In this article we will cover how to grow onions at home with every detail you need to know so you can plant your onion properly and harvest them on time. Growing onions is very easy as onions like colder weather. Simply roast some onions and add in your vegetables and this dish will become extremely tasty and if the onions are from your garden it will be much better. You can also plant your onions in beds in container in this way you will get very good yield. Especially if you grow your onions in raised beds. It will give them proper air circulation within the roots this will help increase the real quantity. There are many varieties of onions you can plant in your raise beds.
You can plant almost all varieties of onions in the fall when it is in southern states. Try to plant onions in sets so you will get good success rate and less worry of killing of your onions. Planting from sets is good but you can also grow onions using seeds. In this article we will be giving you all the required information to grow your onions.
Growing onions tips
Immediately start planting the onions in the ground when the last frost falls. Get ready before the winter you need to get your beds ready for the coming season and prepare yourself from compost and mix them properly in your raised beds. Let it set through the winter. And you will have a very good fertile bed for the next season.
As soon as you decide to plant seed 2 weeks before try to lose the ground by turning the soil. This will allow proper drainage for the survival and let the optimal erosion. And when you are ready start planting.
Generally people plant march or April always keep in mind the temperature drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. You should plan that place where you get direct sunlight for the plant for at least 8 to 10 hours each day. And if possible arrange a shade place from the midday heat.
Onion love high nitrogen soil and try to make the ground loose. If the ground is hard then you will get yield which will be very small and undersize. Also provide proper nourishment to the onions so you will get very good quality result.
You should plant fresh onion seeds every time you plan planting onions because the seeds of the onions have a very short shelf life. And when you’re starting the seeds indoor you should take 6 week before the planting. Consider an even as leaf crop because many gardeners think its root crop and handle them properly.
So because of this you will plant the sets 1 inch in the soil surface. At least leave 5 to 6 inch gap between transplants or onion sets, and for row the distance should be 16 to 18 inch. While growing onions try crop rotation as well. We discussed onions needs good quantity of nutrients as they feed fast.
How to plant sprouted onions
This may be surprising to you but it is possible to plant sprouted onion. But keep it in mind that you will not get good amount and size of the harvest as compare from the seed of the onions. You can produce good sprouted onions and leaf and also it is very simple and easy to grow in a container.
Fresh potting soil 5 gallons add some perlite and vermiculite, also add nitrogen fertilizer. After a week put the onion within the center and plant the sprouted onion1 inch within the soil surface.
Water properly and keep it in a container at a sunny place in the garden or in the balcony of your house. You can now harvest green sprouts as soon as they appear.
Caring your onions
When caring for your onions always make sure that you provide proper nutrient to this vegetable in the growing season. Onion requires extra fertilizer on the raised beds every couple of week because this helps to boost the size of the onion and this will give you good and quality harvest.
Always check your onions and stop fertilizing onions when you see the onions are starting to push the soil from its bulbs. Make sure not to cover the bulb from soil and don’t try to push them below the surface. Bulb needs to be take care properly while they mature in the final stage.
If you properly mulch the garden in every few weeks then you can skip watering once a week even if the weather is hot. Things should be remembered that is the more water you give to the onions it will become sweet in its taste. But always keep in mind the soil should be properly draining otherwise you will end up in getting rotting of the bulb and this will attract many diseases to your onions.
How to get rid of pests and diseases of onions
While growing onions you must take care of diseases and pests which are given below.
Thrips
With the size of a pinhead of a needle these small insects. They can damage a lot. You cannot watch this small insects with your naked eyes. You can use paper shake method to know their presence in your garden. You need a dark colour paper sheet take this seat with you in the garden. On this popular try to shake the tops of onions. If you notice these small bodies on to the paper this means is your onions are dealing thrip infestation.
Spray insecticidal soap over your garden. You can get rid of this thrip within three treatments. Try to spray after 3 days apart and in the next week again take this paper test on the plant and check if you have left any of these insects on your onions.
Onion maggots
We have to survive the threat of these onion maggots also in addition to get a good harvest of our onion. Use fine mesh net in covering the onion crop. Use the net for sealing the entry of the garden and put some soil on nets edges.
These onion maggots lay eggs in the base of the onion plants. So by using the net you are preventing them to get access to the base of the onion. Generally speaking these onion maggots are big issue for those who face the rainy periods in the summer. But if you are living in the United States and if the weather is dry then you will not face these pests.
Onion harvesting tips
Ensure that you take out each onion that has started to develop flower stake. As soon as the flowers are appeared this simply means the growing of the onions has stopped. When you get flower shooting harvest the onion immediately. You can’t store this flower onions for longer duration so use them in next few days. Otherwise, you have to prove them as they will rot.
The top of the green shoot will start turn into yellow this indicates your onions are matured. Also, you will see sprouts for over and this time you should bend the stocks from the base because this will speed the ripening process. When you decided the date for harvesting of your onions try to lose the soil around it because this will help in drying.
When you see the top of the onions are turning brown at this time you can take out the onion from the container or from the ground. Make sure you harvest your onions before the onset of conditions in the fall. As fall conditions spoil the onions.
Flip the roots back and cut the top 1 inch. Leave the hands on the name as you may want to plant to braid them. And keep your onions to try and you can treat the ground later.
Be careful while handling your onion because they can cause you slight bruising that can spread in other onions within your root cellar. Store them at the temperature of 45 to 50 f.
You can store them in dry and cool place.
Variety recommended by us
You can choose from two varieties
- One is long day variety and other is short day variety. Long day’s varieties are for colder conditions which are suitable in the regions of the United States.
- Short day varieties likes the warm conditions in the United States.
Types of long day varieties
- First edition- good amount of intense flavor, good yield creamy and nice color.
- Red wethersfield– whiteflash with red skin, you can store this variety for longer duration.
- Yellow sweet Spanish- large and round in shape. White to yellow in color.
Short day varieties of onion
- Burgundy– with red skin and white flesh, sweet tasting variety.
- White Bermuda– thick flat bulbs, have a very mild taste and white in colour
- Stuttgarter– gets ready and mature very fast yellow in colour.
So these are the tips and some information regarding onions. I hope you liked our article thank you.
