Growing Instructions for Spring Onion

 

Season: 

Summer and winter 

 

Position: 

Full sun 

 

Soil ph: 

Around 6, but spring onion can also grow in soil up to 6.8 ph 

 

Watering needs: 

Water two to three times a week in summer. In winter, water once or twice a week. 

 

Possible pests & problems: 

Very rare, but sometimes you might encounter some aphids on the plant. 

 

Maintenance & Extras: 

Spring onion is very easy to grow and does not need extra care and maintenance. 

 

Additional fertilizers: 

None is needed, as long as the plant is in well-draining, fertile soil. 

 

Harvest: 

Spring onion can be harvested at any time and in many ways. If you need thin (small) spring onions, you can harvest them when the plant is still small (about 20 cm high). If you need thicker (larger) spring onions, you can harvest when the plant is about 30 – 40 cm high. You can either pull out the whole plant, cut off the roots, and then use it, or you can simply snip off the plant at the bottom and it will regrow. 

 

Cultivars: 

Even though there are a few other spring onion varieties available, the most common variety used is the green spring onion. There is also a red spring onion variety (among others), but these are sometimes hard to find. 

 

General: 

Spring onions are very easy to grow and can grow in almost any soil, although they will do better in well-drained, fertile soil. They grow faster than “normal” onions and are therefore a favourite for most gardeners as they are often used on the borders of vegetable gardens to help with pest control (and whenever you run out of onions or if the onions in your garden are not ready yet, spring onion is a great replacement). 

Spring onions have shallow roots and can therefore be grown in containers that are quite shallow (about 10 – 15 cm deep) 

Spring onions can be planted with any of the other alliums (garlic, onions, leeks, etc.). Spring onions are also a great companion plant for anything in the brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.). In general, spring onions are great companion plants for many other vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, parsnips, beets, peppers & chillies, eggplant, lettuce, strawberries and various fruit trees), but should not be planted next to anything from the legume family (beans, peas, etc.) as alliums can stunt the growth of legumes.