying and cooking.
Known Varieties
- Stuttgarter Riesen, yellow, large, can be stored well and is suitable for growing onion sets
- Red Braunschweiger, not only the skin but also the flesh turns reddish as it ripens, the taste is sharper than the brown-skinned varieties
- Red Karmen, dark red, bolt-resistant, mid-early harvest, stores well
- Golden Gourmet, compact, easily digestible, mild in taste, resistant to fungal diseases
- Ailsa Craig, very large green onion, slightly conical, yellow, record breaking
- Winter hedge, white, small, absolutely hardy, is grown primarily for its flavorful foliage
- Zittau yellow, firm tuber, fine-skinned, best shelf life, strong taste
Make right choice
In specialist shops you can get every imaginable type of onion for relatively little money, either as seeds or as onion sets. With this variety, it is sometimes difficult to find the right variety for your garden. Basically, you should decide whether you prefer more or less onion flavor.
It is also important to consider how much time can be invested in rearing. Growing onions from seed simply takes more effort than planting onion sets. In any case, when buying planting material, preference should be given to resistant, high-yielding and storable varieties.
tips and tricks
The giant onion Ailsa Craig is said to weigh up to 4 kg if sown early. Reason enough for an avid gardener to attempt a record of his own.