Hardy Northern Grown Perennials For The Discerning Gardener
ORGANIC GARDENING: GROWING ONIONS FROM CERTIFIED ORGANIC ONION SETS



How to grow onions from setsOnion sets are small onion bulbs usually less than 1" in size. Growing onions from sets is one of the easiest and most dependable ways for the home gardener to grow either small green salad onions or large storage onions. Certified Organic onion sets are available from Stargazer Perennials Farm and Nursery starting in March of every year, and can be planted as early as the soil can be worked into any well-drained garden soil with good organic tilth. Onions have very low nitrogen requirements so additional fertilizers are usually not required. Be sure to amend your garden soil only with well aged compost. Do not amend your garden soil with fresh manures of any kind.




Yellow Rock Onion: Yellow Rock is a popular yellow-skinned onion that produces medium-sized onions that are excellent keepers. They are pungent when eaten fresh and become somewhat stronger in storage, but their flavor is sweet and mild when cooked and added to your favorite recipes.

White Ebenezer Onion: Ebenezer is the best onion set for growing small salad or green bunching onions. They have beautiful pure white flesh with a wonderfully mild onion flavor, and make for great presentations in salads or ethnic stir-fry dishes.

Wethersfield Red Onion: Wethersfield produces medium-sized beautiful red-skinned onions with white and red flesh that is mild when fresh and grows more pungent in storage. This is a great onion sliced for sandwiches or for adding color and flavor to green salads or potato salads.

How to harvest onionsGrowing Large Onions From Sets: Plant sets in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked and has lost its winter sogginess. Plant sets 3-4" apart in rows about one foot apart. Plant the sets one inch deep. Onions have shallow roots so water regularly giving them at least an inch per week. With their shallow roots onions cannot compete with weeds for water or nutrients, so pull weeds relentlessly! Late in the summer or fall the tops will fall over by themselves, or for a more uniform harvest you can bend them all over at once and let the tops wilt. Lift the onions carefully and dry in the sun or filtered shade for about ten days, or until the skins are dry and papery. Store onions in a cool, dry dark room and check often for neck rot or soft spots. Use onions with soft spots immediately and keep the stored onions loosely stored or if possible not touching each other at all.


Growing Salad Onions and Green Onions from Sets:  For a good supply of fresh salad onions throughout spring and summer make consecutive plantings every two weeks. Plant sets 3" deep and almost touching in rows about a foot apart. As the plants grow you can carefully harvest every other onion as a young green onion, and leave the remaining onion sets to grow into larger salad onions. The deeper you plant the sets, the more white stalk will be produced, so if you like sliced scallions for stir fry plant some of the sets 4-5" deep. To keep green onions fresh for days after harvest, just set them in a glass of water in the refrigerator and use as you need them.



Photos from August 21st and 22nd -

   

Enjoying delicious Dutch Oven peach desserts at our farm / nursery!               April Simpson teaching How to Can Fresh Peaches in our farm classroom



       


A view inside our garden store.                                                                                      Nick consulting on plant choices in the nursery.                                            



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