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Cutting an onion releases an enzyme that forms a volatile sulfur gas (syn-propanethial-S-oxide), which irritates the eyes and makes you tear up.
Allium cepa
Slow-growing biennial usually grown from sets (mini bulbs) for one-year harvest. Day-length sensitive: choose long-day varieties for northern Europe, short-day for the south. Pull when tops yellow and fall, cure in a shaded airy spot for two weeks before storage.
Did you know?
Cutting an onion releases an enzyme that forms a volatile sulfur gas (syn-propanethial-S-oxide), which irritates the eyes and makes you tear up.
Cichorium intybus (Sugarloaf)
vegetable
Thrives in the same full sun, moderate water conditions as Onion
Start Onion indoors about 10 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 14 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 10 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 110 days.
Syrphidae
The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.
Water: Medium · Height: 50 cm · Soil: Well-draining, fertile soil with pH 6.0-7.5. Prefers loose, crumbly texture for bulb development. Moderate organic matter.
Onion seed rarely stays viable beyond a year — track what's still worth sowing.
These three thrive alongside Onion — and alongside each other.
