How many onions should I grow?
In a well-tended plot, most of the onions you plant turn into good-sized bulbs. If you eat an onion a day, consider planting 400 or so seedlings or sets (or some combination of the two). That amount will take up 50 row feet of garden space. If you eat two onions a week, plant a little over 100 seedlings or sets.
Onions are most often grown from bulbs, or “sets”, in the spring but can usually make a successful crop when fall planted. One bulb will produce one onion; sets may be planted 2” apart if harvested as scallions or 'green onions', or 4”-6” apart if allowed to mature into a full-sized cooking onion.
Sets should be planted at a depth of 1 to 1 1/2 inches in rows 12 to 15 inches apart. For dry onions, plant the sets 2 to 3 inches apart. Sets grown for green onions can be planted closer together.
For full-sized bulbs, let onions grow and mature. They are ready to harvest when the bulbs are big and the tops begin to turn yellow and fall over.
In short the answer is, YES! You can plant a sprouted onion and grow a new one. Actually, usually you can get sometimes get three new onions from one sprouted onion! When your onions start to look rotten...
Space onion sets or transplants 4 to 5 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. Grow 10 plants per person. Yield 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 3 to 4 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart.
Multiplier onions produce a cluster of bulbs at ground level from a single planted bulb. The larger bulbs are saved for eating, and the medium and small bulbs are stored and replanted.
Onions should not be planted with peas, beans, asparagus, or sage. Onions can stunt the growth of these crops and also negatively affect their flavor.
Plant onion sets so the pointed tip only just shows above the soil surface. Sets are usually planted in spring, from mid-March to mid-April. There are also a few varieties for autumn planting, often sold as overwintering or Japanese onions – these are less sensitive to cold, which would otherwise cause bolting.
Onion sets are the easiest way to plant and ensure a harvest of full-sized onion bulbs. The only downsides are that they can be more expensive and variety is often very limited. You may only get to choose between yellow, red or white onions, not from the multitude of varieties that fall within each of those categories.
How often do you water onions?
Water thoroughly after planting, and regularly thereafter, about once a week if there is no rain. Onions have shallow roots, so don't let the soil at the base of the plants dry out and crack. Overwatering is equally problematic. If leaves develop a yellow tinge, cut back on watering.
Onions are edible right out of the ground and can be eaten at any stage of growth. You only need to cure onions that you want to store. Also, gardeners in warm climates who grow short-day onions may not want to go through the entire process of curing.
Gardeners treat common onions as annual vegetables however, and pull the bulbs at the end of the first growing season. Perennial onions, on the other hand, are plants that self-multiply and can be left in the garden for many years.
All onions require full sun for the best growth. Overcast skies and cool temperatures during the growing season will delay bulb formation. Sweet or mild onions are short-day onions.
It's crucial to not plant onions in the same location for more than three consecutive years. Rotating your crops helps keep nutrients from being depleted in the soil. Over time, onions can also attract a fungus known as pink root.
A 5-‐gallon bucket works fine for growing 6 or 8 onions.
Generally speaking, 200 square feet of garden space per person will allow for a harvest that feeds everyone year-round.
| Crop | Number of Plants to Grow |
|---|---|
| Okra | 2 to 3 per person |
| Onion (bulb) | 10 to 20 per person |
| Onion (scallion) | 15 to 25 per person |
| Onion (shallot) | 10 to 20 per person |
Planting time is incorrect or temperatures are too warm. Bulbing onion and garlic must be exposed to temperatures of 32° to 50°F for 1 to 2 months before planting to induce bulb formation. Place garlic cloves in the refrigerator for 4 weeks before planting or plant early in the season so that cloves are chilled.
It doesn't take a lot of space to grow onions and they do well in planters as well as open space vegetable gardens. Let's explore some of the ways to grow onions at home when gardening space is limited, or worse, no garden space is available at all. Planters can be grown on terraces, porches, backyards, or indoors.
How long do onions need to grow before you pull them?
Bulb onions should be harvested approximately 100 to 125 days after planting. Unlike the green onions, bulb onions will communicate with you and let you know when they are ready for picking. The telltale harvest sign is when the stalks turn yellowish or brown, dry out a bit, and topple over.
Onions. Like garlic, onions are also known as natural pest repellents due to their strong odor. They are great companion plants for tomatoes. But, if you're struggling with thrips in your garden, avoid planting onions, leeks, or garlic near your tomatoes.
Planting onions and garlic together won't have a drastic impact on either crop but it will have a big impact on those around them as like garlic, onions, chives and other members of the allium family repel many mites and grubs. Although garlic has many friends, it also has a few enemies.
You can plant onions and peppers together. As onions do not take up a lot of room above the ground, they are good to plan as neighbors if you're growing peppers. Also, onions have a strong smell with helps to deter a lot of pests such as aphids and slugs, making them great for pepper companion planting.
You can still add onions to your patch. While it's smart to stay away from bulb onions in June because there isn't a long enough growing season for them to reach maturity, this is not the case with bunching onions (otherwise known as green onions or scallions).
This means you can plant onion sets as late as May 18th to still get your onions 100 days of optimum 'bulbing' time. They may not be as big as those started by late April but they'll be perfectly edible.
You can still plant flowers, too!
Planting later crops in June also applies to flowers! Plant more marigolds, sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, four o'clocks, nasturtiums, etc. – all of the annuals that usually burn out by late summer.
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.
Is it too late to plant onions? A: To answer your second questions first, it is not too late to plant onions if you plant them from sets. It is best to plant onions in September as you will get larger onions at harvest time but you should still get a harvest of medium sized onions if you plant now.
Onions require a high source of nitrogen. A nitrogen-based fertilizer (ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate) should be applied at the rate of one cup per twenty feet of row. The first application should be about three weeks after planting and then continue with applications every 2 to 3 weeks.
Should I let my onion flower?
Unless you wish to save the seeds for use next season, cut the flowers off any onions that have bolted. This won't reverse the bolting process but it does stop the bulb from dividing. Bolted onions are perfectly edible and although they'll last for a month or so in the ground, they won't store.
Since onions have shallow roots, never let the soil dry out and become cracked at the base of the plant. If the leaves become yellowish, it may be a sign of over watering, so back off slightly.
If you plant an entire onion you will just get green onion sprouts to harvest. To grow new onions, then it is better to gently separate the sprouts from inside the layers of the onion as each of these can grow into a new onion.
After harvesting, dry or cure the onions in a warm, dry, well-ventilated location, such as a shed or garage. Spread out the onions in a single layer on a clean, dry surface.
Don't Plant Too Deep!
If you've planted the onions too deep, you may not be able to tell when the bulbing process begins as the onion is too deep in the ground. You'll end up with smaller bulbs shaped similar to torpedos because the soil will restrict the plants from bulbing properly.
Onion bulb size is directly proportional to the amount of water applied to the onions during the growing season. Weeding - Onions compete poorly with weeds because of shallow root systems. Hand-pulling weeds or shallow cultivation is necessary; do not hill up the soil on onions.
When onions bolt, the bulb part of the onion stops growing and will not mature further. The energy that would make the onion bulb is now directed towards making the flower stalk. Onions and shallots are a biennial crops, which means that the first year they grow and the second year they flower.
However, once your onions reach this stage, don't wait more than one or two weeks to harvest; the bulbs may begin to rot, or grow again and go to seed. Careful handling is essential during harvest to avoid bruising, which makes the bulbs susceptible to storage rot.
That means most years, on average, we can overwinter onions outdoors without protection from the weather. If it's an option for you, one of the best ways to grow overwintered onions, especially if you're in an area colder than ours, is to grow them in a cold frame or in low tunnels.
Definitely the easiest type of onions to grow are scallions (Allium fistulosum), also called green onions, says Farley. They also are sometimes called bunching onions. They're ready to harvest in about 60 to 85 days.
Do onions like coffee grounds?
The main valuable component for onions is nitrogen. If you fertilize green plants, such as lettuce and spinach, with a coffee substrate, the yield will be higher due to the nitrogen content of coffee. Adding coffee grounds to soil only benefits onion and green cultures.
Most onions require about 30 inches of water per season to grow a good crop with drip irrigation. The key is to provide about 0.3 – 0.4 inches/day – drip irrigation is the best way to apply small amounts of water frequently. Generally, one line of tape to supply 4 rows of onions is adequate.
Onion varieties are available when purchasing plants. Select healthy green transplants and plant them 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep in rows 12 to 15 inches apart. To produce large, dry onions, place the plants 2 to 3 inches apart. Plant them as soon as the ground can be worked in spring.
Onions – Plant chamomile and summer savory near onions to improve their flavour. Onions also work well alongside beets, Brassicas, carrots, dill, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes. Don't plant onions near asparagus, or peas of any kind. Onions help to repel the carrot rust fly.
Onions are great at repelling insect pests like cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, and cabbage maggots. Broccoli, kale, cauliflower, turnips, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts are all Brassica vegetables that fare well when planted next to onions, as the onions keep away most of the pests that plague cabbage crops.
Regrowing Bulb Onions
The bulb onions used in cooking can be regrown, too. The method differs in just one way from regrowing scallions, and that is to plant the scraps of these onions in soil. You can do this in a small pot placed in a sunny window or even plant the onion scrap outside to regrow in your garden.
After that, we peeled the onions, cut them into a medium, quarter-inch dice, and then measured the yield of each one. In our test, a medium onion yielded around 2 cups of diced onions, while a large onion yielded 3 cups of the same sized dice.
Depending on the planting methods, your green onions will be able to be regrown and harvested about 3 to 5 times. Growing in the soil will allow you to regrow them a few more times than in water.
If you plant an entire onion you will just get green onion sprouts to harvest. To grow new onions, then it is better to gently separate the sprouts from inside the layers of the onion as each of these can grow into a new onion.
Since onions have a shallow root system, frequent irrigation is the best way to achieve high yields and uniform bulbs. This makes drip irrigation a no-brainer for onion growers.
How do you increase the yield of an onion?
Nitrogen increases onion yield
Nitrogen supports production of leaves and hence, increases the number of bulb scales and the size and weight of the harvested bulb whether garlic, onion or even leeks.
The highest marketable yields (31.12 ha−1) and entire marketable yield (31.78 ha−1) were recorded on an onion plant planted 10 cm between plants.
Answer: All onions and leeks are biennial, meaning that they normally take two years to grow from seed, flower and set seed again. First, they grow “vegetatively,” forming roots, leaves and other plant growth.
Regrowing Bulb Onions
The bulb onions used in cooking can be regrown, too. The method differs in just one way from regrowing scallions, and that is to plant the scraps of these onions in soil. You can do this in a small pot placed in a sunny window or even plant the onion scrap outside to regrow in your garden.
Onions are one of the easiest vegetables to regrow from scraps. Just cut off the root end of your onion, leaving a 1'2 inch of onion on the roots. Place it in a sunny location in your garden and cover the top with soil. Make sure to keep the soil moist by watering when needed.
In spring, plant onion sets outdoors as soon as the ground can be worked, usually in late March or April, when temperatures are no longer likely to dip below 28°F (-2°C). In spring, start onion seeds indoors for about 6 weeks before transplanting to the ground (once the soil is at least 50°F).
All onions require full sun for the best growth. Overcast skies and cool temperatures during the growing season will delay bulb formation. Sweet or mild onions are short-day onions.
