Spring onion / scallion

1. 1

   Pick the right variety for the season

   White Lisbon: the UK standard — pencil-thin stems, mild flavour, fast-growing, the choice for spring–summer sowing. White Lisbon Winter Hardy: bred for autumn sowing and overwintering — sow August–September, pull March–April for the earliest fresh onions of the year. Red Beard / Apache: red-skinned, ornamental and tasty in salads. Welsh onion (A. fistulosum — true bunching onion, perennial): forms clumps that divide year after year; pull a few stems at a time, the clump regrows.

2. 2

   Sow direct, in a sunny spot

   Spring onions don't transplant well (small fragile roots). Sow direct in shallow drills 1 cm deep, 15 cm between rows. Thin sowing — aim for seeds 1–2 cm apart along the drill. Germination in 14–21 days at 10–15°C. Sunny position, ordinary garden soil — no need for special preparation.

3. 3

   Sow successionally every 3 weeks

   The key to continuous spring onions. Sow a fresh short row every 3 weeks from mid-March until mid-September. Each row is ready 8–10 weeks after sowing. Skip the very hot midsummer weeks if your garden gets dry — heat-stressed spring onions bolt to flower rather than producing usable stems.

4. 4

   Sow in August for overwintering

   The most useful sowing window for early-spring picking. Sow White Lisbon Winter Hardy (or similar hardy variety) in late August. The seedlings overwinter as small plants (covered by snow if necessary — they're fine), then resume growth from early March and are pullable from late March onwards. Earliest fresh onions of the year, when little else is yet usable.

5. 5

   Thin to 2–3 cm apart

   Once seedlings have 3–4 leaves, thin to one plant every 2–3 cm. Don't pull thinnings — eat them (baby spring onions, salad-tender, perfect for garnishing). The remaining plants will grow to full size with proper spacing.

6. 6

   Water in dry spells

   Spring onions bolt to flower and turn bitter in drought. Water deeply weekly in dry weather to keep stems tender. Mulch with fine compost along the row to conserve moisture. Pot-grown spring onions need daily watering once growing strongly.

7. 7

   Pull when pencil-thick

   Pull (don't cut) when stems are 15–20 cm tall and pencil-thick — typically 8–10 weeks from sowing. Slip a fork under the row to loosen the soil before pulling — saves snapping off stems. Use within 3–4 days — spring onions wilt fast. Trim the roots and the very top of the green leaves; the whole rest of the plant is edible.

8. 8

   Companion plant with carrots

   The classic UK companion: alternate spring onion rows with carrot rows. The onion scent confuses carrot root fly (which detects carrots by smell), giving significant pest reduction without chemicals. Plant 1 row of spring onions between every 2 rows of carrots. Don't plant near peas or beans — alliums slow legume growth.

Allium chemistry deters most pests; onion thrips occasionally.