Onion Growing Quick Tips

Move seedlings to a sheltered place outdoors to “harden off” 1 week before transplanting. Space plants 3-5″ (7.5-13 cm) apart for bulb onions, 2-3” (5-13 cm) apart for scallions and bunching onions. Grow onions in compost-rich, well-drained soil, in full sun. Give onions regular water keeping the soil evenly moist.

How do you grow onions in short days?
How long do onion sets take to grow?
What is the best fertilizer for onions?
What is the best month to plant onions?
Do onions require a lot of water?
Do onions like sun or shade?
Should I grow long or short day onions?
What do I feed an onion?
Do you soak onion sets before planting?
How many onions can you grow from one onion?
What is the difference between onion sets and onion bulbs?

How do you grow onions in short days?

To grow short-day onions in northern regions, seed them in the fall, or alternatively plant intermediate varieties in late winter. In southern regions, sow short-day onion varieties in spring and also in late autumn in regions where there is little or no frost.

How long do onion sets take to grow?

Growing from onion sets saves time—40 to 60 days depending on variety; this is an important consideration if you live in a short-growing season region. Growing from both sets and seed in long-season regions allows for two harvests; one early in summer and the second in late summer and fall.

What is the best fertilizer for onions?

Onions need a steady supply of nitrogen to form large bulbs. Side dress growing plants in early and midsummer with 1/2 cup nitrogen-based fertilizer. Use ammonium sulfate if your soil is alkaline because this fertilizer lowers the pH slightly. Ammonium nitrate works well for gardens with acidic soil.

What is the best month to plant onions?

In regions with a frigid winter, it's best to plant onion sets in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked—usually in March or April. Ideally, time your planting so that outdoor temperatures no longer dip below 28°F (-2°C) after the onions are in the ground.

Do onions require a lot of water?

Onion plants require adequate water to produce high yields, but it doesn't take much over watering for your onions to become diseased and rot in the ground. ... In a typical 12 week growing season, we recommend irrigating with one inch of water once or twice a week depending on the amount of rainfall received.

Do onions like sun or shade?

Onions need full sun. Select a location where your onions won't be shaded by other plants. Onions need well-drained, loose and nitrogen-rich soil.

Should I grow long or short day onions?

Success Tip #1 -- Choose the Correct Day Length

Short day onions are generally sweeter, and are perfect for cooking. Long day onions require 14 to 16 hours of sunlight to grow bulbs, and are better to store for use later. We recommend planting short day onion sets in the fall, and long day onion sets in the spring.

What do I feed an onion?

Water if the weather is dry and give an occasional feed with a general liquid fertiliser. A light feed of sulphate of potash in June will help to ripen the bulbs ready for storage. Stop watering and feeding once the onions have swollen in mid-summer.

Do you soak onion sets before planting?

A set is an actual bulb and will produce onions quickly. You can plant onion sets without soaking them, but soaked onions will sprout more quickly. You can also soak onion seed before planting to encourage germination. Soaking the sets in compost tea will give them added nutrition and protection from disease.

How many onions can you grow from one onion?

If you plant the whole cut bottom as one piece, you may get more than one new onion but they will likely be crowded together and small. The number of plants a single onion can grow will vary from 1-6, the onion pictured above can be divided into two.

What is the difference between onion sets and onion bulbs?

Onion sets are different—these are small bulbs harvested prematurely from the first year of an onion's life cycle and stored through winter. Sets are easy to find and plant, but typically yield smaller onions and are more often used to produce green onions than larger bulb onions.