Salad Onion Seeds - North Holland Blood Red

250 Seeds.

Other Names - Spring Onions, Scallions, Bunching Onions, Green Onions…

A really useful dual purpose onion. Eat the onions young as red spring onions or leave to grow into red bulbs. North Holland Blood Red is an easy variety to grow and is suitable for large containers and beginner.

• Dual purpose - use as spring onions or leave to form a large bulb.
• Easy to grow, popular variety.
• Mild and sweet tasting.

Suitable For - Vegetable plot, raised beds, container garden, limited space

Sowing Months - February - July

Harvest - Mid June - November

Gardening is about finding the right balance! Try growing Companion Plants close by to help deter pests.

• Lettuce and salad onions grow well together.
• Chamomile and summer savory - these two herbs if grown nearby are believed to improve the growth and flavour of alliums.
• Beetroot, Kohl rabi, strawberries and cabbages are good plants to grow close to salad onions as they do not compete against each another.
• The leaves of the comfrey plant can be used to make a rich liquid fertilizer ideal for giving onion plants a nutrient boost.

Soil Preperation

Add a good amount of compost or well rotten manure to the soil a few months before sowing or planting. A week before sowing rake the surface of the soil to produce a fine tilth and add some general purpose organic fertilizer. The soil should be a fine tilth.

Sowing Guide

Early Sowing/Module Sowing

Salad onions are best sown direct however for early sowings start indoors in modules. Sow 5 - 6 seeds per 4 cm module. As soon as germination has started reduce the heat and move to an area with good daylight exposure, a windowsill or greenhouse is ideal. Keep the compost moist but do not overwater.
After 3 - 5 weeks depending on speed of growth plant out. Harden off over a few days before planting out. Plant out at the distance suggested above. Firm the soil around each clump and water well. Cover with horticultural fleece if frost is forecast.

Direct Sowing

Sow 1 - 2 seeds every 1 cm at the depth and row distance suggested above. Lightly cover the seeds with fine soil and water well. Sow salad onions little and often to keep the kitchen in good supply over the season. Thin out if plants are closer than 1 - 1.5 cm apart.

Growing On

Weed often as the tall thin plants can easily be smothered by weeds. Water the young seedlings often in dry weather. Older plants will need watering well every 5 - 10 days in dry weather. The plants will benefit from a mulch of compost to help prevent the surrounding soil from drying out in the summer months.

Harvesting

Harvest by picking alternate salad onions so that the remaining plants can grow larger. The larger the gap the bigger the bulbs can grow. If the salad onions are difficult to pull out by hand, to prevent snapping use a trowel to loosen the soil first.
For bulbs, keep harvesting alternate onions until they are eventually 10 cm apart. This will allow space for a good sized bulb to form.
When the bulb is mature in August the foliage will start to turn yellow and will fall over. On a dry day, carefully lift the bulbs up with a fork, once lifted bend the necks back hard. If dry weather is forecast, lay the onions side by side along the surface of the soil to dry out in the sun.
Store dried onions in net bags or boxes or for a traditional storing method try plating each onion stem onto string to form a string of onions. Store in a cool dry shed or garage. Do not store damaged, bruised or any onions showing signs of disease.