Find out how to grow onions either to enjoy fresh or for storage.
Jay Wilde
Growing flavorful onions in your garden isn’t too difficult and they don’t need much space.
Many gardeners find it easier to work with sets than the small seeds.
Credit:Jay Wilde
You’ll get a harvestable crop a little sooner from sets, too.
However, a packet of seeds is typically cheaper to buy than a similar number of sets.
Long-day onions take about five months to grow from seed.
Credit: Bob Stefko
Northern gardeners who want to grow onions from seed should consider growing short-day varieties or green onions.
Either way, cover seeds with a quarter inch of soil.
If you are growing onions to a large size, thin them so they are 3-4 inches apart.
Credit:Kritsada Panichgul
For green onions, they can be spaced about an inch apart.
Keep the soil consistently moist when the green tops are actively growing.
If you’re growing large onions, plant the bulbs 12 inch deep and 4 inches apart.
Soil and Water
Onions do best in nutrient-rich, loose,well-drained soil.
If you have heavy clay or rocky soil, raised beds or large containers are the way to go.
Keep your onions well watered throughout the growing season until the bulbs reach the size you want.
It’s also important to keep onion beds well weeded to minimize competition for water.
When bulbs start to form, however, the plants need warm temperatures and prefer low humidity.
If there are a lot of cool, overcast days as the bulbs develop, their growth stalls.
For a severe issue,apply natural neem oilto control both plant diseases and insect pests.
Forstorage-bang out onions, harvest when the green topsbegin to turn yellow and tip over.
This curing step helps the onions keep longer.
For example, trycaramelizing onionsor grilling them for ahomemade burgertopper.
