see out how to grow onions either to enjoy fresh or for reposition .
Jay Wilde
Growing flavorful onions in your garden is n’t too difficult and they do n’t need much distance . But , if you’renew to vegetable gardeningor you ’ve never tried raising this special crop before , there are a few essentials to know about how to grow onions . The following pourboire will give you the keys to a successful experience , such as the good time to plant them , how much sun onion need , and when to harvest them .
Credit:Jay Wilde
When to Plant Onions
About 2 - 3 weeks before theaverage last frost datefor your arena is the best time to establish onions outdoors . incisively when to plant them depend on how soon you may cultivate the primer coat in bounce . Onions , which are acool - time of year vegetable , can survive light Robert Lee Frost but it ’s good to look until your broken temperatures stay above 28 ° F .
In warm regions , onions can be set in the dusk , at least a month before nerveless weather arrives so they have time to grow some roots . Then , they ’ll go dormant over the winter , and finish produce in the leap when the weather warms up again .
How to Plant Onions
you may either get down with seeds or you may buy sets , which are tiny onion bulbs . Many gardener recover it easier to work out with set than the small seeds . You ’ll get a harvestable crop a lilliputian sooner from lot , too . However , a bundle of seminal fluid is typically cheaper to buy than a similar telephone number of set .
Planting Onion Seeds
When planting onions from cum , you have two choice . take up them indoors6 - 8 hebdomad before you would plant them outside , then transplant them to the garden ; or you could sow in germ directly in the ground in early spring . If you have a light get season , you may want to set about them indoors to ensure your onion have at least 3 month of cool weather conditions to develop .
Long - mean solar day onion take about five month to grow from cum . Northern gardener who want to grow onions from seed should consider growing short - day variety show or green onions .
Either way , brood source with a quarter inch of soil . Sow 2 - 5 seeds per inch in a row , then thin them out as they grow ( you may throw the cut seedling into a salad to add a mild onion flavor ) . If you are growing Allium cepa to a large size , dilute them so they are 3 - 4 inches apart . For light-green onions , they can be spaced about an inch aside . Keep the dirt consistently moist when the dark-green tops are actively growing .
Credit: Bob Stefko
Planting Onion Sets
If you need to rise large onions , it ’s proficient to part with set . If you ’re growing stage set intoscallions or green onions , implant the bulbs 1½ to 2 inches deep and 1 inch apart with the pointed oddment up . If you ’re growing large onions , engraft the bulbs ½ inch deep and 4 inch apart . you may alsogrow them in containersthat are at least 16 inches blanket and 12 inch thick . Containers or raised bed are a good option for growing onion if you have dirt that does n’t enfeeble well .
Onion Care Tips
To grow and grow properly , onions want plenty of light , water , nutrients , and cool temperature .
Light
Besides planting in afull sun locating , exactly how much sun onion need calculate on the motley . Long - day onion such as yellow ' Stuttgarter ' stop over growing their unripe tops and start forming light bulb when they receive 14 to 16 hours of twinkle per day , hit them a enceinte selection forHardiness Zone 5and colder . forgetful - day onions such as ' Texas Early Grano ' form bulb when day contain 10 to 12 hour of sun , so they ’re a ripe choice for planting in the springiness and precipitate in the depressed third of the United States .
Soil and Water
Onions do best in nutritious - rich , open , well - drain soil . lend a generous amount of compost to your planting expanse before installing your onions will facilitate with all 3 of those dirt qualities . If you have heavy clay or rocky grime , raised beds or heavy containers are the means to go .
Keep your onions well watered throughout the growing season until the bulbs reach the size you want . If your plants get accentuate from drouth , they may go off , which intend they ’ll raise a flower stalk . Once an Allium cepa bolts , the medulla oblongata wo n’t store well , but you could still pull it up and eat it right away , either fresh or cooked in a recipe . It ’s also authoritative to keep Allium cepa beds well weed to minimize competition for water .
Temperature and Humidity
Onions grow their rootage and leaves when temperatures are still on the nerveless side , 55 to 75 ° F . When bulbs get going to form , however , the plants necessitate warm temperature and opt blue humidity . If there are a lot of cool , overcast days as the bulbs develop , their development stalls .
Fertilizer
onion postulate a steadfast provision of nutrients as they grow , so at planting , add a balanced vegetable garden fertiliser to the soil to encourage beginning ontogeny . After about 3 weeks of ontogeny , you ’ll want to boost nitrogen to fuel the green tops ; a sprinkling ofblood repast around the plantsevery other week works well .
Pests and Problems
You might think onions are too pungent to be trouble by many plant diseases or pests , and this is reliable when it come to mammals like deerand field mouse . But there are several fungal egress such as purple blotch and blight , and insects such as Allium cepa maggot and thrips that can get problem .
Minimize all of these issues by choose resistant miscellany , companion planting , spacing plants properly , rotating your planting stain for onions each year , and cleaning up all works debris at the end of the season . For a knockout issue , apply natural neem oilto control both flora disease and insect pest .
Kritsada Panichgul
Credit:Kritsada Panichgul
Harvesting Onions
you’re able to use fleeceable onions and green onion justly from the garden . Forstorage - eccentric onion plant , harvest when the light-green topsbegin to turn yellow and hint over . Then , gently displume up the bulbs and get them cure in the sun ( or a warm , wry , shelter space such as a service department if rain is in the prognosis ) for a week .
This curing whole step helps the onion keep longer . Once they have altogether dried , trim off the roots and cut the leaves about an inch from the bulb . stack away your onionsin a coolheaded post ( but not the fridge ) until you are ready to use them .
Once you ’ve experienced how to easy it is to grow onions yourself , you may use them in all your preferent recipes . For example , trycaramelizing onionsor grilling them for ahomemade burgertopper . No matter how you pick out to eat up them , you ’ll love being able to enjoy all the fresh , homegrown onions right from the yard .
