Skip to content Advertisement. How to Grow Onions. Onions are a kitchen staple and despite taking a long time to grow compared to many fast cropping vegies, they are very easy to add to the home harvest.
They need a sunny spot in rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 6. A bed that grew tomatoes or zucchini over summer is ideal. Biennial plants, they grow leaves and bulbs in the first year and usually flower in the second, though they can form flowers early and bolt to seed. They can take six to eight months to mature, but you can harvest as you grow and properly stored mature onions will last a long time.
Varieties are often described as early, mid or late season, referring to the planting time. Early varieties go in over autumn, mid in early winter and late in late winter and spring. Plant one of each for months of successive crops. Red, white and brown onions are all available in varieties suitable for different climates, so make sure you choose the right type for you. Brown onions are best for cooking. White onions have a milder flavour and can be cooked or used raw.
Red onions have the sweetest flavour and are the best to eat raw. All onions are part of the allium family, which also includes leeks, shallots, garlic and chives. Gradually harden off onion seedlings before moving them outdoors. Make sure the soil temperature has warmed to at least 40 degrees and the air temperature is at least 45 degrees. Transplants take about two months to reach full maturity. Onion transplants resemble tiny scallions. Set starts for scallions an inch apart.
If you want these transplants to grow into larger onion bulbs, soak them in compost tea 15 minutes before planting, plant them 1 to 2 inches deep and space them 4 inches apart. If you want larger bulbs upon harvest, according to UC Davis Extension , make sure you look for larger bulbs when buying your transplants.
For the quickest harvest, Cornell suggests planting onion sets, which are small, dormant plants grown the previous year. These sets fully mature and are ready for harvest in about 2 months. Sets are also less susceptible to disease, but growing from sets limits your choice in onion varieties. Give it a try and let us know how it works out for you.
This is how I grow my cilantro, spinach, lettuce, and mache. Jessica, I planted my little onion plants and they did grow. I learned something in the process. I will use long day this winter when I plant again. This was my first attempt from seed.
Live and learn, hopefully. Thanks for your method, I know it will produce quality. We live just East of you near Somerset, PA. I have a hobby greenhouse should I put the container in there or put it on the back deck as you say. I ordered day seeds of them , should I take half of them to Florida and start them there? Hi Dennis. Let me know how it works out for you. My greenhouse has an exhaust fan with thermostat, what temp should l set it at, 50 degrees? Do you think this method would work for leeks as well?
Onions, and the onion family, are new for my garden. I am in Minnesota. I start onion seeds indoors. Put them in individual cells and do not disturb the roots. Then plant them in my garden in the spring. I put 10,10,10 fertilizer every two weeks. I get softball size onions that store well in the winter time.
Its early feb in south east PA, zone 6B. On tuesday till be 62 degrees and in wondering if i can now them directly and cover with agrobon. Do you have any tips or warnings for me, or things I should look out for?
This affords them more protection than row cover and acts as a mini greenhouse. The seedlings can then be transplanted out into the garden in mid spring. Hmmm… Zone 9 is pretty far south, but I still think it will work. Give it a try and let us know how you do.
OK to try this method and begin our seed about now? They sprout when the time is right, regardless of where you live. I started Onions from seed for the first time last February. I was buying plants, sets and cell packs in the past. I had a great year in and will not go back to the old way. I like to grow Candy onions and this past year was my best yield. Jessica, I live in Kodiak Alaska we are having a very mild winter.
I was going to plant directly into the greenhouse however i just read this article and like the idea. Our last frost date is around the end of may. Hi Thomas. Let us know how it works out. No, but it sounds like an interesting way to grow them, Melody. I would worry that they would crowd each other out being planted that closely. Hi, great article. I live in the Midlands, UK. Our weather is pretty much very similar to your northern states no idea what zones they are but without the freak cold snaps u get.
Would this method work here too? My onions are doing well using your method. They are about an inch and a half tall but very thin. When would be the right time to plant them and how deep. Plant them out into the garden about weeks before your last expected spring frost. They can tolerate cold spring temperatures. Bury them to about half of their height. I use a pencil to make a planting hole, drop the seedling in, and then tuck the soil around them snugly.
Hi Jessica! I am using this method for the first time. Zone 3 and started them in the container about 4 weeks ago.
They were dormant for the first little while but are now about the size you described for transplanting maybe even a bit bigger. Being in zone 3, we will likely still have some pretty cold nights below freezing for another couples weeks at least.
The soil is workable and prepped and I have already seeded other cold weather seeds. So I think it should be okay? Unless you think otherwise…. How sensitive are the roots to transplant? Should I be gathering some soil up with the seedling as I transplant? Hi Sara — Onions are very cold tolerant. I would suggest transplanting them out into the garden now that the soil has been worked. Plant them deeply.
I use a pencil to poke a slender hole and then drop the plants into the hole and snug the soil in around them. I have pinions that grow every year,late July early August they go to seed can I plant them? Yes you can collect and plant the seeds or let them naturally fall. Hello Jessica, I live in Oklahoma, Zone 7a, and have already started some onion seeds. I planted a bunch of them in a cat litter box. I realize now that I started them a bit early you think??
Can I let them get pencil thick, then pull them, let them dry out, and use them as transplants; or should I try and let them grow slowly until next spring and then pull them and plant them? Good question. Perhaps pull up the plants, pack them in a plastic bag, and hold them in the fridge for the winter.
Then plant them out in the spring and cross your fingers. No experience growing them that way. I have to try this! Canada zone 5b. Do you add any fertilizer at all or just plain seed starting mix? Hi Jessica, sorry I called you Sara on my previous post! Also read an article onions prefer a lot of nitrogen during the first half of growing season.
I would not suggest using any nitrogen fertilizer on onions. Root crops use phosphorous to form big roots; too much nitrogen encourages excessive top growth at the expense of roots.
I just came across your post and had an Oh No moment, my onions and shallots have been under a grow light set to 16 hours for the last four weeks. At the very least I now understand why my onions and shallots were miniature last year.
Just change the light settings and see how they do. You can also start a second batch and do an interesting experiment to see which grow better. I came across this blog back in January, I then began to plan for my attempt.
I planted my seeds candy onion in mid-January and had them on our back covered porch. I checked on them yesterday and each tote had one up. Today one or two more poked out. Our Michigan winter has been up and down but overall mild. Hey Jessica! I tried your method and am hoping for some reassurance haha.
I planted my onions and leeks out in January and its now nearing the end of March. What do you think? Depending on your climate, it may be a few more weeks until the seedlings appear. Perhaps move them into a spot with dappled sunshine and out of the full shade. My seedlings range in size and are about inches in height, but thin, and some are still bent over. Thanks in advance for any advice you can throw my way! Zone 7 A, I believe.
What do you guggest? What do you suggest? Thank you, Tara. Hi Tara. If it was me, i would do some of both for an interesting experiment. As for the rest of your seeds, I would keep them in the sunroom where they receive higher light. Last fall when we planted our garlic, we also put in a row of onion seed, just to try it.
We planted the seed about 1. They are not up yet. Just wondering if we perhaps put the seed in too deep to come up? They really should only be about a quarter inch deep. Some may still sprout, but my guess is that most will not.
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