How to Grow Spring Onions

Spring onions, scallions, bunching onions, Welsh onions, or green onions – no matter what you call them, they are a great beginner crop to grow no matter where you live.

A member of the allium family (along with garlic, chives, shallots and onions), spring onions are a rich source of vitamins A, C, K, B6 and B9 and calcium, iron, and zinc. They have been known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties making them great for your health too! Common to a range of different cuisines, spring onions can be eaten raw or cooked and are a great staple to have in your garden.

When to grow spring onions

As the name suggests, spring is usually the ideal time to grow spring onions however there are varieties that can be grown year-round provided you don’t get thick snow. The hardier varieties are more likely to survive all year round.

Spring onion varieties

Supermarkets might have you believing that all spring onions are the same, however you might be surprised to learn that there are a lot of different spring onion varieties to explore. Here are a few that may be of interest:

· White Lisbon – a classic, mild sweet variety with white stems and green tops that will form a bulb if left to grow

· Red Beard – red stems and green tops, this is a hardy variety with a mild flavour

· Winter Ishikura – another hardy variety with white stems and long green tops

· Evergreen – ideal for salads, this is a disease resistant variety with white stems and green tops

How to grow spring onions from seed

Spring onions like soil temperatures of 15-25°C or 59–77°F.

Direct sow seed into good quality soil, allowing space between rows of around 30cm to avoid the tops interweaving with each other and blocking sunlight as they grow.

Provided you keep the soil moist but not wet, the seedling should emerge in around 7-10 days. The seeds are very small so separating the seedlings can be a little tricky. That doesn’t matter too much because you can harvest some stalks early to thin out the row a little and you get to enjoy them sooner!

How to grow spring onions from seedlings

Spring onions can be transplanted but considering how quickly they grow and how fragile the root systems are on the seedlings, if you are able to direct sow, that’s generally recommended.

If you’ve opted to either buy seedlings or grow your seeds out in trays first, it’s important that you get them into your garden bed once the seedling is established but before they become root bound in the seedling tray as this can stunt the growth of your plant.

Once you’ve planted out your seedlings, lightly water the seedling in with a seaweed solution such as the Plant Doctor’s Seaweed Secrets (use SSME10 for 10% off your order) to minimise transplant shock.

Spring onions like to be watered regularly and will wilt if they get too hot. They may even get sunburn causing the leaves to brown. Mulching can help to prevent roots from drying out and to keep the plant a little cooler.

How long does it take spring onions to grow?

Most varieties of spring onions will take 60-90 days to reach full maturity.

When to harvest spring onions

You can harvest spring onions early to thin out your planting and they are edible from the day they first shoot however they won’t reach their full flavour until they are mature. If left to continue growing, the spring onions will start to split into two and get bigger and bigger which can make the taste stronger. Eventually the plant will go to seed.

Spring onion pests and diseases and how to control them organically

Onion thrips

Onion thrips are tiny insects that love onions (as the name suggests). They cause white fleck marks on the leaves of the spring onions and can even cause curling and twisting of leaves. The quickest way to get rid of them is to remove affected leaves and give your spring onions an extra watering. Lacewings are beneficial bugs that prey on the thrips so companion planting something that attracts them such as dill, coriander or yarrow, could be a good idea if you’ve had thrip problems in the past. Pest resistant varieties may also help.

Slugs and snails

Depending on where you live, slugs and snails may be a pest you have to deal with when growing spring onions. Young plants are the biggest concern. There are lots of different ways to control slugs and snails in your garden. Some of the cheaper options you may like to try include coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, beer traps, diatomaceous earth, copper tape, bran meal, or seaweed meal. Plants such as geraniums, lavender, alyssum, peonies, or foxglove are known to repel slugs and snails too. Of course, if birds, toads or frogs are around at night, they may take care of the problem for you.

Aphids

Aphids can be a gardener’s nightmare for a huge range of plants. These small insects can be found on the stems and undersides of leaves of your plant and can be a range of different colours depending on what they are eating. Left untreated, aphids can swell to proportions that risk your plant developing diseases and becoming unhealthy. The most natural way to avoid aphids is to attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs that eat the aphids. Other natural remedies include organic neem oil, diatomaceous earth sprinkled on top of the aphids to dehydrate and kill them, strong spray of water to dislodge the aphids, or a spray of soapy water which suffocates the aphids (be sure to hose off any soap later).

Onion Downy Mildew

Like most mildews, onion downy mildew can be prevented with adequate airflow, watering at the base of the plant rather than overhead, and cleaning up debris at the base of the plants. If you haven’t been able to avoid it, a light spray of the affected foliage with a watered down milk solution or neem oil along with removing affected leaves will help to keep it under control.

Mark’s top tips for growing spring onions

If you don’t need a garden bed straight away, leave a few of your spring onions in until they go to seed then pull them off and sprinkle them around to keep growing all year round.

Do you have any tips or questions about growing spring onions? Mark and the Self Sufficient Me team love hearing about your growing success so why not join our forum to let us know how you went growing spring onions?

If you had some trouble growing spring onions or simply want to pick Mark’s brain about your self-sufficiency goals or projects, you may want to consider becoming a patreon for exclusive content and email access for less than a restaurant meal each month!