An Indispensable ingredient

Onions are an indispensable ingredient. Whether you dice them, slice them, serve them fresh or cooked, they are perfect in a variety of soups, salads, and casseroles. Onions are so easy to plant. There shouldn't be any reason to not plant onions. They are perfect for tucking into that spare corner of your garden or to plant along the edge of your garden bed. Onions are so much easier to grow than what people might think.

Onions come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They even come in colors--red, white, and yellow. They range from small to large and can be round like a globe or spindle shaped. Scallions are pulled young onions.

You can grow onions from transplants, sets, or seeds. Transplants are seedlings started in the current growing season and are sold in bunches. Sets are immature bulbs grown the previous year and are the easiest to plant and the least susceptible to diseases. Most growers seem to prefer white onions sets for green onions. Growing onions from seeds offer the greatest advantage of a wide choice of cultivars. However the challenge with growing onions from seed is that your crop will take up to 4 months to mature.

Onions like cool weather in the early part of their growth, so plant them in the spring, except in mild winter areas where onions are grown as a fall or winter crop as well. Onions grow tops in cool weather and form bulbs with the weather warms. Dry conditions can cause the bulbs to split, so water when necessary to provide at least 1 inch of water each week. Onions don't compete well with weeds, so direct the water right to the onion roots.