Without onion sets, many dishes would simply taste bland. So here is an explanation of how you can plant onion sets yourself.
Onion seeds are rarely sown in February. Because today it is primarily the easy-care onion set that is planted in countless gardens so that the all-purpose vegetable that is so popular with us can be enjoyed all year round. We offer winter onion sets, which can be used in the vegetable patch as early as August, or the so-called summer onion sets, which should usually not be planted until the end of March or mid-April.
No matter which variety you choose, the following explains how to plant, care for and harvest it correctly.
Select location
Preference is always given to a sunny and weather-protected location with loose soil conditions for each onion. In order to create optimal conditions, you should prepare the vegetable patch in summer (at least 4 weeks before planting the winter onions) or in late autumn. To do this, loosen the soil well with a garden claw, carefully remove weeds and work in nutrient-rich cow manure. In this way, the soil can be settled well again and only needs to be loosened up briefly before it is planted.
Put onions
You can plant the bulbs in the ground as early as August or the end of March. To do this, stick the onion sets into the weed-free soil with the sprouting base facing upwards, so that they are ultimately only just covered with soil.
It is recommended to set them neatly in rows that should be 20 centimeters apart. You should also keep a distance of 5 to 10 centimeters between the individual onion sets - depending on the variety.
Care for onion sets properly
➤ Weeding:
With all onions you must ensure that as few weeds as possible form between the rows, as this reduces damage to the vegetables.
➤ Casting:
You should also water the onions moderately on hot days. However, you must stop watering in good time before harvest so that the onions in theDon't let the vegetable patch start to rot.
➤ Fertilize:
Additional fertilizing is usually not necessary, as the previously tilled soil has sufficient nutrients. Of course, you can always spread a little hummus on the onion bed during the season.
➤ Winter protection:
You should always protect winter onions with a bit of brushwood during extremely frosty days.
Harvest onion sets
Winter onions are usually harvested from June to July and summer onions from July to September. Fruit ripening can be recognized by the slowly dying onion green (leaves). All you have to do to harvest the bulbs is remove them from the ground.
» Tip:
If you have harvested all the onions, it is best to tie several together by the green and hang them upside down in a protected, preferably dark place to dry. In this way, they have a long shelf life and can be eaten piece by piece. (Reading tip: Preserving vegetables - 5 ways presented)