How to Grow Your Own Food: Planting Onion Seedlings

Out of all the vegetables I use, onions would be ranked #1.  I use onions in stir fry, soups, pot pies and practically anytime I cook meat in a crock pot.  In fact I can’t imagine cooking without them.

So in an effort to reduce our grocery budget, and to try to grow 2,000 lbs of vegetables in my backyard this year, it should come as no surprise that I will be planting a boat load of onions.  I think transplanting 300-500 seedlings should be enough.  This includes, Sweet Onions, Red Onions, Shallots and Leeks.

Yesterday, it stopped raining long enough to transplant the Walla Walla Sweets and Red Onions I started back in January out in the garden.  A few years ago I had success planting onions at the base of  our raspberry canes, so I decided to do it again this year.

Intercropping {planting two or more crops in the same space, at the same time} is not only a great way to save space in the garden,  but it cuts down on time & money spent on watering as well.  Onions are more of a cool weather crop, so they will benefit from the shade of the raspberry plants as they begin to fill out.

What’s on my agenda for today?

Well, it’s not raining at the moment so I think I’ll dash out to the greenhouse, grab the leeks, and get them planted.  I’m thinking about planting them between the rows of strawberry plants.  I hear the the two plants are compatible.

What’s on your to-do list today?

The Complete Guide to Companion Planting