Organic Spring Onion White Lisbon

Allium cepa
Seed Count: Approximately 250 seeds per gram

Salad onions, also known as spring onions or scallions, are meticulously selected and bred to be harvested in their youth when the plants reach a height of 15 to 25 cm. While some varieties yield small bulbs, modern cultivars typically form slender, uniform plants with a white root end and green foliage. Despite their ease of cultivation, these onions surprisingly require about 12 weeks to reach maturity. Most varieties are sown in spring, but winter-hardy types are also available.

White Lisbon stands out as a classic salad onion cherished by British gardeners for its rapid growth. Sowing can be done successively from February to late summer. White Lisbon tends to bulb more than its modern counterparts, offering a slightly stronger taste, making it the preferred onion variety among amateur gardeners today.

How to Cultivate:

• Incorporate salad onions into the allium section of your crop rotation.
• Directly sow seeds into well-prepared soil from February to July. Use drills 1 cm deep and maintain a spacing of 25 cm between rows. Sow thinly to avoid the need for later thinning and continue successive sowings every three weeks throughout the season.

Pests and Diseases:

• While salad onions may encounter similar pests and diseases as other onions, such as white rot, onion fly, and onion eelworm, their shorter time in the ground makes them less prone to these issues.

Cooking Tips:

• Trim the root with a sharp knife and remove the tops and outer leaves. Salad onions boast a milder flavor than larger onion varieties.
• Chop them into salads or use them whole as crudites; they also enhance the flavor of Thai curry and other Eastern dishes.
• Rich in vitamin A and C, consuming raw spring onions preserves their nutritional goodness.