Red Onions

  • The Bulb OnionAllium cepa, also known as the “garden onion“, of the same genus (Allium) as the chive (A. schoenoprasum), garlic (A. sativum), leek (A. porrum), and shallot (A. ascalonium).
  • Above ground, the bulb onion shows only a single vertical shoot; the bulb grows underground, and is used for energy storage, leading to the possibility of confusion with a tuber, which it is not.
  • Bulb onions are the common round onions we are familiar from the grocery store as opposed to non-bulb onions like scallions or leeks.
  • Bulb onions are tasty and healthy foods that do not take up a lot of space, yet keep reasonably well after harvesting.
  • Bulb onions are easy to grow and are a great crop to plant in the vegetable garden.

April – September

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Description

        • Bulb onions are characterized by an edible bulb composed of food-storage leaves that are rich in sugar and a pungent oil, the source of its strong taste.
        • Among the hardiest and oldest garden-vegetable plants, onions bear a cluster of small, greenish white flowers on one or more leafless stalks.
        • The leaf base swells to form the underground mature edible onion.
        • Onions are pungent; because they contain a sulfur-rich volatile oil, peeling or slicing them can cause a person’s eyes to tear.
        • Onions vary in size, shape, colour, and pungency. Though low in standard nutrients, they are valued for their flavour.

    Know your Bulb Onions – Varieties

    • The onion (A. cepa), no longer found wild, is a biennial now grown in many varieties throughout the world as a table vegetable.
    • Common varieties include the strong-flavoured red onion, the milder yellow onion, and the bland white onion.
    • Pearl onions are small white onions used for pickling.
    • The large Spanish and Bermuda onions have a delicate flavour.

    Know your Bulb Onions – Origins

    • Most onion species are believed to be native to SW Asia and are known to have been cultivated since ancient times.
    • The onion was grown extensively by the ancient Egyptians, in whose writings it is mentioned, and was later spread by the Spanish colonists.

    Know your Bulb Onions – Uses

    • Onions have been claimed to cure colds, earaches, and laryngitis and have been used to treat animal bites, powder burns, and warts; like their close relative garlic, they are being studied for other suspected beneficial qualities.