Worshipped by Ancients, Loved by Moderns
Worshipped by Ancient Egyptians and one of the oldest vegetables used by modern civilisations, the onion remains a global staple. Most of the onions eaten in the UK are British-grown – you can find lots of recipes and information at britishonions.co.uk.
Growing from Sets:
We grow around 50 acres of onions from sets. Sets are miniature onions that produce a crop much earlier than those grown from seed. We plant the sets in March and expect to harvest the mature crop in mid to late August.
Harvest and Drying Process
Our harvest is a multi-step process designed to perfectly cure and dry the bulbs:
- Flailing: First, we flail the leaves.
- Undercutting: Next, we undercut the bulb and leave it in a windrow (a long line in the field) for 24 hours to begin the initial drying.
- Harvesting: Finally, we harvest the crop into trailers and bring them into the store.
- Curing: In the store, we blow the onions with warmed air until the crop is rustling dry and perfectly cured.
The onions are not stored for long. We load out to our customers during September and October because we need to clear the store to make room for our celeriac crop in November.