i havent had success with onions for years. this year iv planted onion seed in a in a 4x8 hoop house just a few days ago . probably late but with good sun the surface temp is usually in the 60 to 75 degree range .maybe they will sprout. they will remain in the plot til harvest.
Onions are impossible?
- Thread starter gunslingor
- Start date
Which type or variety of onion did you plant?
You need to grow onions for your geographical location. I am in zone 7a Nashville TN I grow intermediate day onions we have 14 hours 20 minutes of sunlight June 21. If your far enough south they you probably need to plant short day onions. If you plant bulbs buy the largest 1" bulbs you can get. Bulbs are 1 year old already they don't grow as large as green plants. i grow both bulbs & plants just to make sure we get a good crop.
Onions should be planted 2 months before last frost. I planted 400 onions Feb 15 our last frost is April 20.
Onion plants need high nitrogen fertilizer Ammonium sulfate 20-0-0 for 2 months to grow as many green leaves as you possible can. Each leaf it another ring on the bulb. It the plant has 9 leaves the bulb will have 9 rings.
About April 20 I stop giving plants nitrogen fertilizer then start feeding them high P&K fertilizer 0-20-20 fertilizer this will grow large bulbs. About June 15 to 20 onion tops die. When tops turn brown pull up the bulbs keep them in a dry location where they stay dry from rain.
Sweet onions and Red onions have a shelf life of about 1 month. White onions keep about 2 months. Yellow onions & Spanish keep about 3 months. Once our onions start to go bad we slice and dice them they keep in zip lock bags in the freezer for 1 year. Freeze onions in package sizes for cooking, 1 whole onion for stew, 1/2 onion for other foods, etc.
I made a planting template, my onions are planted 4" apart in rows 4" apart, 7 rows side by side. I never do raised beds. Board on my beds are levees to keep water from escaping into the rows. I never wait water weeds and grass in the walk areas. I have a lot of dead tree leaves tilled into my soil.
If you want to grow onions from seeds plant seeds about Sept 1.
Onions should be planted 2 months before last frost. I planted 400 onions Feb 15 our last frost is April 20.
Onion plants need high nitrogen fertilizer Ammonium sulfate 20-0-0 for 2 months to grow as many green leaves as you possible can. Each leaf it another ring on the bulb. It the plant has 9 leaves the bulb will have 9 rings.
About April 20 I stop giving plants nitrogen fertilizer then start feeding them high P&K fertilizer 0-20-20 fertilizer this will grow large bulbs. About June 15 to 20 onion tops die. When tops turn brown pull up the bulbs keep them in a dry location where they stay dry from rain.
Sweet onions and Red onions have a shelf life of about 1 month. White onions keep about 2 months. Yellow onions & Spanish keep about 3 months. Once our onions start to go bad we slice and dice them they keep in zip lock bags in the freezer for 1 year. Freeze onions in package sizes for cooking, 1 whole onion for stew, 1/2 onion for other foods, etc.
I made a planting template, my onions are planted 4" apart in rows 4" apart, 7 rows side by side. I never do raised beds. Board on my beds are levees to keep water from escaping into the rows. I never wait water weeds and grass in the walk areas. I have a lot of dead tree leaves tilled into my soil.
If you want to grow onions from seeds plant seeds about Sept 1.
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I want your onion. You should try pickling some, good on Asian and German stuff.
update : no onions have sprouted.green top sets are planted , and onion bulbs are planted however im finding the bulbs uprooted and scattered every day.??
Ah yes, that's the result of nazi mole weasels. Lol, jk, no idea, motion camera maybe, prove that onions can walk.
Got my onion plants in hibernation from dixonville farmers. Planting em this weekend, maybe Sunday, so rainy. Guess I'm giving up on seeds this year, not really a lot of space for onions, one of my problems is I'm gardening in like 60 grow bags in a rental house, 80 this year. The trees in the back block half the yard but the other half is mostly full sun, so limited space, hope to use it all carefully this year, I need to stack my plants shortest to tallest in two directions, yard to house and left to right, beans growing against the house. I've formed an obsession, lol.
The onion still seems uncrackable in this context, 4 onions vs 1 full size tomato plant. You get these shriveled half dead sets, mutant bulbs, or I guess you start em from seed indoors 8 months early, like septembre... ill try thst next year. 4 onions per 10 inch deep 5 gallon grow bag doesn't seem economical. Soil is in grownd is clay, dark brown but very sticky and muddy. Soil in containers is fox farms. Ill probably plant half these, maybe some in ground. I'm really trying to grow a pizza, so focus is tomatos if the septoria doesn't get me first... again. Growing Garlic, planted a few weeks ago, seems to be doing alright, much bigger now than this pic, tallest is maybe 8 inches, got it in the best spot, keeping it warm for my tomstoes, lol... I'd use the same containers for the onions 1 row only, but not deep enough i hear... wish I could find the perfect container for onions, round kinda sucks for onion, square grow bags suck on shape... and no square hard ones seem right. Will likely crowd and graze.
Quick update, planted the onions a few weeks ago, they arent growing that great, tips are dieing a bit if they weren't that way on arrival. I used last years potting soil, mixed in worm castings, chicken pellets and fox farm tomato veg fertilizer. Lemme know if you recommend something else!
Odd thing is, I planted one little guy behind the containers hiding from the sun in super sticky clay soil and it seems to be doing the best.
Garlic also has some browning tips but they just shot up!
All input and advice no matter how opinionated appreciated!
Odd thing is, I planted one little guy behind the containers hiding from the sun in super sticky clay soil and it seems to be doing the best.
Garlic also has some browning tips but they just shot up!
All input and advice no matter how opinionated appreciated!
Onions need to be spaced 4" to 5" apart. You need to grow onions for your geographical location. If you live up north grow long day onions. If you live in the south grow short day onions. If you live near 34° latitude where sunlight is 14 hours June 21 grow intermediate day onions. Potting soil has almost ZERO food value for plant. Plant your onions 2 months before last frost. Feed your plants 21-0-0 fertilizer until last frost then switch to 0-20-20 fertilizer for 6 to 8 weeks. Water plants every day they need water but not a swamp.