Spring onions add interest to many dishes. The white bulbs have a delicate onion flavor while the long hollow leaves can be thinly sliced to add texture and color. Spring Onion seeds are sowed from March to August at 3 weekly intervals. Harvesting can start 8 weeks after sowing.
Spring Onions are very easy to grow for commercial purposes and consumers like them because they can be used in a variety of recipes. Spring onions are sometimes called: scallions, bunching onions, long green onions, Japanese bunching onions or salad onions. They are a good source of vitamins A, B and C and come in white and red color stemmed varieties.
Soil Requirements
The best soil for the Spring Onion crop is slightly acid, with a pH between 5.3 and 5.8 – using calcium chloride to measure the levels. Spring Onion crop is produced throughout the year.
Spacing
Single plants – 10cm each way (minimum).
Rows – 10cm with 10cm row gap (minimum).
To sow Spring Onion seed outdoors, sow seeds thinly into shallow drills about 1,5cm deep with rows spaced 30cm apart. Water and keep the seeds environment moist. Once the Spring Onion seeds have germinated and developed into a substantial young plant, cover them with cloches.
Watering
Spring Onions like moderate moisture and water the onions when the soil is starting to dry around the onions. Be careful not to over-water the plant as you will get larger onions with a very weak flavor. Spring Onion plants need to be well watered throughout their growth.This is because of their short root length.
Harvesting
Generally, harvest Spring Onions after 8 weeks. Spring Onions are ready to eat once they reach about 6 inches in height with a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Usually, this takes approximately 8 weeks, but some may take a few weeks longer.
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