Susty Living Series: Growing your Own Onions

As the month of October rolls in every year, there is usually a slight but manageable rise in the price of onions in Nigeria. As dramatic as the year 2020 has been, no one was prepared for the extra topping in drama with the astronomical rise in the price of the cooking staple. Trust the ever-adaptable Nigerian spirit to find the fun in the challenging situation and some reactions are truly a national treasure that had to be shared:

NO MORE ART WITH ONIONS! PUULEASE!

Onions are definitely a designer item!

Good things happen to good people, ALWAYS!

I am not cheap so address me properly!

Onions is a vegetable crop cultivated in Northern Nigeria, primarily in Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Plateau and Sokoto states. Highly perishable in its ordinary state, it must be consumed speedily or properly preserved to prolong its shelf life. Sellers across the country have attributed the over 300% increase in prices to 3 major factors:

1.  Lockdown procedures implemented since February to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus prevented farmers from planting during the dry season which is best suited to the crop.

2.   Many of the cultivating states were affected by large scale flooding this year.

3.   A lack of appropriate storage facilities to preserve the amount of crop produced yearly causes a seasonal scarcity in the ember months (September-December) when farmers are supposed to have begun preparations for planting.

Growing your own onions this period is not a bad idea. Onions can be grown from sets, seeds and transplants depending on which material is readily available to the farmer. In simpler terms, if you have a few bulbs to spare as seeds, you are well on your way to harvesting your own crop in 90-120days on average.

Let's dive right into it!

Materials needed

A sharp knife, one fresh onion bulb, 4 toothpicks, a small bowl, water, a container with holes or a garden, well-draining soil, nitrogen-rich fertilizer and a shovel or hoe.

Planting onions in containers or flower pots.

1.   Measure 1 inch/2.5cm from the bottom of the fresh onion bulb and cut with the sharp knife. You can use the top part to cook a delicious meal! Mmmm hmmm!

2.   Remove the outer peel and place the bottom portion on a flat, dry surface with the cut side facing upwards. Leave it out to dry for about a day or until it feels dry and callused to the touch.

3.  Mentally divide the onion bottom into 4 equal parts. Using the 4 toothpicks push each one halfway through the onion so that they create an 'X'.

4.   Get a bowl with its diameter smaller than the remaining length of the toothpicks. Fill the bowl with water to the point where the water covers the roots of the onion bottom when suspended over the bowl.

5.   Place the bowl and its contents on a flat surface close to a sunny window. Leave it for 3-4 days until you notice small, white roots sprouting from the bottom. Once this appears, it is now time to plant in soil.

6.  Get a large container with holes in the bottom and fill it halfway with well-draining soil. You can buy pots with pre-moulded holes from those who sell flowers or you can simply make holes in the container you have. If you already have a garden, that works great as well. To know if the soil you are using is well-draining, dig a 12inch/30cm hole in the middle and fill it with water. If the water disappears after 5-10mins, it is a well-draining soil.

7.  Take the sprouting onion bottom from the water and place it in the middle of the soil. Cover the rest of the container up to about 1-2inches/2-5cm from the top of the container. NOTE: A single onion bottom can yield between 1-6 new onions. If you plant the onion bottom as a whole, you are likely to get more than 1 new onion but they will be small in size and crowded together. To get multiple full-size onions from one onion bottom, cut it into two equal halves with roots and sprouts in each half. You may choose to grow your onion cutting indoors or outdoors in sunny weather.

8.   Water the onion cutting so that it is damp and not soaking wet. This is done immediately after planting to help the onion adapt to its new environment and grow faster.

9.  Onions grow and thrive in nitrogen-rich soil so once the soil is watered mix nitrogen fertilizer directly into the soil. You can get in spray or solid form.

Planting multiple onion bottoms in a garden

1.     Prepare the soil by working it at least 8-10 inches deep to break up clods, remove rocks and trash and rake the soil smooth.

2.     Plant your prepared onion bottoms 3inches apart and ¾ inches or at most 1inch deep.

3.   Apply 450 grams – 1.36 kilograms of fertilizer to 9.3 square metres of garden. Make sure to mix it into 3-4 inches of soil

4.   To help the onions grow strong and healthy roots, you will need to water them slowly and deeply at least once a week in milder weather, Water them more often in temperatures of higher dryness and/or greater wind

5.   When removing weeds with a hoe, do not dig too deeply as you may be cutting the roots of the onions. Hand-pick as much as possible.

6.    For larger plants and bigger onions, when the plants have developed about 5-6 leaves apply more fertilizer (about ½ a cup to 10feet/3metres) and water in it. Each leaf is a ring in the onion bulb so the more leaves, the more rings and the larger the bulbs.

To grow many, large and healthy onions, incorporate these steps:

1.     Onions need a lot of water so check the soil every day to see if it feels dry to the touch. They should get about 1inch/2.5cm of water per week.

2.     Onions find it difficult competing with weeds for water and nutrients, so check for weeds often and pull them out immediately. Avoid using herbicides as they tend to kill both weeds and garden plants. Look out for insects and small pests and spray a non-toxic, plant-friendly insecticide.

3.   Apply nitrogen-rich fertilizer at least twice a month until the new onion bulb starts to protrude from the soil. When this happens, stop fertilizing till you harvest it.

4.     Once your onions start to grow flowers... IT’S HARVEST TIME!

-         If you want green onions (or spring onions as it is popularly known in Nigeria), you can harvest the leaves from now until they form bulbs.

-      For fresh onions, let the plants grow bigger until the main stem gets weak and starts to fall. The onions are ready and can be harvested. Remember, I leaf = 1 onion layer so the more leaves the more layers. DO NOT harvest the leaves!

-      For dry-bulb onions after the main stem starts to fall, leave the onions in the soil for 1-2 days to dry. Use your fingers or a shovel to loosen the soil around the onions and pull from the base of the flowers. Remove the tops and root and leave them in baskets, boxes, a wire net or a dry, airy place to further dry out. It should take an average of 90-120 days to achieve dry-bulb onions.

Are you "gingered" to start growing your own onions?!

Your answer is YES, right? That is great! You are right on time because the recommended period for preparation and planting is October – December (they are the driest months of the year), so now is the time!

With a little time, patience and "onion seed investment", you could very well be one of the “richest”, “most loved”, “most expensive” people in Nigeria by say... this time 2021! According to viral memes and videos! *wink*wink*

Leave your thoughts, questions, additions, corrections and of course, your progress below, I would love to read all about them!