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Onions have been farmed and grown for thousands of years, resulting in a wide range of plants accessible today, including sweet to pungent flavours, bulbing to bunching kinds, and regional variations with particular flavours and applications. This veggie is a popular bulb across the Indian subcontinent.
This versatile vegetable may be eaten raw or cooked in gravies, stews, and soups, making it difficult to envision a dinner table without it. They are easy to cultivate and don't require much area. Onions, members of the Allium family, are a cold-season crop. Many onion types, including sweet onions, red onions, and yellow onions, are hardy enough to resist planting and thrive in chilly temperatures.
Onion Planting Guide
Here's how you can grow onions in your backyard:
Suitable Planting Site
Pick a sunny area with loose dirt. Soil that is stony or compacted will prevent bulb development. Additionally, steer clear of planting where other Allium species have been recently harvested. Plant-targeting diseases and pests have a long life in the soil and if your garden isn't set up properly, you may also plant in a container.
Efficient Spacing And Depth
Press onion sets into the soil until just the top is exposed during planting. Sets should be spaced about 4 inches apart, and rows should be spaced 12 to 18 inches apart. After the sets are in the ground, do not disturb them by piling soil around them. At all times, the sets are meant to protrude from the ground.
Sow seeds only a quarter of an inch deep. Additionally, thin the seedlings in rows spaced 12 to 18 inches apart to about 4 inches apart. In most cases, a support system won't be required.
Full Light And Rich Organic Soil
For healthy growth, onions require full daylight, or at least six hours of direct sunshine each day. When it comes to onions, more sunshine is better.
The secret to effective onion production is good soil. The soil should have a high organic matter content and be very well-drained, even if it is sandy. It will work best in a loose loam. Additionally, the ideal pH range for soil is between neutral and slightly acidic.
Sufficient Watering
Water is necessary on a regular basis for onions to support bulb swelling. Every week, give them one inch of water. However, avoid overwatering or leaving the bulbs in damp soil since these actions may induce bulb rot. Retaining soil moisture can be aided by a thin covering of mulch.
Ideal Temperature
For onion seeds to sprout, the temperature must be at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Onions thrive best at temperatures between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. As long as the soil's moisture requirements are satisfied, humidity usually doesn't matter.
High-Nitrogen Fertiliser
Onions feed quite heavily. To encourage leaf development and large bulbs, fertilise them every few weeks with a high-nitrogen fertiliser. Refer to the product label for directions on how much to use. Once the leaf-growing cycle is finished, no more fertiliser has to be applied after the soil starts to split where the bulb is developing.
Pollination
Most gardeners cultivate onions as annuals, harvesting them before they develop bloom stalks. Wind and other insects, such as bees, are responsible for pollinating onion blooms.
