Guide to Growing Spring Onions

• A popular and useful crop.
• An easy vegetable and perfect for container growing. They can be tucked into mixed containers or beds.

Sowing and Growing

• Spring onions like a rich, well-drained soil but can be used to fill gaps, in which case add some general purpose fertilizer a week before sowing and rake the soil to a fine tilth.
• They are sown from seed and sowing little and often, fortnightly from March onwards, will give a good supply through the summer.
• Either sow 1.5 cm (¾ inch) deep in rows spaced 15 cm (6 inches) apart or thinly scatter the seed across the growing area and rake in or cover with 1.5 cm (¾ inch) of fine soil.
• Sow a winter hardy variety in late summer–early autumn to provide a crop in early spring. They don't need a great depth of soil and can be grown in a pot of multi-purpose compost in the greenhouse.

Harvesting

• Simply pull up what you require and leave the others to grow on. They're ready when around 15 cm tall.

Pests and Problems

• Spring onions mature so fast that they tend not to suffer from pests and problems. Make sure that the soil is rich enough to support their fast growth.

Varieties

• Guardsman has the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is recommended for containers, but I've found White Lisbon (one of the best known varieties) just as good. There is also a winter hardy variety of White Lisbon.
• Red varieties are also available, such as North Holland Blood Red. This has the advantage of providing spring onions but can also be left in the ground to bulb up and provide full-size onions.

Eating

• Enjoy raw in salads or chopped into a stir fry. Spring onions can used as an onion substitute.

RHS Award of Garden Merit

• White Lisbon
• Lilia
• Ishikuro
• Feast
• Laser
• More information on the Award of Garden Merit