How to Grow Onions - Don't Waste

A plant that tolerates cold well, but prefers sunny areas. It requires loose, well-draining soil. In your home garden, onions, with their classic bulbs, can never be missing. Essential in the kitchen and a a real panacea for healthTwo reasons make it one of the oldest crops in living memory. Onion cultivation is, in fact, very ancient: it dates back to the Egyptians in the 4th millennium BC. But it was the Romans who discovered and utilized the extraordinary therapeutic properties of this herbaceous plant. Belonging to the Liliaceae family, onions are a garden product rich in properties important for the health and well-being of the body.

Index of topics

Variety

Present in numerous varieties among which the most famous are the red onions from Tropea, Cannara, Bassano, Barletta, the sweet onion and the yellow-golden Borettana onion, it is a food containing vitamins and mineral salts. Various virtues are attributed to the onion: in fact, it is said to have qualities antihypertensive, antibiotic, and purifying. Onions are a food with many properties, and should never be missing from your home, especially if they're organic or garden-grown.

What are onions good for?

The Greeks and Romans treated many ailments with onions. Several scientific studies confirm the antioxidant, cleansing, and antiviral properties of onions. Some research suggests that onions also prevent liver cancer.

Weather conditions

Onions are a vegetable that thrives in a fairly mild climate, although they can tolerate even low temperatures. In particular, they require a few hours of natural light each day, so make sure your seedlings are exposed to the sun.

Land

It's important that the soil you choose to grow onions in is fertile, light, and well-drained to avoid waterlogging. Before starting cultivation, a couple of months beforehand, it's important to prepare the soil thoroughly by digging and fertilizing it. A digging depth of about 25-30 cm is sufficient.

Semina

The best times to grow onions are late summer and early fall or late winter, depending on the growing zone. If you decide to grow onions from seed, proceed as follows:

Bury the seeds about 3-4 cm deep;
Depending on the variety of onion you are growing, space the seeds about 5-15 cm apart along the rows, and space the rows 10-30 cm apart. After planting the seeds, cover with soil and watered.

Transplant

If you decide to transplant seedlings grown in seedbeds, it's important to remember that they should be dug up when they've reached a height of about 15 cm and planted in the soil at a depth of about 5 cm.

Deadheading the bulbs

When planting bulbs, it is important to respect the distance of 10-20 centimeters between one and the other, and approximately 30-45 cm between one row and another. This cultivation method allows you to obtain fresh onions more quickly than other cultivation methods.

Irrigation

Onions don't require much water to grow; increased watering is only necessary during periods of drought when the soil is particularly dry. Avoid waterlogging, which could cause the plant to rot.

Weeding

Remove all weeds: this will help the plant grow well.

Collection

Onion harvesting usually takes place about 3-4 months after planting, depending on the variety chosen and the different climatic conditions. In particular, you can harvest onions when the stems emerging from the ground are not dry and yellow. To preserve onions properly, store them in wooden crates in a cool, dry place.

How to grow onions in pots

Growing onions in pots is not recommended compared to growing them in a garden, as they require more space to grow. However, if you decide to grow them this way, use very long rectangular pots and only plant a few plants in each.

How to grow onions, even in pots