Month: December 2022

Did you know that onions can help your fruit trees grow?

Yes. Onions are not just good to eat and cook with, they are also great for gardening.

While you may know onions as a common ingredient in different recipes. There is far more to onions than the variety of pairings they can make with other foods to bring out the smell, flavor, or texture in a meal.

Onions can also be of assistance in gardening since their scent can actually drive away pests that would otherwise get to your plants. As a result, there are some plants that benefit from being in the same garden space as onions.

This process of mutual support amongst garden plants is known as companion planting onions. Let’s explore what it means to be a companion plant and how implementing this strategy can help you get more from your garden.

What To Plant With Onions?

If you have a garden, you know that your plants share similar soil, water, shade, sunlight, and more. This also results in sharing support and nutrients while growing.

Say, for example, you have two plants that are known to require a lot of space and water to grow. In the case that you plant these two plants near each other in a garden, they might end up competing for the space and water they need to thrive.

Taking this kind of information into account, you can actually place plants close together that are beneficial for each other as they grow. This also provides you with a diverse garden of herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

This is not to say that having similar plants together – like onions and other alliums like garlic, chives, etc. – is a bad idea. You see, growing similar plants can result in similar pests and problems occurring in your garden since the plants are so close.

This is why you really want to find companion plants for onions that are not only related but are complementary in the way that they benefit each other by being planted together.

Starting with onions is a simple way to apply this strategy in your cooking – especially since onions grow easily even without a lot of space.

Here are some onions companion plants that, when paired with onions in a garden space, can enhance their growth, production, and flavor while also avoiding disease and pests and drawing in more pollinators for multiplying your harvest.

BRASSICAS

Brassicas, the plant group that includes mustard plants, brussel sprouts, cabbages, kale, broccoli, and turnips, are great when paired with onions. Because of onion’s natural deterrent to pests, cabbage maggots, worms, loopers, and moths, are less likely to come along and ruin their growth.

CARROTS & ROOT CROPS

Carrots are often threatened by carrot flies. Onions help put off these pests and do not compete with the growth of carrots since they take up water at different levels in the soil. Root crops like parsnips and potatoes are also benefited from the pest control that onions provide.

BEETS

Beets are a plant that can gain a lot from being paired with onions. Since onions can deter insects like beetles or aphids and larger herbivores like rabbits and deer, they can help the beets grow without any organisms impeding their growth.

TOMATOES, PEPPERS, AND MORE

Peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, eggplants, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers share common enemies: spider mites and aphids. Using onions can help these warm to mild climate crops by warding off these bugs. In the case of tomatoes, they can apparently develop better flavor when planted with onion.

LETTUCE

Similar to cabbage, lettuce benefits from the pest deterrent properties of onions – especially against flea beetles and aphids. Since the lettuce have shallow roots, they do not compete either with onions for nutrients, so that makes planting them together easy.

MELONS

Fruits like cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew melon are also known to receive similar benefits to plants like cabbage and lettuce since the pests that often plague them are warded off by onions.

CHAMOMILE

Unlike other plants on this list that are benefited by onions being planted around them, chamomile, which often resemble daisies and are used in tea, actually benefit onions they are planted near. This is because this herb can prevent fungal growth that can sometimes threaten onions in humid climates.

Another advantage of planting chamomile near onions is because their flowers can attract pollinators like bees and ladybugs to aid your garden’s growth.

DILL, MINT, AND OTHER HERBS

Similar to chamomile, the dill herb can produce flowers that attract insects that help pollinate nearby crops and others that prey on pests that could negatively impact the growth of your onions. If that wasn’t enough of an argument, some cases state that onions planted near dill actually have improved flavor.

Mint, parsley, and summer savory herbs also share these beneficial traits with dill, but are known to grow more rapidly. So, if you plan to grow wither dill or mint, make sure that the mint is in a separate container that will keep it from competing with the onions for the same soil.

FLOWERS

Flowers can have a host of benefits for your garden crops.

Marigolds

Some flowers like Marigolds are known to support onion growth by lowering nematodes in the soil.

Pigweed

Pigweed or amaranth attract nutrients that onions can then use while growing.

Roses

Roses and ornamental flowers can also be helped through pest control brought on by onions.

What Shouldn’t Be Planted Near Onions?

Vegetables in the allium

As we mentioned earlier, planting onions with other like vegetables in the allium family (like bunching onions) can be a tricky idea since they suffer from similar diseases and pests. You want to be cautious whether you want to include bad companion plants for onions in your garden. Knowing this, there are pairings that can occur in gardening that we want to help you avoid:

Asparagus

Asparagus, for instance, can often compete with onions since they reach a similar depth in the ground and will try to use up the same nutrients in these areas. As a result your asparagus and/or onions will have stunted growth if planted together.

Legumes, or beans

Legumes, or beans – in simple terms – are known to release nitrogen as they grow. Onions, on the other hand, are known for eating up nitrogen in the soil they are planted in. This would make growing legumes and onions together like placing opposites in the same area. To avoid any complications with growing these crops, it is best to grow them separately.

Lastly, unlike other herbs we discussed in this article, sage can actually stunt your onion plants’ growth – so it is best to avoid growing them with onions.

Also check: When are onions ready to harvest?

CONCLUSION

We hope that you feel inspired to try out a few of these gardening combinations as a result of learning about companion planting and the benefit it can have on your crops.

Starting with onions is an easy foundation for this and this list can be a great starter for finding plants that can help your onions grow and for simply finding plants that are benefited by growing near onions.

With some experience, you will be able to develop your gardening skills to a science! Good luck and have fun with your new green thumb!

Onions are commonly used in our everyday dishes to enhance their flavor. 

The general idea is to store them in cool, dark, and dry places. 

So, for instance, you have a bunch of onions and put them in your pantry for a while. 

You use one once in a while, but after some time they start to look a little old. 

The outside looks drier, thinner. The onion starts to shrink a bit.

Then, one day, you come back and notice a green bud emerging from one of your onions! 

Do you throw it away? Is it still good? What do you do?

CAN YOU PLANT AN ONION THAT HAS SPROUTED?

One thing you can do, is plant it to get more onions!

Although an onion can start to look a little rotten as it sprouts, as long as the sprout looks healthy then you should be fine.

On average, every sprouted onion can yield one to three new onions so that’s more bang for your buck.

SHOULD YOU SEPARATE SPROUTING ONIONS?

With that being said, most onions usually come from individual seeds.

When one onion sprouts that can produce multiple onions at once, meaning that the sprouts need to be separated in order to allow them to grow to full size.

We’ll touch on that more as we explain how you can plant your sprouted onions.

HOW TO PLANT SPROUTED ONIONS?

Start by taking it out of the pantry and peeling the outer layers of the onion.

Layers that are soft and starting to rot are unusable, while layers that are still hard and crisp can still be used if you want to cook with them. Use caution.

Once you peel the onion to the core, the sprouts should be the only thing left.

Peel back, now, at the layers of skin wrapped around the sprouts to reveal the roots and separate plants themselves.

You should have around one to three different plants that you can separate by making careful cuts to the core that connects them.

Onion sprouts do not generally need to be planted in soil for the first three weeks. So, all you need to do is store them in a place that is cool and dry. After some time, you can plant them one inch below the surface of some soil. Space the other plants about 4 inches so that the individual onion bulbs have space to grow.

Keep them watered at least once a week (or just enough so that the soil around the plants doesn’t appear dry) and in the sun.

Onions reach their best size around two to three months after being planted. You should be able to monitor their growth and estimate their size even before you harvest them.

You want to harvest your onions before they start to flower, this is because the onions stop growing once the flower develops. To do this, you pull them out of the ground and brush off the dirt. That simple!

These new onions are ready to be eaten as soon as they come out of the ground. If you want to store them, you’ll have to dry them out to avoid letting water rot the onions.

This is often done by letting them lay in a warm place (like out in the sun at around 75-80 degrees fahrenheit). Some people like to just leave them on the ground in their garden and to move them so that all sides can dry out, and you can do this or have them hang in a mesh bag or wire basket that can allow for all sides to be dried throughout.

You’ll know when they are done when the green tops are dried up and the outer layer of the onion is firm, but this can take around two to six weeks depending on the size of the onion. These onions, now that they are cured, can last for around ten months.

You might have a few questions following this process, here are a few that we can answer to get you started.

WHY DO ONIONS SPROUT?

Onions naturally want to grow as plants.

Placing them in dry, cool places keeps them from beginning this process.

Once they receive some kind of moisture or warmth, which may be a result of humidity in your area, they will start to sprout.

HOW TO MAKE ONIONS SPROUT FASTER

To help your onions grow faster once they are in the soil, you should weed around your plants so that they get enough nutrients. Fertilizer can also help ensure that the onions get what they need to grow.

ARE ONION SPROUTS THE SAME AS GREEN ONIONS?

While onion sprouts look a lot like green onions, chives, and/or scallions, they are not the same.

Some reports state that, even if you tried to cut up the sprouts and use them in your cooking, they are less flavorful and are tougher in texture.

WILL YOU GET MORE ONIONS IN HARVEST?

Like we mentioned earlier in the article, a sprouted onion can give you a return of up to three new onions.

This is a bit of a game of chance, so you might get one sprout, two sprouts, three, or maybe four! It depends on the type of onion you have.

Also check: Best Onion Companion Plants?
Also check: Growing Bunching Onions From Seed?
Also check: How to cure onions?

CONCLUSION

There are numerous varieties of onion that you can buy from the store.

These plants naturally want to grow and multiply, so, when placed in a warm, moist, and sunny place they begin to sprout.

When you notice a sprout start to grow, you can choose to let the onion continue by keeping it in a place where it can remain warm and in the sun. This will cause the sprout to grow longer and the onion to grow smaller – while the outer layers might become papery and dry. 

You can still use the outer layers of the onion to eat, as long as they are firm and are not reduced to mold. When the sprout has developed to become visible outside the onion, you can take certain steps to separate the sprouts from the onion and prepare them for planting. 

Try it out and see how you can grow your own onions! 

With any luck, you can also retrieve seeds from when your sprouts flower and plant even more onions. 

You’ll have your own onion garden in no time. 

Is an onion a fruit or a vegetable? In this article, we will explore the definitions of fruits and vegetables, the characteristics of onions, and the reasons why onions are often mistaken for fruits.

A staple in many food recipes, Onions are used so often in our everyday lives. With onions, bland dishes are given life and flavor. Although it may be a hassle sometimes to cut them, it is still essential to have onions in our dishes.

However, even if it is so common in everyone’s lives, there is still quite a confusion about what onions are.

This is still a question that many people do not have the answer to.

“Is onion a fruit or a vegetable?”

Let’s find out!

WHAT MAKES A VEGETABLE, A VEGETABLE?

So, before we start determining if onions are fruits or vegetables, let us first know how vegetables are classified as vegetables.

Vegetables are any part of a plant that is edible. That means they can be roots, stems, flowers, leaves, or even tubers or bulbs.

In basic terms, a vegetable is any of the edible parts of the plant, except for the fruit of course.

This means that vegetables are not seed holders like fruits.

Furthermore, the common definition of vegetables can reflect how it is served. People often refer to vegetables as the plant parts that are served with meats, poultry, or fish.

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF FRUIT?

Speaking of fruits, let’s head over to the definition of fruit.

In botany, fruits are a structure in flowering plants that bear seeds. They are formed from the mature ovary of a plant.

Fruits are also often defined as the sweet and fleshy reproductive bodies of a seed plant.

IS ONION A ROOT?

Before answering the age-old question of whether onions are fruits or vegetables, let’s first clarify if an onion is a root.

A root vegetable is a plant part that grows underground. These vegetables store nutrients and are eaten raw by humans as food.

Some examples are carrots, beets, potatoes, and ginger.

So, are onions a root vegetable?

The answer is both yes and no.

In botany, they distinguish true roots like tuberous roots from the non-roots such as tubers and bulbs. Since an onion is a bulb, it falls under the category of non-root. Onions grow above the ground and not underground, which means they aren’t technically true roots.

In culinary and agricultural settings, however, onions are considered root vegetables since they do not distinguish the true roots from the non-roots.

IS ONION A FRUIT?

Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! So, is an onion a fruit?

The answer? Nope, onions are not a fruit!

Based on the definition of what a fruit is, onions are not classified as a fruit.

Earlier, we defined fruits as seed-bearing structures in flowering plants. Onion bulbs do not come from the plant’s ovaries, which means they do not include seeds. Onions also do not form directly from a flower. Therefore, onions cannot be classified as a fruit.

WHY DO PEOPLE MISTAKE ONION FOR FRUIT?

Now that we have answered your initial question, let us head over to a new one.

Why do people mistake onions for fruit?

Some assume that onions are fruits since onion bulbs can be planted to produce more plants. Even if this is true, onions still cannot be classified as a fruit.

Onion bulbs can be grown and reproduced using their bulbs. This means that onion bulbs can reproduce asexually, which is a trait that fruits have with their seeds. However, onions still do not have seeds in them, and they only can be reproduced using their bulbs. This means that onions cannot be classified as a fruit since they do not have seeds.

Some people may also think that onions are fruits because they resemble the body of many fruits. But onions are the onion plant’s underground bulbs, which clarifies that they are not a fruit.

ARE ONIONS VEGETABLES?

Since we found out earlier that onions are not fruits, we can safely assume that onions are really vegetables.

It might’ve been obvious since onions are savory instead of having a sweet flavor like fruits, but there is a deeper reason why onions are classified as vegetables.

Onions fit the basic profile of a vegetable, which means…

Yes, onions are vegetables.

WHAT MAKES ONIONS VEGETABLES?

Onions are vegetables because they are the edible bulb of the onion plant.

Vegetables were defined earlier as the edible portions of a plant, which include the bulb.

An onion is a bulb that springs up from plant species in the genus Allium, which falls under the category of bulb vegetables. These vegetables are usually not eaten by themselves, as they are used in conjunction with other ingredients to make a meal and enhance the flavor of food.

And even if onions share some similarities with other fruits, it is still considered a vegetable since it does not come from the plant’s ovaries when flowering, and onions do not contain any seeds.

IS AN ONION A BULB?

With bulbs mentioned earlier, you must wonder if an onion is a bulb.

Using the information, we have gathered earlier, we can conclude that onion has a bulb, but cannot be solely classified as a bulb.

The onion is a bulbous plant that grows from a small seed to produce a large, edible bulb.

Onions are also a combination of stem and scale leaves. Furthermore, the stem of the onion is disc-shaped, and it is an underground alteration of the stem. This falls under the classification of a bulb.

This means that the fleshy edible part of an onion that grows underground is a bulb.

However, with the fact that the whole plant is edible, we cannot classify onions as bulbs only. We can classify onions as vegetables instead.

WHERE DO ONION SEEDS COME FROM?

In the bulb section, we have briefly mentioned the existence of onion seeds.

So where do these seeds come from?

These seeds develop from the flower part of the onion part. However, onion seeds are actually pretty rare, as the flower of the onion plant only produces seeds every two years.

The produced onion seeds come from the fertilization that happens on the flower…

However, onions do not grow from the flowering plant but instead from the seeds that they have.

There’s no need to worry about an onion shortage though, as onions can be grown from a bulb that carries no seeds.

Also check : How to plant an onion that has sprouted?
Also check : What Grows Well With Onions?
Also check : How Long Do Bunching Onions Take To Grow?
Also check : How to know when onions are ready to harvest?

CONCLUSION

To sum it all up, onions are not fruits since they do not consist of seeds. Onions are vegetables, both based on the scientific and common definitions of vegetables.

Onions can be classified as root vegetables from culinary and agricultural settings, but it is not true root vegetable for botanists.

Onions have bulbs but cannot be classified as a bulb only, and their seeds come from their flowers.

There you have it, your questions regarding onions are now answered.

Onions being mislabeled may have little effect in the kitchen, but still knowing about their classification might come in handy the next time someone asks if onions are fruits or vegetables.