The common onion (Allium cepa) may be a biennial bulb that’s closely associated with garlic (Allium satvium), shallots (A. ascalonicum) and chives (A. schoenoprasum). Onions have hollow, tubular blue-green leaves that emerge from a bulb that’s actually a modified leaf structure with many layers. A shallow network of roots extend from rock bottom of the bulb, and therefore the onion bulb itself may push partially above ground because the plant matures.

Onions have a reputation for being difficult to grow, but with a touch practice, most gardeners can roll in the hay successfully. they will be planted as seeds, as transplants (small seedling onions that have just sprouted), or as “sets” (small onion bulbs that are close to begin their second, final year of growth). it’s more common to plant onions as sets, which have an honest success rate and can become full-sized onions after several months. Since they’re in their second year of growth, onions planted from sets may send up flower stalks near the top of the season .

In colder climates, onion sets are usually planted within the spring when the weather remains cool but not frigid—above 28 degrees Fahrenheit. In warmer climates, onion sets are often planted within the fall, where they’re going to remain dormant through the winter and start growth within the spring. It takes about 3 1/2 months for the sets to mature into full-sized onions.

If growing from seeds, onion seeds are usually planted indoors a minimum of six weeks before outdoor planting time. Onion seedling transplants need outdoor temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit before they will be moved into the garden.

How to Plant Onions

The best onion sets are going to be about the dimensions of a marble. Larger bulbs have a bent to bolt (set flowers) too early. If planting onions from sets, place them about 1 to 2 inches deep, spaced 2 to six inches apart. Rows should be spaced 12 to 18 inches apart.

Seedling transplants should be spaced 4 to five inches apart, also in rows spaced 12- to 18-inches apart. Seedling transplants tend to supply larger onions, since sets are still in dormancy, while transplants are already primed to grow vigorously.

Onion Car

Light

Onions need full sun—at least six hours per day—in order to properly grow. With onions, the more sunlight the higher.

Soil

Proper soil is that the key element to growing onions successfully. The soil must be extremely well-drained—even sandy—but also must have an honest deal of well-decomposed organic material in it. Onions prefer a rather acidic to neutral pH—6.0 to 7.0.

Water

Onions need regular water to support the swelling of the bulbs. Give them 1 inch of water per week, but don’t overwater or allow the bulbs to take a seat in soggy soil, since this will cause bulb rot.

Temperature and Humidity

One reason onions are considered somewhat hard to grow is that they’re cool-season vegetables but also take a reasonably while to mature (90 days or more). Further, they are doing not really begin growing well until outdoor temps have reached a mean of fifty degrees approximately. this is often why onions are generally planted from sets instead of seeds—seeds simply don’t have enough ideal growing time to completely mature.

Optimal growing conditions for onion foliage is 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. this may cause rapid, full growth of the edible bulbs.

Fertilizer

Onions are fairly heavy feeders. Fertilize them every few weeks with a high-nitrogen fertilizer to support leaf growth, which can produce big bulbs (onion bulbs are literally modified leaf structures). Withhold feeding at the purpose where the onion bulbs begin to push the soil away.

Are Onions Toxic?

Onions contain a compound referred to as N-propyl disulfide, which causes a breakdown of red blood cells in dogs and cats. A pet that develops a taste for onion leaves or bulbs may suffer serious anemia.

Onion Varieties

There are three sorts of onions you’ll choose between. Onion sets or transplants purchased at an area garden center will usually be appropriate for your climate, but when buying mail-order seeds, confirm to settle on the proper variety supported your climate:

• Short-day onions will begin forming bulbs when there are 10 to 12 hours of daylight every day . They work well in southern regions where summer daylight is relatively short. Some common short-day onions include ‘Southern Belle’, ‘White Bermuda’, ‘Granex’, and ‘Cipollini’.
• Long-day onions begin forming bulbs when there are 14 to 16 hours of daylight per day. they’re good for northern climates where the summer days are relatively long. Some recommended long-day onions include ‘Walla Walla’, ‘Ring Master’, ‘Red Zeppelin’, ‘Yellow Sweet Spanish’, ‘Italian Red Torpedo’, and ‘Redwing’.
• Day-neutral onions begin to make bulbs once they experience 12 to 14 hours of daylight every day . they’re good for gardeners within the central U.S. Good varieties include ‘Red Amposta’, ‘Early Yellow Globe’, ‘Cabernet’, and ‘Superstar’.
• Harvesting Onions
• The time required for the bulbs to mature depends on the variability and whether or not they were started from seed or sets. But you’ll harvest onions at any stage—even seedlings thinned from a row are often used as green onions.

Onion bulbs are fully mature when about half the highest leaves have collapsed and when the bulbs’ skins have a papery feel. Bulbs allowed to stay within the ground until 50 percent or more of the green tops have collapsed will store longer.

Once you see that half the leaves have collapsed, very gently coax the remaining leaves down, without breaking them off the bulb. Then allow the bulbs to take a seat within the ground and cure for a few of days before you lift them. You’ll have better luck exhumation the onion bulbs, instead of pulling them. You don’t need to dig deep—just enough to loosen the remaining roots. Shake and ignore any loose soil and let the bulbs finish curing during a warm, dry place with good air circulation. Leave the leaves on. you’ll use fresh onions at any time now.

For storing onions, wait until the surface onion skins dry and therefore the neck—the point where the leaves meet the bulbs—starts to shrivel. Then you’ll store them during a cool, dry location, like your basement. Onions keep longer in cool temperatures (under 40 degrees Fahrenheit) but shouldn’t be allowed to freeze. Store onions in mesh type bags or by braiding the tops together and hanging; just confirm they’re getting good air circulation

Common Pests and Diseases

• Rot: In damp soils, you’ll encounter neck or stem rot or bulb rot. Avoid rot by ensuring there’s good soil drainage and air circulation.
• Splitting: Bulbs will split or double if the soil is allowed to stay dry while the bulbs are forming.
• Thrips: These small, yellowish-brown flying insects prey on leaves and may cause twisting and curling. Repeated attacks cause the plant to prevent growing, so bulbs don’t mature. Plant resistant varieties and don’t plant onion near grain crops. Neem and insecticidal soaps provide temporary control.
• Onion root maggots: These larvae hatch from eggs laid by brown flies near the bottom of onion plants. The hatching maggots burrow into the stems, feeding on the plants below the soil and eventually killing the onions. Rotate plants yearly to avoid infestation. Covering new seedlings will prevent eggs from being laid. diatomite is additionally effective.

Growing Onions from Seed

If planting onions from seeds, plant them indoors in trays crammed with the seed-starter mix a minimum of six weeks, and the maximum amount as 12 weeks, before outdoor planting time. Place the tray under artificial grow lights for 10 to 12 hours every day. Keep the potting mix damp but not soggy. When outdoor temperatures are routinely above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, transplant the seedlings into the garden.

TYPES OF ONIONS

• Seeds, sets, and transplants. Onions are often grown from seeds, sets (young, small dormant bulbs grown the previous year), or transplants. Growing onions from seed can take the maximum amount as five months. you’ll find seed for several varieties or cultivars of onions. Sets are easier to plant than seeds or transplants. Sets mature in as little as two months and are less vulnerable to disease. But, cultivar selection is restricted for sets. (Avoid onion sets with bulbs larger than a dime–they are likely to bolt.) Transplants are small seedlings that appear as if scallions. Transplants require about two months to succeed in maturity.

• Bulb or bunching onions. Select bulb or bunching onions depending upon your intended use. Bulb onions can range from the tiny pearl onions to very large Spanish types. Bulbs are white, yellow, or red at harvest. Bunching onions–also called scallions or green onions–are grown for his or her tender, green top stalks. they’re harvested before bulbs fully form.

• Long or short-day onions. Onions grow tops in cool weather and form bulbs in warm weather. Temperature and day length control the timing of bulbing. Long-day onions require long hours of daylight–14 to 16 hours per day–to reach maturity. Long-day onions grow best in northern latitudes. Short-day onions grow best in mild-winter southern latitudes. They grow through the autumn and winter and form bulbs when daylight increases to 12 hours per day in early summer. (Onions are going to be slow to grow if temperatures linger within the 30°s and 40°sF.)onion planting

PLANTING ONIONS

• Garden site. Onions grow best in loose, well-drained sandy loam. Turn many well-aged compost and manure into the onion bed beforehand of planting; turn the soil to a minimum of 8 inches deep. Onions prefer a soi pH of 6.0 to 7.5.

• Starting seeds. Sow onion seeds indoors 8 to 12 weeks before the last average frost date. Sow seeds in pots, flats, or trays. Thin seedlings to at least one inch apart once they are four inches tall. Sow seed outdoors fortnight before the last average frost date in spring or four weeks before the primary expected frost in autumn. Avoid sowing onion seed directly within the garden until the soil temperature has reached 50°F. Outdoors sow onion ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart. Later, thin to four inches apart. Growing onions from seed will offer you the widest choice of sorts .

• beginning starts. Seedlings (starts) are often transplanted to the garden in early spring as soon because the soil are often worked–usually about 2 to three weeks before the last frost when the soil temperature is a minimum of 40°F; the air temperature should be a minimum of 45°F. Set bulb onion seedlings one to 2 inches deep–depending on the dimensions of the bulb–and four to 6 inches apart. Set starts for scallions one inch apart. To encourage development of bulbs, soak them in compost tea for about quarter-hour before planting. About four weeks after planting, gently keep off the soil atop bulbs; this may help them to grow larger. Onions grown from transplants mature more quickly than onions grown from seed.

• Planting sets. Choose sets that have bulbs about ½ inch in diameter. (Larger sets may attend seed before producing decent-size bulbs. Sets with smaller bulbs might not grow well.) Plant bulbs with the sharp end up; the rounded end is that the rooting end. Set bulbs ½ to at least one inch deep and 4 to 6 inches apart–depending on the dimensions of the bulb at maturity. Onions sets are often labeled “red,” “white,” or “yellow”–you might not know the precise variety you’re growing.Onion row

CARING FOR ONIONS

• Food and water. Onions are heavy feeders. Feed onions with an upscale fertilizer, like fish emulsion, early within the season to develop large plants and bulbs. (Or you’ll use an organic, 5-10-10.) provides a second feeding a few months after the primary feeding or side-dress rows with a band of aged compost. Keep onions evenly watered early within the season. They require constant moisture during the bulb enlargement stage; dry conditions early will cause bulbs to separate. Give each plant about 1 inch of water hebdomadally (about 1.6 gallons). Transplants require more water than sets. At midsummer–or a few months before harvest after bulbs have formed and when the necks of the onions begin to melt, crop on food and water and permit bulbs to mature in drier, less fertile soil.

See Garden Products Recommended by Harvest to Table

• Weeding. Keep onion beds well-weeded. Onions are shallow rooted. Cultivate often and shallowly. Pull weeds by hand on the brink of bulbs to avoid up-turning plants. Use a pointy hoe only to chop off weeds at soil level. Because onions leaves are thin and strappy they are doing not block the sun from the soil which, in turn, allows weed germination. Onion beds require more weeding than other vegetable beds.

• Mulch. After the soil has warmed, place a 1- to 2-inch layer of mulch around onions to discourage weeds and conserve soil moisture. Use aged compost or chopped leaves around onions. Keep the mulch back from bulb tops once they begin to develop. (To grow large onions, keep both mulch and soil pulled back from the highest two-thirds of developing bulbs.)onion harvest

ONION HARVEST AND STORAGE

• Harvest. New growth from the middle will stop when bulbs start forming. When bulbs are ripe, leaves will begin to yellow and go over. After about three-quarters of the tops have fallen over, use the rear of a rake to horizontally bend over the remaining tops. The bent leaves will cause the plant to divert the remainder of its energy to the bulbs and far away from leafy growth. After the tops turn brown during a day or two, lift the bulbs with a garden fork on a sunny day, and leave them to dry within the sun. When bulb outer skins are dry and therefore the tops withered in a few weeks, wipe off any soil, and cut away the tops. If the weather is damp, allow the onions to dry in an airy place. you’ll loop the leaves through the mesh of a fence or framed net or braid then into a garland to dry.

• Storing. Keep onions during a cool, dry place to stop rotting. Hang them in mesh bags or braids. Cured onion bulbs will store from one month to a year counting on the variability .