Growing winter onions in 13 steps for an early harvest
Growing winter onions guarantees that you will be the first to bring onions back from your vegetable garden to the kitchen. Winter onions are fairly large, hardy onions that can withstand low temperatures. Most of their growth occurs after the winter, but it is important that the plants develop a good root system before the winter. This gives them a 'vegetative advantage' compared to the summer onions that we plant out in February-March. You can grow winter onions by sowing them, but it is easiest to use planting or seeding onions. The types that are available on this website can be found here .
Step 1 - Start on time
Start your soil preparation in late summer or fall. You can plant your onion sets as early as August, but most gardeners wait until October when the weather has cooled down a bit. You can even wait until November, but the soil should not be compacted by frost.
Step 2 - Choose a good spot in the vegetable garden
Choose a sunny spot in the garden. Winter onions are hardy enough to survive difficult weather conditions, but they still like to be in the sun.
Step 3: Loosen your soil well
Loosen your soil. You can do this very well with a spading fork or a digging fork. Onions thrive best in loose soil that is well-drained. People with loamy soil have an advantage over people who have to work on clay or sandy soil. If you have sandy or clay soil, work a lot of tarred compost into the soil where you plant your onions (see step four). Fresh manure or compost is much too powerful for onions and will not produce good results.
Step 4: Feed your soil with Vinassekali
In addition to organic material, mix Vinassekali into the soil where you will plant. Organic material is usually tarred compost . Potting soil for vegetable gardens is often too strong for onions. The compost and Vinasse Kali provide the necessary nutrition for the onions and the compost also retains moisture in the soil well.
Step 5 - Plant your onion sets
Plant each onion leg 2.5 to 5 cm deep. In sandy soil you can place it a little deeper than in clay soil. When you have followed the steps above, you have loose soil and you can plant the onions with their top just above the ground. Be careful that birds do not see the tops as worms, because then your onion leg will be pecked out. Insect netting can offer a solution here, when it gets warmer, the netting also protects your onions from the onion fly.
Step 6 - Respect the planting distances of your onions
Place the onions 10 to 15 cm apart. If you want larger onions, place them further apart and vice versa. Leave about 30 cm between each row. 30 cm is a shoe size 45. People with smaller feet should place their rows of onions a few centimeters further apart.
Step 7 - Consider a layer of mulch
If possible, cover your onion plant with a layer of mulch. This way, the water evaporates less and your winter onions also stay in slightly warmer soil than if you don't do this. Mulch can consist of straw, leaves, compost, etc.
Step 8 - Watering
Water the onions twice a week for the first 3 weeks. At that point, your onions already have a root system. After those two weeks, avoid watering, especially if the ground is frozen. Once the ground warms up after the winter, you can get your watering can out again when you see that the ground is hard, cracked or dry.
Step 9 - Feeding (optional)
Give the onions two doses of BIO fertilizer for onions . The first time before a potential frost period (end of October - beginning of November). The second time you fertilize in the spring (April). This will result in thick onions.
Step 10 - Keep your onions weed free
Keep your onion bed weed free. In most winter onion growing weeds are not a problem, when it is cold the weeds do not grow as fast. However, if you see weeds at the first rays of sunshine, remove them immediately. Weeds compete with the onions for nutrients and water. This results in small, dry onions.
Step 11 - Protect your onions
Beware of diseases. At the beginning of the cultivation you will not experience any problems, but once the soil warms up in spring, all kinds of fungi and harmful insects become active. Insect netting can offer a solution from March onwards. At the beginning of the cultivation, insect netting also ensures that birds cannot get to the seed potatoes.
Step 12 - Eat leaf stalks
The foliage of onions can be harvested in the spring when it is 10 cm long. You can cut it off with garden shears and use it in all recipes where you would otherwise use onion. Do not cut all the foliage of the same onion.
Step 13 - Harvest your onions
Harvest the onions as soon as the foliage turns brown, which happens between May and July depending on the weather and the time of planting. If the onions get a seed bag on the foliage before the foliage turns brown, something is wrong with your cultivation. This phenomenon is a sign that the plant is in panic and wants to reproduce. The reason may be that there is too little nutrition or because the soil has become too compact, so that the plant cannot absorb enough nutrients. Harvest these onions quickly, their taste decreases daily. When the foliage dies and your onions are ready, you can pull them up by the foliage or use a rake to loosen the roots. Remove as much soil as possible (unlike with potatoes ) before you put them to dry. Dry your onions until they get a dark skin and then store them in a dark, cool place.
Tips
Remove as much skin as possible before storing your onions. The more skin you remove, the drier your onions will be, the longer they will store. You may also consider making an onion braid . Hang the onions to dry or dry them on a rack.
What do you need to grow winter onions:
Good luck! Warm regards, Tom.
