Select your climate zone New Zealand - cool/mountain New Zealand - sub-tropical New Zealand - temperate What is my climate zone?

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(Best months for planting Onion in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 180-240 days
• Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 30°C.
• Space plants: 5-10cm

Onions come in a range of colours and shapes and sizes. Brown :- strong flavour and pungent. Usually good keepers for storage. White :- milder but still flavoursome. Keep fairly well. Red :- Mild, suitable to use raw in salads and sandwiches.

Onions can be bought as young plants (sets) from garden shops/nurseries to plant straight into garden beds. Choose your variety according to your climate and the time of year as some onions will grow better in the cooler months .

Onion bulbs should sit on the surface of the soil. Do not cover. They will take six to eight months to mature. Onions are ready when the tops start to dry and fall over. Pull them and leave to dry for a few days. Store in a cool, dry airy place. Use a net bag or make a string by weaving the tops together. If you are growing from seed, when they are big enough to handle, you can plant out. They start off looking like blades of grass.

The seedtrays don't have to be in a greenhouse (though that would be ideal), any sheltered spot will do. The idea is to guard against rapid changes of temperature, especially at night.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Onion

Brown onions roasted whole with other vegetables are delicious.
Red onions add colour to salads or stir-fry.

Your comments and tips

26 Jan 10 Heather Pearson (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I grew my onions from seed in June, planting out July. I have most not bulbing, dividing and some with reasonable sized bulbs. When should I sow seeds for best results? Wellington has been excessively wet this season.

29 Jan 10 Martin van Grinsven (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I sowed pukekohe longkeepers beginning october and will now harvest very big and healthy onions - 120 days. I seem to have done it back to front according to your chart?

30 Jan 10 Heather Pearson (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Could Martin van Grinsven (29 Jan) submit his growing tips eg. fertiliser used as he obviously had better success than me. Was the seed started in trays or direct into ground?

09 Feb 10 Martin van Grinsven (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Answer to Heather Pearson re onion growing. Sowed seeds directly in garden in open ground, transplanted about the beginning of November. Had dug in sheep manure during the winter. Hope this helps.

13 Feb 10 Heather Pearson (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Thanks to Martin van Grinsven. I will grow pukekohe longkeepers next season and follow his tips including sheep manure in winter. I did have a very crop of "Pearl Drop" mini onions this year, so maybe pukekohe will do the same next time

24 Sep 10 barry fordham (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I read some where that you should not use animal manure around onions is that true and why please,I have been using sheep pellets and water to feed them, is this harmful? please

22 Oct 10 Wayne Jacobsen (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Barry Re Onions: Too much nitrogen may result in onions wilting or deforming. A bit is OK. I use Blood and Bone raked in before transplanting onions.

05 Jan 11 Sue Wilson (New Zealand - temperate climate)

This year is the first time I've grown onions and I tried both red and brown with the red onions doing way better for some reason. I always use well rotted manure left over winter before digging in for any veges and the red ones are real beauties so they can definately take plenty as long as it's not fresh. When researching info about growing onions no one ever says anything about them flowering and I even read an article in NZ Gardener that didn't know if pinching off the flowers made any difference to them, but from my experience from one flowering recently is that they start to shoot up from the bulb which ruins them so I think it would be helpful when advise is given to also mention things like that. Fortunately I only lost one but all of my leeks flowered and have been a dead loss except for the bumble bees that love them and they do look rather pretty.

04 Jun 11 teresa (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

hi can any body tell me ..... i spent all summer growing my onions, now they look ready to me.So i've dug them up left them in the kitchen but they have all gone soft.What have i done wrong? cheeers T

30 Nov 11 Merv (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

My onions often go to seed just before they are due to die off. What do I do with them? The foliage is still quite green in colour - ie do not appear to be drying off just yet.