Planting Onions: The 80 Minute Allotment

It's time to plant onions at the 80 Minute Allotment. After a couple of weeks of terrible weather kept me away from the plot, it was nice to get back on the allotment this week, and even nicer to be able to get something in the ground. My first planting of the year is onions, one of the easiest things to grow.

Grow your own onions

Onions are really easy to grow. They grow in almost any soil type and don't need much looking after. Unless your area is exceptionally dry they won't need much watering, and they don't need much feeding either. It's a good idea to remove weeds from around them as they grow, and this is best done by hand to avoid disturbing them. But apart from that they can pretty much be left alone. They're a great crop to try if you haven't got that much time to spare.

Onions can also be stored for a long time. We are still using what's left of last years harvest, which have kept since last summer. We haven't needed to buy onions from the supermarket at all since then! 

I'm growing fruit and veg in an average of 80 minutes a week on my allotment. If you've also got limited time to grow your own, then come and visit me regularly on the 80 Minute Allotment. Click here to Subscribe by Email and you'll get regular updates on how I use my time, in short sessions of one to two hours. I'll show you how growing your own can fit into a busy lifestyle and still produce regular harvests of fresh fruit and vegetables all year round. 

When is the right time to plant onions?

Many people plant onions in autumn, and some varieties are apparently well suited to this. Most onions are hardy enough to withstand being in the ground during the coldest months, and this gives them a head start once spring arrives. Being in the ground already makes for an earlier harvest and maybe bigger onions.

I've always waited until slightly warmer weather arrives before sowing mine. I'm worried that any onions in the ground over winter here in South Wales will just rot, as it's fairly wet all winter long. 

How do you plant onions?

You can sow onions from seed, but that takes even longer. By far the easiest way to grow onions is from sets - specially grown baby size bulbs.

Last year I grew two varieties, one white (Sturon) and one red (Red Baron). This year I'm going with Hercules F1 (white), and Karmen (red). 

Planting them is really easy. It's the same process as for planting any bulbs. Dig a hole, drop in a bulb, pointy side up, and cover it over. Simple. Check the packet for the required planting depth and distance between each bulb. I don't measure it, just do it approximately, by eye. 

You can use my guide to planning your plot to work out how many bulbs you need for the space you have:

Related: Allotment planting plan - a step by step guide

Onions planted about 4 inches apart

If you're planting onions in rows, you can dig a shallow trench rather than plant each bulb separately. Space the bulbs along the trench before covering them over.

GREEN FINGERS TIP

GREEN FINGERS TIP: The packets I bought each contained 80 bulbs. I probably won't have room to plant all of them, so I use the bigger ones first. These have the best chance of producing strong plants. If there are any left over after planting as many as I can, they will be the weediest looking ones in the packet. 

Plant all the larger bulbs first

I labelled each row so I will remember what is there. I use small logs, sawn so I can write on them. You can use lolly sticks or plastic labels if you prefer - anything that you can write on basically.

Finally, I put some protective netting over the onions to make sure birds can't come and nibble at the emerging shoots. I put a small piece of netting over an old mini greenhouse frame and fixed it to the ground with a few metal pegs. 

It was previously over the two rows of garlic you can see on the left of the picture. These were sown in autumn as garlic needs a cold spell during its growth to develop fully. Now that the garlic is well established it is less vulnerable to birds so I've moved the netting across to cover the onions when they come up.

Cover the area with net to prevent birds nibbling new shoots

I'll soon be busy on The 80 Minute Allotment again, so make sure you subscribe if you want to know what you can do to grow your own in under two hours a week!

Happy growing,
Paul

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