How To Do Organic Onions Farming In India

Onions were probably eaten commonly by our prehistoric ancestors and there is evidence to suggest they were cultivated 5000 years ago, so it's safe to say that the odiferous bulb is a long-standing family favourite. 

"Dice up a medium onion" is the first line to many a recipe because onions add layers of flavour, colour and even texture to any dish. But it's not just the flavour that gave onions their popularity over time - onion is an easy crop to grow, stores well and transports easily. Archaeologists and historians have also found references in many cultures to the use of onions for medicinal purposes, even religious reasons. 

The supermarkets would have you believe there's but a handful of onion varieties available these days, but in the nursery world of heirloom seeds and seedlings there is a whole rainbow of cultivars to choose from. "Onions belong to the extremely diverse Alhim genus that also includes leeks, shallots, garlic and chives."

Types Of Onions For Organic Farming

• Barletta:
  An early-season southern Italian heirloom that's ready to harvest in just 7 weeks for pickling purposes or leave it for a further 9 weeks to fully mature and develop into a white salad or cooking onion.
• Gladelan:
  A mid-season sweet and mild white heirloom onion, great cooked or added raw to salads and sandwiches.
• Long Tropea Red:
  A long red Italian heirloom with a sweet and mild flavour that's excellent for salads.
• Red Creole:
  A dark-red onion with a good strong flavour. This heirloom also stores well.
• Australian Brown:
  A popular Aussie-bred variety grown by market gardens around Colac in the 1940s, this brown-skinned onion is one of the best-storing varieties.

Onions Organic Farming Tips

1. Sow onions directly or into punnets in autumn. winter or spring in southern  parts of Australia while. Further north early-season onions can be sown froam February to May.
2. If you plant them at the wrong time for your climate zone, onions are likely to bolt and go to seed, so always check the planting time for each variety suited to your region.
3. Choose a full-sun spot in your garden with a well-drained soil. If you prep your bed before planting with organic manure and well-rotted compost, the plants should not need any further fertilising.
4. Thin or sow seeds with a spacing of 10-15cm between plants and rows should be 20-30cm apart.
5. Most varieties are ready to harvest 6-8 months after planting, when their leaves go dry and start to fall over.
6. Early-harvest varieties might be ready sooner (they are perfect for making pickled onions when small); however, these won't dry and store as well as the later-harvest varieties with papery skins.

Onions should not be planted with corn or beans, although they make great companion plantings for other row crops like carrots, parsnips, lettuce and beetroot. Or mix them in among your cabbages and brassicas, as it's said their strong odour can deter white cabbage moths and caterpillars.

ONIONS HARVEST AND STORAGE

• Small young onions can be harvested and pickled easily and quickly in a flavoured brine solution. Enjoy them later in the year with fish and chips. 
• Jacket potatoes or a hearty salami-laden sandwich.
• If left to mature, the leaves of onion plants will turn brown and dry and start to die back. This is the time to harvest.
• Lift the bulb gently from the ground using a fork positioned well beneath the bulb so you don't skewer it. 
• Lay the freshly dug bulbs in a sunny, airy and dry spot (this can be outdoors if rain isn't expected) for a few days to completely dry out.

Once dried completely, the tops can be easily twisted off and the roots rubbed off. Store your onions in wire baskets or mesh bags in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.  

Scientific Deatils Of Onions

• Comnion name: Onion
• Botanical name: Affium cepa Cepa group 
• Family: Alliaceae
• Aspect & soil: Sun; deep well-drained soil 
• Best climate: Cool to subtropical
• Habit : Biennial bulb grown as an annual
• Propagation: Seed, seedling (called sets) 
• Difficulty: Moderate

Note:

If you plant them at the wrong time for your climate zone, onions are likely to bolt and go to seed, so always check the planting time for each variety suited to your region.