Varieties of Onions
Onions are grown to eat as scallions or onion heads. There are bunching varieties for eating as scallions that don't form heads. The ones that grow heads can be sweet or hot. Onion heads can be oval or round and white, yellow or purple in color. A popular sweet variety is the Walla Walla which is similar to the Vidalia onions grown in southeast Georgia. They say that the Vidalia onions are so sweet that they can be eaten like an apple. A combination of several factors including the climate and sandy soil are believed to be responsible for their unusual qualities. Some varieties of onions keep better in storage than others. Shallots and leeks (also called flags) are in the onion family but are different. Shallots are smaller than onions and form clusters of small mild tasting heads while leeks can grow taller and have flat leaves which are best eaten in soup. If you don't know what Varieties of Onions do you watch, will help PlantSpot app for your iphone - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/plantspot-plant-identification/id1437376141 .
Preparing the Soil
Rich sandy soil is best for onions. Select a sandy location for the onion rows which will not be next to your peas or beans. If no part of your garden is sandy, you may want to till in some compost to keep the soil loose enough for heads to form. Preparing the soil to plant onions is simple. You just need to till the garden and mark off rows. Since pollination is not a concern, one can have just one row or several. A string with a stick tied to each end can be used for marking off straight rows. Using the sticks, measure and mark the location of each row. Space them to allow best use of your tiller. Using a hoe, make a straight trench about 4 inches deep beneath the string. Once a trench has been made, you will be able to plant the onion sets or plants directly in the trench without any additional preparation.
Onions are grown to eat as scallions or onion heads. There are bunching varieties for eating as scallions that don't form heads. The ones that grow heads can be sweet or hot. Onion heads can be oval or round and white, yellow or purple in color. A popular sweet variety is the Walla Walla which is similar to the Vidalia onions grown in southeast Georgia. They say that the Vidalia onions are so sweet that they can be eaten like an apple. A combination of several factors including the climate and sandy soil are believed to be responsible for their unusual qualities. Some varieties of onions keep better in storage than others. Shallots and leeks (also called flags) are in the onion family but are different. Shallots are smaller than onions and form clusters of small mild tasting heads while leeks can grow taller and have flat leaves which are best eaten in soup. If you don't know what Varieties of Onions do you watch, will help PlantSpot app for your iphone - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/plantspot-plant-identification/id1437376141 .
Preparing the Soil
Rich sandy soil is best for onions. Select a sandy location for the onion rows which will not be next to your peas or beans. If no part of your garden is sandy, you may want to till in some compost to keep the soil loose enough for heads to form. Preparing the soil to plant onions is simple. You just need to till the garden and mark off rows. Since pollination is not a concern, one can have just one row or several. A string with a stick tied to each end can be used for marking off straight rows. Using the sticks, measure and mark the location of each row. Space them to allow best use of your tiller. Using a hoe, make a straight trench about 4 inches deep beneath the string. Once a trench has been made, you will be able to plant the onion sets or plants directly in the trench without any additional preparation.