I planted some onion sets way back in the early spring and we've taken a good harvest of onions. I plaited them together (not very neatly I'm afraid) and hung them up in the garage.Onions are very cheap to buy in the shops, and home-grown ones don't really taste different from shop-bought ones, so a lot of people don't bother growing them. But there are arguments in favour of growing them:
- Onions are very easy to grow
- Fewer food miles
- Organic onions are more pricey than conventionally grown ones in the shops but you can grow organic onions easily
- They keep well so you don't have to mess about with successional planting, just grow a crop and store it until you need it
- The sheer satisfaction of having a few months' worth of onions hanging up in the garage
- Everyone uses lots of onions
5 comments:
Nice onions!
Im not sure if im biased, but I have to disagree with your comment "home grown ones dont really taste different than the shops".
I think they do for sure. Ive only tasted one from our allotment but it was dilicious. I absolutely love onions. I cant really discribe how they differ from shop bought onions. Fresher, crispier, tastier, or maybe its physcological. It's an amazing feeling eating your own home grown organic veg.
I agree with you on all your other points though. This is the first year I have grown onions and regret not planting more, they were so simple to grow. We are nearly ready to pull the rest of ours, how long did you leave yours before plaiting?
They look great. I cant wait to give onion plaiting a go.
Beener.
I think home-grown ones taste better too, at least when they are harvested. After a few months storage, there is not so much difference in taste.
I've always dried my onions off before plaiting them - have you done it this way before? I'm concerned that the stems might rot if they are stored green, and that will rot the onions too.
There is more to growing onions than eating them! A plait of onions gives me a thrill every time I see it - & walking past them, getting the oniony wiff, is very satisfying.
TopVeg
If your onions don't taste that different to the ones in the shops, then I'd suggest trying different varieties to the mainstream Stuttgarter, Giant Zittau and Sturon. We grow eight to 10 different varieties and while we do grow Stuttgarter and Giant Zittau because of their longevity when stored, it's the other varieties that really enliven the eating experience.
Our favourites are Ailsa Craig, Walla Walla (which you can eat like an apple), Stoccarde, Balaton, Purplette and Long Red Florence. We grow others, but for different flavours and different uses, we find these hard to beat.
Thanks for the Tip, Stonehead. I'll look out for those.
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