Onions

Green onion vs chive: discover the key growing differences, flavor science, and which Allium herb belongs in your garden — or both.

Red and yellow onions are the same species but differ in anthocyanin pigment, pyruvic acid levels, storage life, and cure behavior. This guide compares day-length requirements, growing conditions, harvest timing, and best varieties for home gardens — with a quick comparison table and FAQ.

Onions are among the most useful companions in the vegetable garden. Their sulfur-based volatile compounds — the same chemistry that makes raw onions pungent and your eyes water when you slice them — interfere with the host-location ability of a range of pest insects, giving neighboring crops a measurable degree of protection. In return, certain plants benefit onions: attracting pest …

Walk the produce aisle or flip through a seed catalog and you’ll find a dozen onion types — each with a different shape, flavour profile, storage life, and cultural requirement. The mistake most gardeners make is choosing varieties by appearance alone, then wondering why their sweet onions turned sharp, or why their bulbs stayed golf-ball small. Day length — not …

Onions share the vegetable garden in silence — no sprawling vines, no towering canopy, no dramatic colour — but their impact on neighbouring plants runs deeper than most gardeners realise. Every part of an onion plant continuously releases volatile sulfur compounds into the surrounding soil and air: allicin, diallyl disulfide, and several related thiols that form the chemical signature behind …

Imagine yourself in the kitchen beginning dinner. Like many excellent recipes, this starts with a basic onion. You go to your garden instead of reaching for your supply, instead of dragging one from a mesh bag from the grocery shop. You ignore the dirt and pluck a firm, beautiful onion from the ground, its green top aromatic and papery skin …