Onion crop sheet

Sowing

When: September to April

• Before planting your onion sets, organic matter or fertiliser should be incorporated into the soil in the autumn or 6 weeks before planting. This will improve the soil and add nutrients for the hungry onions. Just before planting make sure you have weeded the soil, raised bed or container where your onions will grow. It is also a good idea to rake the soil surface to remove any little weeds, stones or derby from the soil.
• Onions are best grown from sets, which are immature bulbs. Onion sets are much easier to grow and come as either autumn or spring sets (bulbs). Buy autumn onion sets to plant from September to November or spring sets from January to early April.
• Make a shallow drill (channel) about 2cm deep in the soil, using a measuring stick or bamboo cane.
• Space the onion sets 10-15cm apart along the bottom of the drill. 
• Make sure the onion sets are the right way up with the roots at the bottom and the tips pointing skyward. Gently push each set into soil so that just the tip is showing above the soil surface and careful firm the soil around the set. 
• Make the next row 30-40cm away and remember to label each row.
• Now water in your onion sets with a watering can or hose with a rose on it and wait for them to grow. 

Growing

• Keep the space around your onions weed free. Weeds grow much faster than onions so weeding around them prevents them having to fight for nutients and water from the soil.
• Watch out for birds, mice or squirrels pulling and digging the onion sets up. This often happens when these little creatures are on the hunt for some easy food. Protect your onion sets by putting some fleece over them until they start to grow green shoots. 
• Water your onions if the weather is very dry. But be careful not to over water your onions as this can cause them to rot, so always check how damp the soil is first. 
• Throughout their growing period feed your onions with liquid fertiliser to help them grow and build up their bulbs. If you want to give your onions an extra boost feed them in June with sulphate of potash, which is a granulated fertiliser that helps improves growth of fruits and flowers. Remember to read the label on fertilisers packaging for information on how they should be used correctly. 
• Watch out for symptoms of onions diseases such as; onion powdery mildew, leek rust and onion white rot. 

Harvesting

Harvest: June-September

• Your onions are ready when their leaves start to turn yellow and fall over. This happens in about June for autumn onions sets planted in September and from August onwards for spring planted onions sets. Do check the details for the variety of onion you planted as this may vary. 
• Lift the onion bulbs gently with a fork, before the foliage dies back completely.
• You can then leave them to dry on the surface of the soil, on a rack outside or hanging up in a well-ventilated greenhouse or shed. Leave them there for about 2 weeks to full ripen. 
• When the leaves and their skins have dried and gone papery you can cut off the leaves. Then store only the perfect onions in a light, dry and cool place.
• If any onions have started to rot, gone soft or show any signs of damage or disease during the drying process, do not store these with the others as they may spread diseases to your good onions. 

Using

• Onions are one of the most commonly used vegetables in cooking. They can be found in anything from soups, pasta dishes, pies, stuffing, curries, stir-fries, stews, chutneys, eaten raw in salads or pickled in vinegar. Yum!
• You could try making one of these delicious onion recipes; Onion tart, Patatas bravas, Perfect potato and leek soup, Magnificent minestrone soup and many more recipes found as part of The Big Soup Share.