How to plant onion sets

Here's how to get those gorgeous onions on their way.

I bought my sets (small onions) a few weeks back when I had my annual seed buying trip to the nursery.

I like to do white and red onions as that is what I like to eat-you could also do Shallots in the same way.

So once again (there's a pattern starting here) I mark out my rows by placing a bamboo cane across my raised beds-so much easier than fiddling about with bits of string.

I place the onions on the surface of the soil about 3" apart ( you can get away with putting your crops slightly closer in a raised bed than you could directly in the ground). The rows are about 10" apart from each other.

Once I'm happy with my spacing I gently push the onion- root side down into the soil so they sit with their top halves out of the soil. Don't bury them.
I then tamp down the soil so that they stay in place.

You'll need to keep an eye on them in case the birds take an interest in them and move them. My dog is quite interested! Every now and then I glimpse out of the kitchen window and see him standing on top of the beds-I think he thinks I've put them there especially for him!

So it's as simple as that- they should be ready to harvest when the leaves start to turn yellow-mid to late summer.

I've got a really tasty onion soup recipe somewhere-I'll dig it out and put it on the blog.