Skip to main content
Time to plant your Japanese onions
Gardening with MAT COWARD

ONE of the most useful vegetables you can sow at this time of year is overwintering onions, also known as Japanese onions, because that’s where the original cultivars were bred. 

They are bulb onions — similar to, though generally a bit smaller than, familiar maincrop types — but they’re winter hardy and need less light than summer varieties.

Sown in August, planted out in September, they’ll be ready for eating early next summer. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Crocus flowers
Gardening / 10 July 2026
10 July 2026

More expensive by weight than gold, saffron is surprisingly simple to grow. MAT COWARD explains

(L to R) Flowering parsnip in its second year; Oven baked parsnip with honey and mustard / Pics (L to R): Pic: Skogkatten/CC Takeaway/CC
Gardening / 6 December 2025
6 December 2025

Commiserations if you failed this year, MAT COWARD offers six points which, if followed religiously, will ensure you succeed next year

Giant Winter / Pic: Krish Dulal/CC
Features / 6 September 2025
6 September 2025

MAT COWARD sings the praises of the Giant Winter’s full-depth, earthy and ferrous flavour perfect for rich meals in the dark months

(L to R) Wong Boks and a Chinese cabbage and tofu soup  Pics (L to R): Bayartai/CC and NeoBatfreak/CC
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down