“Onions are gross! We don’t really like onions!”  That’s what my daughter would say but I can’t live without onions in my life!  Thank goodness there are so many onions to choose from …some can be enjoyed throughout the gardening season and some you will grow for storage to enjoy after the gardening season.

I can’t even begin to say what my favorite onion is because I have never met an Onion I haven’t loved. But for an early treat in the Spring, I really love the little green onions or some people call them ‘scallions’, ‘spring onions’ or ‘bunching onions’ whatever you want to call them, you can plant them early in the spring and stagger planting times so you have onions during the whole growing season.  These onions are so versatile! You can eat them raw or use them in most recipes.  I love them in stir fry’s, egg rolls, pasta and potato salad, kale and broccoli salad and so many other dishes. Of course, my husband loves a dish we call ‘kilt lettuce’ or ‘wilted lettuce’. Oh so yummy!

You can plant them in so many different ways.  I usually plant them in a raised bed and do the square foot method and pack them in closely.  A lot of folks plant them in traditional rows. If you have very limited space, they can be planted in pots or grow bags.  There isn’t any hard fast rule for how to grow them. Just a note about these Little Green Onions, they aren’t the best for storing because they don’t get very big and they tend to not do well in the heat. Also, they will grow a large hard blade that will bloom and make seed and this will make the onion hard and mostly not edible.  These onions grow from onion sets.

You can find a large selection of onions you can grow for storage.  Some have a stronger flavor and some are sweet. These onions will grow much bigger than the little green onions and these are grown from onion plants. These do better if you plant them with more room between them and I do grow these in a traditional row.  Again no firm rules!  These onions require a longer growing time and a good place to store them after harvesting. ( will have an article on harvesting onions soon)

One thing to keep in mind is Onions are heavy feeders so you will need to provide them with nutrient rich soil. When you work up your onion plot you will want to add plenty of compost and some manure.

With both of these types of onions discussed, you can grow yellow, white and red onions!  I grow all of them because I have the space to do so.  Figure out what your onion needs are, what you love to eat, how much space you have and just go with those.

Onions are easy and fun to grow and what a bonus to go out and pull some fresh onions to eat or cook with!

Happy Frugal Gardening