Onion family
Push small bulbs into the soil in spring and they do the rest.
Japanese or autumn-planting sets go in during September and October for a crop in June.
Sets (small immature bulbs) are the easy way. Plant them 10cm apart with the tips just showing. Birds pull them out, so cover with net for the first few weeks. Keep the bed weeded: onions cannot compete. Seed sown indoors in January gives bigger bulbs if you want to show them.
When the leaves flop over and yellow, lift the bulbs and dry them in the sun for two weeks. Stored in nets somewhere cool, they keep until spring.
What goes wrong
White fluffy mould at the base, and it stays in the soil for years. Rotate strictly and never compost infected bulbs.
A flower stalk in the middle. Use heat-treated sets, and eat those bulbs first.
Cover with fine mesh where they are a local problem.
Good neighbours: Carrots, Beetroot, Lettuces.
Same family