Bolt Resistant Onion Collection – Heat Prepared

Good Companions

Onions fit easily into a productive vegetable plot alongside crops such as carrots, beetroot and leafy salads. Their upright growth takes up relatively little room above ground, helping you make good use of your growing space.

Making the Most of Your Bed

Quick-growing crops such as radishes and salad leaves can be grown nearby and harvested while the onions are still developing. Avoid overcrowding the plants so they continue to receive plenty of light and good airflow.

Crop Rotation

Avoid planting onions where onions, shallots, garlic or leeks have recently been grown. These crops belong to the same family and can be affected by some of the same soil-borne pests and diseases.

Planning Ahead

Where practical, leave three to four years before growing onion-family crops in the same ground again. Once your onions have been harvested, the cleared space can be put back to work with later-sown salads and other quick-growing vegetables.

Three Onions, Three Different Characters

With two golden onions and one red, this collection gives you a useful mix of flavours and colours to enjoy across everyday cooking and fresh dishes.

Onion ‘Rumba’

A golden-yellow onion with firm flesh and a good, full flavour. Use it for roasting, frying, soups, stews, curries and sauces, or anywhere you want a classic cooking onion.

Onion ‘Karmen’

Its crisp white flesh, crimson-red rings and sweet, subtle flavour make ‘Karmen’ particularly good sliced raw into salads, sandwiches and burgers. Cooking softens the flavour further and brings out its natural sweetness.

Onion ‘Corrado’

Firm, golden-yellow bulbs make ‘Corrado’ another useful everyday kitchen onion. Chop or slice it into sauces, casseroles and curries, or roast the bulbs to develop a softer, sweeter flavour.

Top Tip

Use ‘Karmen’ when you want colour and a sweeter flavour in fresh dishes, and keep ‘Rumba’ and ‘Corrado’ within reach for everyday cooking. Try all three side by side and you may be surprised how differently they perform in the same dish.

Three Onions, Three Different Characters

With two golden onions and one red, this collection gives you a useful mix of flavours and colours to enjoy across everyday cooking and fresh dishes.

Onion ‘Rumba’

A golden-yellow onion with firm flesh and a good, full flavour. Use it for roasting, frying, soups, stews, curries and sauces, or anywhere you want a classic cooking onion.

Onion ‘Karmen’

Its crisp white flesh, crimson-red rings and sweet, subtle flavour make ‘Karmen’ particularly good sliced raw into salads, sandwiches and burgers. Cooking softens the flavour further and brings out its natural sweetness.

Onion ‘Corrado’

Firm, golden-yellow bulbs make ‘Corrado’ another useful everyday kitchen onion. Chop or slice it into sauces, casseroles and curries, or roast the bulbs to develop a softer, sweeter flavour.

Top Tip

Use ‘Karmen’ when you want colour and a sweeter flavour in fresh dishes, and keep ‘Rumba’ and ‘Corrado’ within reach for everyday cooking. Try all three side by side and you may be surprised how differently they perform in the same dish.

What to Expect When They Arrive

Your collection contains one pack each of heat-prepared ‘Rumba’, ‘Karmen’ and ‘Corrado’ onion sets, ready for spring planting. The sets are dormant bulbs and will naturally vary slightly in size and shape, with dry or loose papery outer skins being perfectly normal.

Ready to Plant

Onion sets are small, immature bulbs grown the previous season and are ready to plant individually as they arrive. Plant each one with its pointed end facing upwards and the tip just showing above the soil surface.

Heat Prepared for 20 Weeks

These sets have been heat prepared for 20 weeks to reduce the risk of bolting. This makes them a particularly useful choice for spring planting, when periods of cold weather can otherwise encourage onions to produce flower stems prematurely.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away

Keep the sets somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated until you're ready to plant. Check them occasionally and plant as soon as conditions allow, discarding any that become soft or show signs of rot.

Where to Plant

Choose an open, sunny position with fertile, well-drained soil. Before planting, remove weeds and work in well-rotted garden compost if needed. Avoid freshly manured ground and areas that remain waterlogged, as onions develop best where excess water can drain away freely.

Planting Your Onion Sets

Plant ‘Rumba’, ‘Karmen’ and ‘Corrado’ with the pointed end facing upwards and the tip just showing above the soil surface. Space the sets around 10–15cm apart, with 25–30cm between rows, giving each bulb enough room to develop.

Growing in Containers

All three varieties can also be grown in large, well-drained containers. Choose containers at least 30cm deep and allow enough space between sets for the bulbs to develop. Container-grown onions will need more regular watering than those growing in open ground.

Watering & Feeding

Water during prolonged dry spells, particularly while the plants are establishing and the bulbs are developing. Once the bulbs have swollen and are approaching maturity, stop watering to help them ripen and prepare for storage.

Well-prepared soil should provide a good start. On poorer soils, a suitable vegetable feed can be applied while the plants are actively growing. Avoid excessive high-nitrogen feeding, which can encourage leafy growth at the expense of bulb development.

Keep Them Weed Free

Onions have relatively shallow roots and don't compete well with weeds. Weed regularly, taking care not to damage the roots or developing bulbs.

Protecting Newly Planted Sets

Birds can sometimes pull newly planted sets from the soil before they've rooted properly. Check them regularly and gently push any disturbed sets back into place. Fleece or suitable netting can be used temporarily until the sets are securely rooted.

Why Heat Prepared?

All three varieties have been heat prepared for 20 weeks to reduce the risk of bolting. Bolting is when an onion prematurely produces a flower stem, diverting energy away from bulb development and reducing its ability to store well.