divaqs's Blog

Permanent Onion Patch
Apr 19, 2007 | 8:27 AM PST
Tags: onions , compantion planting , treated wood , slugs , winter garden

I've been working on creating a permanent onion patch, with the idea of the patch getting large enough that I can rely on it for all my onion needs.

Last spring I ordered and planted yellow multiplier onions, described as;
"These winter-hardy bulbs have yellow skins and white flesh tinged with purple. With proper nutrition and good conditions, you can expect a cluster of 10-12 or more mild and sweet-flavored bulbs to form from a single bulb. Multiplier onions keep for 8-12 months in good storage conditions. Plants can be used as green bunching onions if pulled in the spring."

I wasn't sure how to incorporate this into a landscape design, so I started it in a 4 foot by 8 foot garden box I built a couple of years ago.

In the above picture, you are seeing the remnants of the salad greens I over-wintered, intermingled with onions. I have a lot of miner's lettuce seedlings, which are volunteer seedlings from my experiment in trying it out last year and it re-seeding itself.

I found the flavor of miner's lettuce to be pretty uninspiring, so I will probably only let one or two of the seedlings reach full size, which can be a few feet in height.

The onions definitely multiplied, forming bunches of onions, which I spread out more evenly in the garden box during February, with the exception of one large bunch I left in the middle to see how it would fare. I figure that by next year I will have reached the point of having so many onions that I won't have to worry about running out if I use them in an unrestrained manner in my cooking.

The onions are smaller in size then the typical walla walla size onions I see in the store, so it might take more to cook with. I probably won't need a lot, since I use chives from my yard as well, as an onion substitute.

Once I get a feel for how they would look in a landscape setting, I might try intermingling some in other parts of my yard and herb beds.

I used pressure treated wood for the planter box, after I did some research to verify that the chemical treatment had been changed from the previous cancer causing compounds that include chromium and arsenic, to one based on copper. The EPA did a bunch of research on the treatment process, which prompted the change. Copper has a nice side affect of discouraging slugs, since it reacts in a way with their slime, which they seem to avoid. I haven't seen many slugs getting into this garden bed, which is a nice side benefit, and one of the reasons I have salad greens companion planted with the onions.

For most of my garden I try to use companion planting, since it seems to decrease problems with pests and disease, but for an edible landscaper like me, more importantly adds more visual appeal. I worry less about visual appeal in my garden boxes, but still try to use some of the concepts. Onions can be a great companion plant since many pests avoid them.