Onions Are Rounding Out

The onions are hitting their stride for growth for the summer.  Many of them have started to form good sized bulbs.

Two yellow onions that are looking a little crowded.  I picked the smaller one to allow the bigger one more space to grow in.

A purple onion just starting to bulb up.

 

I have started to pick some of the smaller ones as we need them for meals.  The larger ones I hope to keep as storage onions through the winter. If we seem to have a large surplus I may try making onion powder with them.  I'd rather have onion powder than rotten onions in the long run. 

 

You probably wouldn't think that there would be a big difference in the flavor of a fresh onion compared to one that's been sitting in a warehouse for who knows how long, but I can assure you the taste is better by a long shot.  Fresh onions are crisp and juicy.  They stand up better to sauteing than older onions and they aren't as likely to bring tears to your eyes when you chop them up. 

 

The best thing I have found out about growing onions is that it is about as easy as it gets as far as caring for vegetables.  They aren't needy about fertilizer.  They grow well from sets with an almost 100% germination rate.  They tolerate cold and hot temps without flinching.  They don't take up a lot of room in the garden and you can plant a ton in a very small space.  You can also use them as edging for other crops that need a pest deterrent.  All you need to do is make sure they are kept evenly moist because they have such a shallow root system, but a little drying out here and there isn't the end of the world either.  The only downside of growing onions is if you grow them from seeds you have to start them super early if you want to get a decent harvest  by the end of summer.  The seeds I started this year were planted in flats in January.  Seems to me that my timing was just fine as they are just as big or bigger than the onions that I started from sets.  I've read that onions started from seeds are better keepers and are less likely to go to flower as well.  I guess we will find out how true that is this winter as we work through the stores.  I'm guessing we will gather around 200-300 onions, maybe more if I count the small ones I've picked this far.