Growing Onions & Garlic

Know your onions

Few cooks would disagree that the most useful vegetable in the kitchen are onions. What’s more these vegetables are among the easiest to grow in the garden. Experienced gardeners grow their onions from seed; this method gives them a greater choice of varieties and of course is very cost effective. We sells a selection of onion seed varieties.
Gardeners that want a fast and efficient way to grow a crop of onions & garlic are better opting for sets. These are specially prepared, ready to plant baby onions that will mature into large, tasty onion globes by mid to late summer. Onion & garlic sets are one of the easiest crops to grow. We sell a range of onion & garlic varieties in handy pre-packs that contain ready to plant bulbs.




Choose from:


‘Sturon’ A tried and tested traditional favourite with gardeners and allotment growers. Sturon produces large, strongly flavoured onions and has good resistance to bolting. RHS Award of Garden Merit.









Mixed A mixed packet of both red and white onions ideal for a range of culinary purposes.




 

Red Barron’ - ring the changes with this tasty, easy to grow red variety. Great for salads and garnishes but with a strong flavour for cooking too.





 

‘Shallot Golden Gourmet’A dutch variety.This is a major advance on the traditional Giant yellow and produces larger and better quality bulbs with reduced bolting incidence.The lovely golden brown skinned bulbs store well throughout the winter.





 

‘Garlic’ A superb softneck Garlic, producing large, top quality bulbs. If the cloves are planted early, mature bulbs will be ready to lift and use from July. This variety produces cloves that have an exceptional bouquet, full of depth and strength produces cloves that have an exceptional bouquet, full of depth and strength.










How to grow

Onions,Garlic & Shallots need plenty of sun to mature and grow best in a fertile but well drained soil; this avoids waterlogging that can encourage fungal rots.

Grow your crops in regimented rows or blocks for convenience it is then easier to weed between them. Bear in mind that each set (mini onion bulb) will swell and grow into a bulb up to the size of a tennis ball, so you need to leave plenty of room between each one. Plant them with 10cm (4inches) or more between each bulb and when growing in rows leave at least 30cm (12inches) between the rows.
Prepare the soil first by digging it over so that it is soft and crumbly. If the soil is poor then dig in some organic farmyard manure. For best results plant spring onions sets in March (for autumn planting sets see below). Each set should be gently pushed into the soil surface until just the very tip is protruding.

Alternatively to give your onion sets a head start, you can plant individual sets into small pots of good quality compost. Place these in a frost-free greenhouse for the roots to develop and then plant outside from March. If you have sets left over and little room to plant them, then plant them together in a small area and use them as salad onions as the leaves develop in spring.

Harvesting

In mid to late summer when the leaves start to yellow and die off lift the onions slightly out of the ground so that the sun can reach the base of the bulbs. As soon as the foliage has died off completely the crops can be further dried inside the greenhouse before stringing them and storing them for winter use.

Autumn Onion Sets

In recent years plant experts have discovered a way to treat onion sets so that some may be planted in the autumn while the ground is still warm from the summer sun and moist from the autumn rain. This gives them a good start before the onset of winter and allows a root system to establish well. The result is an onion crop that matures earlier than spring planted sets.

Creamy onion soup with mustard and cheese croutons

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, halved and sliced
55g/2oz butter
pinch nutmeg
75ml/3fl oz white wine
splash double cream
200ml/7fl oz hot water
handful fresh chives, chopped
For the croûtons
2 slices french bread, toasted
handful cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Preheat the grill to its highest setting.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and butter to the saucepan and fry for 4-5 minutes to soften.Add a pinch of nutmeg and cook for a further two minutes.
3. Add the wine, cream and water to the saucepan and whisk to mix well. Heat to a simmer and cook for a further ten minutes, then add the chives.
4. Meanwhile, for the croûtons, place the cheese on top of the toast and place under the gril, to cook for 1-2 minutes or, l until bubbling.
5. To serve, pour the soup into a serving bowl and top with the croûtons.