Growing Onions
Top 5 Reasons for Growing Onions
Many gardeners love growing onions, and everyone has their special reasons why. This list of the top 5 reasons for growing onions shows you just a few of the many benefits of growing onions at home.
Reason #1 – Onions are super easy to grow.
Even a beginner can grow onions, and they take a pleasantly short time to produce fruit. Onions are started from seed, seedlings or bulbs that will form under the ground into the actually onion. It is best to start growing onions in the spring, after the last frost. As the weather warms up the bulb will be triggered to develop into a delicious onion. Onions do best in rich, fertile soil, but they are tolerant of most types of soil.
Harvest time for onions is based mostly on looks. Smaller varieties, like green onions and scallions, can be picked when their tops have grown to around 6-inches tall. Larger onions are ready to be harvested when their tops begin to flop over and the onion appears at the surface of the soil looking ripe and delicious enough to eat.
Reason #2 – Onions take up very little space in the garden.
An onion plant will grow just about anywhere it is planted, so you don’t need a spacious yard or garden to plant onions. They grow nicely in a vegetable garden, but if you are short on space, onions also do well in flower gardens and individual planting boxes or pots. A couple of onion plants can grow in just one square foot of garden space.
Reason #3 – Onions are really good for you!
Onions have long been known to have health benefits and were used in ancient times as a natural cure for anything from headaches to the common cold. In more recent times, scientific studies have shown that eating onions can help lower cholesterol and reduce instances of heart disease.
Reason #4 – Onions are tasty.
Onions can be found thousands of different recipes, from breakfast to lunch to dinner, and even in the hors d’oeuvres. Onion soup is popular as both a main course and an appetizer, but onions are used as a flavoring in most other soups and dishes. They are also popular on pizza, hotdogs and sandwiches and are a necessity on the famous Philadelphia cheese steak.
Not everyone loves to eat onions, but apparently many Americans do: the onion is the third most eaten vegetable in the United States (behind lettuce and potatoes).
Reason #5 – Home-grown onions are free.
One of the best things about growing your own onions (and other garden veggies too) is that they are very inexpensive. After the initial cost to start the plants, home-grown onions are virtually free. With a little work and effort, anyone can enjoy fresh onions at home. And knowing you grew them yourself is almost as satisfying as their subtle spice.