Growing Onions

Onions add flavor to any dish, which makes growing onions one of the most rewarding of garden tasks. There are many different types of onions. Some are grown for storage, while others are best eaten fresh. Each variety of onion has different growing requirements, which can be confusing at first.

Though I’m a relatively young garden gnome , I’ve had hundreds of years to learn how to grow onions, so I’ll teach you how.

Types Of Onions

There are long day onions and short day onions, fresh onions and storage onions. There are onions that grow best from seeds and onions that grow better from green sets or dry bulbs. The type of onion that is best for you depends upon the eventual use of the onions. Here are some details about the different types of onions.

Long Day: Long Day onions grow best in northern latitudes (Virgina-northward). They need at least 15 hours of daylight for about 100 days. Most varieties can be planted in early spring. Some varieties of long-day onions are Copra, Early Yellow Globe, Sweet Sandwich, Sweet Spanish, and Walla Walla Sweet. All but the Walla Walla Sweet are good storage onions.

Short Day: These onions require about 12 hours of daylight, and grow well from Virginia, South, where the daylight amounts do not change as much between seasons. Short day varieties include Granex Hybrid, Vidalia, and Texas Supersweet.
These varieties take about 170 days to fully develop bulbs, and do not do well in the north. They are grown through the winter in the South.

Perennial Onions: These are onions that can be established as perennial patches and harvested from year to year. These are sometimes called potato onions, Welsh onions and shallots. Varieties include He-shi-ko, Shallots and Yellow Potato Onion.

Bunching Onions: These are grown as scallions, or green onions. They are harvested green, and the tops are most frequently used in cooking-sometimes as a garnish. Beltsville Bunching, Crimson Forest, Evergreen Hardy White and Fukagawa are great bunching varieties.

You Can Find Both Onion Seed And Sets At:

Gurney's Seed and Nursery

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery

Planting Onions

Some onions grow well from seeds and others grow well from green sets or dry sets (small bulbs). You can plant onions one to three months before the last frost date-depending upon the variety and location.

If planting onion sets, plant outside about a month before the last frost. If starting onions from seeds, plant inside at least twelve weeks before the last frost date so that you can plant outside with enough time for the onions to mature before harvest.

Plant seeds at least ½ inch deep, and plant sets about one inch deep. All non-perennial onion types prefer a pH of between 6.0-7.5. Perennial types thrive in a soil pH of 6.5-7.0. The pH level does affect plant nutrient uptake, and thus the health of the plant, so it is important to pay attention to soil pH.

Onions grow well with lettuce, pepper, spinach, strawberries and tomatoes. They do not grow well with sage, beans, asparagus and peas.

What To Feed Your Growing Onions

A good compost or a balanced fertilizer will do, but onions need about twice as much phosphorus and potassium as nitrogen. An organic fertilizer of say 4-8-8 would be good, or a chemical mix of 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 would be better. Also, onions do better with a little iron.

Harvesting Onions

If harvesting green growing onions for cooking, you may harvest at any time during the plant’s life. To harvest for storage, do not pull until the tops completely fall over. At that point, you can pull them up and leave them on the ground to cure for a few days, turning once a day.

At that point, bring them inside and trim the tops so that they have about one inch of stem left. Keep them on a wire screen or mesh in a dry area for two months. They then ready for storage.

Onions are a great source of nutrients and provide flavor for even the most routine dishes. Try growing onions in your garden for easy, tasty meals.

Happy gardening,

Geefrank

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