onions are cool-season vegetables that aregrown mainly for the flavor they add to other foods..onions begin to form bulbs based on the day length. onions can be started from eitherseeds, sets, or transplants. onion seed of both white and yellow varietiescan be sown indoors in flats, in the winter, or earlyspring, depending on where you live. in most areas you will need to start your seedlingsindoors. also, seeds can be sown directly into thegarden, covered with about one-fourth inch of soil andshould sprout between 7- 10 days. if planted
thickly, plants can be pulled and utilizedas green onions or scallions for salads or fresh eatingin about 8-10 weeks. however, most gardeners wantto grow an onion bulb as large as possible. to do this, the onion plants must be thinneduntil they are at least 2-3 inches apart to insure adequatebulb expansion. the removed plants can be usedfor scallions or you can re-transplanting into another area of the garden so that theywill too have adequate space to enlarge into large bulbs.in my opinion onion seeds is the least recommended way to start onions.the other option you have is -- onion sets.
growing onions from onion sets is probablyan easier way to produce a crop of quality onions,and in most cases you will be able to achieve better success this way when compared to growingonions from seed. sets are small, dry onion bulbs that have been grown the previous year.they are the easiest for many gardeners to grow.buy a bag of sets, push them into damp soil until justthe top is showing and the onion quickly starts growing. they are frequently sold only asyellow, white or red onions without a variety name.so if you want to know what varieties your growing,do not use onions sets. round onions will
produce a flattened onion, and tear shapedor elongated sets will produce round onion. largersets are best used as green onions while smaller sets are left in the ground to form bulbs.and then, there is the last option for growing onions – onion plants.the way i usually grow onions and how i would recommend growing onions for the first time.for large, firm bulbs, plants are best. they were produced from seed in the same year theyare sold.plants are available from seed catalogs, garden centers or your local hardware stores. plantonions – onion plants -- transplants, four to six weeks before the last estimated springfreeze.
generally plants come in a bundle. plant theonions 1" deep and no deeper, as this will inhibittheir ability to bulb. when you receive your onions transplants,they are alive, and should be planted as soon aspossible. if your unable to plant these right away, remove the onion plants from the boxand spread them out in a cool, dry area. the rootsand tops may begin to dry out but do not be alarmed, as the onion is a member of the lilyfamily and as such will live for approximately threeweeks off the bulb. the first thing that the onion will do after planting will be to shootnew roots.
the next most important thing in plantingonions, is choosing the right onion to plant based onyour location. there are three different types of onions. short-day onions, day-neutral onions alsoknow as intermediate day onions, and long-day onionsfirst, the short day onions form bulbs with 10 to 12 hours of daylightthey need mild winter climate, usually zone seven or warmerplanted in fall, mature in late spring and can be grown in the north, but the bulbsdon’t get as large and then we have the intermediate or day-neutralonions
these form bulbs with 12 to 14 hours of daylightproduce nice bulbs in all regions except south florida or south texas, these intermediateonions are ideal for zones five through sixplanted in fall in mild winter climates and in early spring in northern regionsthen lastly you have the long-day onions which form bulbs with 14 to 16 hours of daylightthese are typically grown in northern regions, zone six and colderday length is the most important factor in selecting your onion varieties. long day onionsgrow north of a line approximately from washington,dc. to san francisco, short day onions south ofthe line and intermediate day length for several
miles on either side of this line. flavorand pungency are other factors in selecting varieties.sweet white onions are generally long-day varieties while the best strong-flavored yellowonions are intermediate or short day onions. as far as planting goes select a locationwith full sun where your onions won't be shaded byother plants. the soil needs to be well-drained, loose,and rich in nitrogen; and compact soil affect yourbulb development. you want nice loose, rich soil.till in aged manure, compost or fertilizer in the fall before planting. onions are heavyfeeders and need constant nourishment to produce
biggest bulbs.at the time of planting, you can mix in some fertilizer, too, and side dress every fewweeks until the bulbing process begins.are you planting seeds? onion seeds are short-lived. if planting seeds indoors, start withfresh seeds each year. start seeds indoors about 6 weeks before transplanting. transplantsshould be set out 4 to 6 weeks prior to the date of the last average freeze.plant onions as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, make sure the temperaturedoesn’t go below 20 degrees fahrenheit for sets or transplants, plant 1 inch deep,with 4 to 5 inches between each plant. also i plantthem in rows usually about 12 to 18 inches
apart. should you want to harvest some ofthe onions during the growing season as greenonions, you may plant the plants as close as 2inches apart. pull every other one, prior to them beginning to bulb, leaving some forlarger onions.reminder! do not plant them too deep, or they will not make as large of a bulbif you have left over onion plants from your bundle, you can plant them in a pot or plantthem in the ground together, like i usually do, and grow them all season long, and harvestthem for “green onions†.onion fertilization and growing tips
onions require a high source of nitrogen.for organic growing like we do, use a rich composthigh in nitrogen. the conventional, non-organic way would be to use a nitrogen-basedammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate fertilizer and this should be applied at the rate ofone cup per twenty feet of row. there is no suchthing as an organic all-nitrogen fertilizer. the firstfertilizer application should be about three weeks after planting and then continue withapplications every 2 to 3 weeks. once the neck starts feeling soft do not apply anymore fertilizer. this should occur approximately4 weeks prior to harvest. always water immediately
after feeding and maintain moisture duringthe growing season. the closer to harvest the morewater the onion will require. for weed control unfortunately, there is notany organic product available to assist in weedcontrol so the only method will be cultivation. that’s right, get on your hands and kneesand pull up the weeds. while cultivating be carefulnot to damage the onion bulbs. as the onion begins tobulb the soil around the bulb should loosen so the onion is free to expand. do not movedirt on top of the onion since this will prevent theonion from forming its natural bulb. so don’t
bealarmed if you start seeing onion protruding from the ground as the bulb expands and enlarges.flowering also known as bolting most folks want to grow onion bulbs not onionflowers! what causes bulb onions to send up flower stalks? flowering of onions can becaused by several things but usually the most commonis temperature fluctuation. if the onion is exposed to warm temperatures, then cold, thenwarm again, it will bolt. an onion is classed asa biennial which means it normally takes 2 years to gofrom seed to seed. temperature is the controlling or triggeringfactor in this process. if an onion plant
is exposed toalternating cold and warm temperatures resulting in the onion plant going dormant, resuminggrowth, going dormant and then resuming growth again, back-and-forth, the onion bulbsprematurely flower or bolt. the onion is deceived into believing it has completed two growthcycles or two years of growth in its biennial life cycle so it finalizes the cycle by blooming.flowering can be controlled by planting the right variety at the right time. use onlytransplants that are pencil-sized or smaller in diameterwhen planting in early spring or always plant seed.onions sets are more likely to bolt, because they were produced the previous year.
what can you do about flowering onions? ifyou can see a flower stalk apper should you remove the flower stalk from the onion plant?probably not…it’s not going to do any differencefor you. suit yourself but once the onion plant hasbolted, or sent up a flower stalk, there is nothing youcan do to eliminate this problem. the onion bulbs will be edible but smaller. use theseonions as soon as possible because the green flowerstalk which emerges through the center of the bulbwill make storage almost impossible. once again, use these onions first! harvest them,use them
first.as far as harvesting and storage goes, onions are fully mature when their tops havefallen over. after pulling from the ground allowthe onion to dry, clip the roots,cut back the tops to about one inch. the key to preservingonions and to prevent bruising is to keep them ina cool, dry and separated. remember to use the onionsthat bolted or flowered first, they will not last very long in storage. as a general rule,the sweeter the onion, the higher the water content, andtherefore the less shelf life. a more pungent onionswill store longer so eat the sweet varieties
first and save the more pungent onions forstorage. so, happy garddening and good luck on growingonions!