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ISSN 2423-0219<br />
24<br />
Tuesday <strong>May</strong> <strong>16</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.<br />
.kiwi<br />
SELWYN TIMES<br />
Gardening<br />
Onions – the must-have vegetable<br />
VERSATILE: Stagger plant your onions for a constant source of<br />
supply.<br />
• By Henri Ham<br />
YES, I know I harp on about<br />
must-have vegetables and herbs.<br />
The problem is, once you start<br />
growing and enjoying homegrown<br />
food, the list of must-haves<br />
seems to grow too. But I really do<br />
think onions are at the top of that<br />
list and should be grown in every<br />
vegetable garden.<br />
In my vegetable garden I like to<br />
grow red onions. But I don’t stop<br />
there. I also stagger-plant spring<br />
onions, regular brown pukekohe<br />
longkeeper onions, pearl drop<br />
onions and red bunching spring<br />
onions.<br />
For the newbie gardeners<br />
out there, stagger planting (or<br />
staggering) is when you plant a<br />
few seedlings of the same varieties<br />
(ie broccoli or onions) every<br />
few weeks to ensure you have a<br />
constant supply of produce ready<br />
to harvest.<br />
You can grow onions pretty<br />
much anywhere in the garden –<br />
they also grow well in pots. But<br />
make sure the soil is friable (goes<br />
crumbly when you touch it). If<br />
it’s not, simply give it a good dig<br />
over and add a bit of compost and<br />
fertiliser.<br />
Red and pukekohe longkeeper<br />
onions need to be planted 10cm<br />
apart. And if you’re growing them<br />
COLOUR: Red spring onions make good companions for the<br />
larger varieties.<br />
in rows, make the rows 20cm<br />
apart. I like to companion plant<br />
spinach in between the rows. Or<br />
you could try growing spring<br />
onions in between.<br />
They will be ready to harvest<br />
much earlier at around six to<br />
eight weeks, so will be out of the<br />
rows before the larger onions<br />
need the space. Simply, plant your<br />
spring onions around 4cm apart<br />
from the next.<br />
You can harvest your spring<br />
onions at any time. But the longer<br />
you leave them the bigger they<br />
will get until they go to seed.<br />
Your larger onions will take<br />
around 20 to 24 weeks to get<br />
ready and you can tell when they<br />
are because they start to pop right<br />
out of the ground.<br />
If they start to flower, we<br />
also recommend harvesting<br />
them as onions that have started<br />
to bolt or go to seed don’t store<br />
very well.<br />
Don’t worry if they’re green,<br />
you can still eat them.<br />
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