How Organic Onions Should Be Grown

Organic Soil Enrichment

• Growing onions organically means using only plant or animal-derived fertilizers and other soil amendments to enrich the soil. This category encompasses anything produced naturally, such as cow, chicken and horse manure, and the manure of any other animal, such as pigs, sheep, rabbits and goats, whose diet consists entirely of grasses and grains. Compost, a mixture of decaying plant-based materials, is also entirely organic, as it effectively recycles garden and kitchen waste. Aged compost is a dense, rich substance that improves the soil's water retention and it's friability, or looseness, providing an excellent base for the development of the onion plants. While synthetic or synthetically produced fertilizers produced in granular or liquid forms are never used, new blends are being developed entirely from natural materials that may qualify as organic.

Organic Pest Controls

• It's a rare vegetable that never experiences a pest or disease problem, and onions are no exception. Whereas chemical sprays are available to minimize these problems, organic gardening makes use of natural deterrents in the form of plant-based repellents and parasitic organisms that consume harmful insects. Onions, like other members of the allium family, contain pungent aromatic juices that supply a natural safeguard against most pests. As an extra measure, attracting beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, to your garden is another option and is done by growing certain plants such as dill, fennel and cosmos. Keeping your organic onion patch weed-free is also an effective deterrent, as it deprives potential pests of places to hide and breed.

Organic Disease Control

• Onions dislike humid conditions that breed disease, and should be planted in soil that drains quickly between rainstorms and waterings. Building raised beds for the onions solves this problem by keeping them above the area where water may collect and drain slowly. Crop rotation is another organic practice that minimizes the possibility of disease and is accomplished by planting the onions in a different place each year. Growing onions in the same spot each year not only depletes the soil of the nutrients they use but it also sets the stage for weaker plants that are more susceptible to pests and diseases.

Growing Onions Organically

• Organic onions can be grown from seed, from established plants or sets. Be sure the seed or stock you purchase is labelled "organic." Growing from seed or from plants offers you more flexibility as to the type of onion you choose to grow, while sets are usually sold simply as white, yellow or red. Organic onion seed must be started indoors in January or February, as it requires 4 months of growth to produce mature onions. Growing from sets or plants speeds up the process, and these can go into the garden in early spring, or as soon as the ground can be worked, as both tolerate light frosts. Dig the soil down about a foot and work in lots of compost or aged manure. Onions can be pulled at the green stage for use as scallions or can be left in the garden until fall. In areas with mild winters, they can be planted any time of year and allowed to winter over in the soil.