Onions (Allium sepa) are one of those food staples that are hard to do without. Between that and the choices you’ll have for sandwich onions, cooking onions, red, yellow or white onions, there are enough convincing reasons to always have them in your garden.

The primary component to successful onion growing is to making sure you choose a variety that grows well in your region. Onions come in two general types. The short-day growers, which are used mostly in the southern regions, and the long-day growers that are used by northern gardeners.

Onions’ Nutritional Values

Aside from their renowned cold-fighting components, onions are touted as carrying anti-inflammatory properties, as well. Onions provide calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, selenium, and phosphorus.

Planting Onions

There are three ways of going about planting onions; seed, sets, and seedlings. My preferred way is with sets, but that’s mainly because I’m familiar with it and I’ve always been successful planting them as sets in my garden. Planting beets or another crop with onions to help control weeds.Good companions for onions are carrots, beet, peppers, cabbages, strawberries, tomatoes, and spinach.

• Seeds: Sow seeds indoors 2-3 months before the last frost date in your area, or outdoors in the spring when the soil temperatures reach 65-85 degrees. Plant onion seeds ¼” – ½” deep and ½” apart in seeds starter soil using flats. If you’re using cells (6 packs) plant 4-5 seeds per cell. The seeds will germinate between 4-5 days. When the tops of the onions get so long that they begin to fall over, give them a little trim. You can transplant them outdoors 4” apart.
• Seedlings: Plant seedlings 3”-4” apart outdoors 4 weeks before the last frost date in your area.
• Sets (little bulbs): Plant sets 1” deep, 3”-4” apart if staggered or 6”-8” apart if in rows.

Growing Onions

Onions prefer loose, fertile, and well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. Before planting onions add lots of compost or composted manure and turn into the soil. Sandy loams are perfect but not imperative. Onions grow best in full sun, but will tolerate light shade. Their root systems are shallow, so you’ll want to water evenly and moderately; bulbs will split in dry conditions. Begin with good soil containing organic matter and then side dress the bed with compost once in a while, but other than that don’t fertilize the onions. Over-fertilizing will encourage the plant to focus on the green instead of the bulb.

Harvesting Onions

Onions are ready to be harvested when the tops fall over. Gently pull the onions out of the soil by the greens. Lay them out in the sun to cure for at least 1 week. When the outer skin is dry and crinkly, cut off the tops to about 1” and store the bulbs in a cool, dry place. Apples and tomatoes should never be stored with onions as they cause the onions to sprout by emitting ethylene gas.

When it comes to onion storage, not all onions are created equal. Some store well and some need to be eaten fairly close to being harvested. For instance, “Walla Walla” onions don’t store well at all, but are delicious and worth growing.

“Stockton Red” stores well and is a good, all around onion. If you live in a hot region, you may want to try “Yellow Granex” (short-day variety) and if you are in a cooler area, try “First Edition” (long-day variety).