Onions how long does it take to grow

Anytime if inside. But early spring is the general rule. Not Helpful 19 Helpful Collect ripe seed on a dry day, as soon as the seed heads capsules or pods ripen. Not Helpful 27 Helpful Rose Fire. In the article it says 1- 6, and you can tell by seeing how many circles are in the center of the onion cut.

The circles do not refer to the rings. In the picture above, there are 2 onions that will grow from that one onion head. Not Helpful 9 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Make sure that you care for it and pull the weeds out! Helpful 22 Not Helpful 3.

As long as you care for your plant, your onion cutting should produce more onions as long as an onion grown from a seed does. If you initially grow your onion in a pot, you can always transfer it to your garden outdoors later on. Helpful 21 Not Helpful 3.

To keep your onions fresh for several months, you should store them properly. Helpful 16 Not Helpful If your onion seems limp, discolored, or otherwise ill, it may have a plant disease. Move your onion away from other plants and discuss its symptoms with a plant nursery worker to determine the best way to treat the disease. Helpful 18 Not Helpful 6. Related wikiHows How to. How to. Easy Ways to Grow Leeks from Leeks. About This Article. Co-authored by:.

Co-authors: Updated: November 2, Categories: Featured Articles Growing Onions. Article Summary X To grow an onion from an onion, first cut off the root end of an onion. Nederlands: Een ui met behulp van een andere ui kweken. Bahasa Indonesia: Menanam Bawang dari Bawang.

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times. I need to find alternatives to cheaper living so as to survive. This is a great way to keep active and stimulate my mind. In the current global situation planting your own food can help.

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Russell Ueckermann May 20, Sandra Lineen Mar 14, I eat an average of a half onion a day, no joking! I love onions any way I can get them. So onions are a necessity! Can't wait to try and thank you very much for the great guide with pics and tips! Sheetal Ranjit Apr 11, Your article greatly helped us to clear out our doubts related to the onion cultivation and harvesting; thanks a lot for such a detailed in-depth knowledge giving article. Rob McIntyre Aug 20, And the water is from a rain catchment reservoir.

You could certainly try it, but I would also start some seeds indoors under grow lights as a back up. Once the seedlings are a few inches tall, transplant them into the garden, spacing them about inches apart. I had just about given up on my onion seed germinitating but today I checked again and they had finally germinated. It took 6 weeks. Most perennials are easy to start via winter sowing.

You can do tomatoes and other warm-season veggies this way, too, but you should delay planting the containers until early spring and bring them inside if the weather is going to get very cold, especially at night. How deep do you plant the onions during transplant? Hi Becca — Plant them so the bottom third of the plant is below the ground. The only issue would be if the onions were a hybrid, the next generation would not come true from seed. Hello Jessica, Great idea!

I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma and garden with raised beds. What are your thoughts on that idea? What drawbacks do you see with that approach? I want to use my raised beds as cold frames, but am not sure how, when and what to put in them. Hi Jessica, I live in north Idaho where we get winter temperatures near zero once in awhile but for the most part temperatures are around 20 degrees at night and low 30s during the day. My garden typically will have at least a foot of snow from Christmas until the spring thaw in March.

Do you think I could sow Walla Walla seed directly into the garden in November? This would save the transplanting step. Great question. Give it a try and let us know how it works out for you. This is how I grow my cilantro, spinach, lettuce, and mache. Jessica, I planted my little onion plants and they did grow.

I learned something in the process. I will use long day this winter when I plant again. This was my first attempt from seed. Live and learn, hopefully. Thanks for your method, I know it will produce quality. We live just East of you near Somerset, PA. I have a hobby greenhouse should I put the container in there or put it on the back deck as you say. I ordered day seeds of them , should I take half of them to Florida and start them there? Hi Dennis. Let me know how it works out for you. My greenhouse has an exhaust fan with thermostat, what temp should l set it at, 50 degrees?

Do you think this method would work for leeks as well? Onions, and the onion family, are new for my garden. I am in Minnesota. I start onion seeds indoors.

Put them in individual cells and do not disturb the roots. Then plant them in my garden in the spring. I put 10,10,10 fertilizer every two weeks. I get softball size onions that store well in the winter time. Its early feb in south east PA, zone 6B. On tuesday till be 62 degrees and in wondering if i can now them directly and cover with agrobon. Do you have any tips or warnings for me, or things I should look out for?

This affords them more protection than row cover and acts as a mini greenhouse. The seedlings can then be transplanted out into the garden in mid spring. Hmmm… Zone 9 is pretty far south, but I still think it will work. Give it a try and let us know how you do.

OK to try this method and begin our seed about now? They sprout when the time is right, regardless of where you live.

I started Onions from seed for the first time last February. I was buying plants, sets and cell packs in the past. I had a great year in and will not go back to the old way. I like to grow Candy onions and this past year was my best yield.

Jessica, I live in Kodiak Alaska we are having a very mild winter. I was going to plant directly into the greenhouse however i just read this article and like the idea. Our last frost date is around the end of may.

Hi Thomas. Let us know how it works out. No, but it sounds like an interesting way to grow them, Melody. I would worry that they would crowd each other out being planted that closely. Hi, great article. I live in the Midlands, UK. Our weather is pretty much very similar to your northern states no idea what zones they are but without the freak cold snaps u get. Would this method work here too? My onions are doing well using your method. They are about an inch and a half tall but very thin.

When would be the right time to plant them and how deep. Plant them out into the garden about weeks before your last expected spring frost. They can tolerate cold spring temperatures. Bury them to about half of their height. I use a pencil to make a planting hole, drop the seedling in, and then tuck the soil around them snugly.

Hi Jessica! I am using this method for the first time. Zone 3 and started them in the container about 4 weeks ago. They were dormant for the first little while but are now about the size you described for transplanting maybe even a bit bigger. Being in zone 3, we will likely still have some pretty cold nights below freezing for another couples weeks at least. The soil is workable and prepped and I have already seeded other cold weather seeds. So I think it should be okay?

Unless you think otherwise…. How sensitive are the roots to transplant? Should I be gathering some soil up with the seedling as I transplant? Hi Sara — Onions are very cold tolerant. I would suggest transplanting them out into the garden now that the soil has been worked.

Plant them deeply. I use a pencil to poke a slender hole and then drop the plants into the hole and snug the soil in around them. I have pinions that grow every year,late July early August they go to seed can I plant them? Yes you can collect and plant the seeds or let them naturally fall.

Hello Jessica, I live in Oklahoma, Zone 7a, and have already started some onion seeds. I planted a bunch of them in a cat litter box. I realize now that I started them a bit early you think??

Can I let them get pencil thick, then pull them, let them dry out, and use them as transplants; or should I try and let them grow slowly until next spring and then pull them and plant them? Good question. Perhaps pull up the plants, pack them in a plastic bag, and hold them in the fridge for the winter.

Then plant them out in the spring and cross your fingers. No experience growing them that way. I have to try this! Canada zone 5b. Do you add any fertilizer at all or just plain seed starting mix? Hi Jessica, sorry I called you Sara on my previous post! Also read an article onions prefer a lot of nitrogen during the first half of growing season.

I would not suggest using any nitrogen fertilizer on onions. Root crops use phosphorous to form big roots; too much nitrogen encourages excessive top growth at the expense of roots. I just came across your post and had an Oh No moment, my onions and shallots have been under a grow light set to 16 hours for the last four weeks.

At the very least I now understand why my onions and shallots were miniature last year. Just change the light settings and see how they do. You can also start a second batch and do an interesting experiment to see which grow better. I came across this blog back in January, I then began to plan for my attempt.

I planted my seeds candy onion in mid-January and had them on our back covered porch. I checked on them yesterday and each tote had one up. Today one or two more poked out. Our Michigan winter has been up and down but overall mild. Hey Jessica! I tried your method and am hoping for some reassurance haha. Earth Nitro Big Fertilizer.

Fertilization is a critical part of the process. Without enough nitrogen, your onions will not grow properly. I mix my liquid fertilizer with water in a watering can and water each row by hand. Continue to fertilize every two weeks until a few weeks before harvest. Onions appreciate the nitrogen throughout their entire growing cycle.

Onions take about 3 to 4 months from planting to harvest. Otherwise, be patient, water, fertilize, and weed. Before you know it, nice and plump onions will peek the crowns of their heads out of the soil to show you their progress. Monitor them carefully, noticing when the long green tops begin to flop over and lay down, changing color from green to brown, indicating that it is harvest time. The beautiful thing about onions is that once you plant them in the ground and they establish themselves, which can take about two weeks or so, you can pick fresh ones from that point on.

Otherwise, wait until you see large crowns popping out of the ground and you notice that the green onion tops are flopping over and beginning to brown. That is a sign that they are ready to be picked. Remove onions with your hands by pulling the long green and brown tops in an upward motion, from the ground to the sky. At this point, you should not need any hand tools to help you with this process, as the onions are already halfway out of the soil and ready for removal.

Every once in a while, you might need a small hand spade to help. I like to keep one on hand, just in case. When the weather is dry and sunny, many farmers and backyard gardeners will pull up their onions and leave them on top of the soil in rows for up to a week, allowing the sun and air to dry them naturally. If you do not have such fantastic conditions, harvest your onions and bring them into a well-ventilated area like a barn or some kind of open room.

Spread the onions out on a flat surface, like the floor or mesh drying racks, so that they can dry. Either way, after a week or so, the onions will need additional time to continue drying.

If they are not properly cured, onions will not have a storage life at all, because the remaining moisture will cause them to rot. After I bring my onions in from the garden, I like to lay a large canvas tarp on the floor of my garage and spread all of my onions out to cure.

The canvas breathes and allows air to flow through, which is necessary for drying. You can also dry your onions on a drying rack, which allows sufficient airflow all around the onions so that they can dry properly. This works well for a smaller harvest. Many of my friends make their own drying racks and reuse them every year for many different crops throughout the season.

They are great space savers and work very well. It is important that your onions be dry. Otherwise, the moisture inside will quickly rot your crop. Once properly cured, you can begin the process of cutting off the tops, trimming the roots, and bagging your onions for storage. When cured and stored properly, some storage onions — such as Patterson or Red Wing — have a storage life of 6 months or more!

Gardening is cathartic and peaceful. A garden does not discriminate, nor does it turn its back on you. It soothes even the most savage of us on our worst days. I go to the garden daily, often multiple times. It is my mediation and my therapy. I spend time walking down the rows, noticing the subtle differences of the plants. Sometimes I take a glass of water and a book and sit in the garden for hours at a time, reading.

Often, when friends come over, the first place they want to visit is the garden. Honestly, there is nothing quite like it.

Follow the basic guidelines outlined in this article, and you will have a beautiful crop of onions growing in your garden that you can enjoy, both fresh and for months to come.

Do you have any gardening secrets for growing onions? Any tips or ideas to offer? Add your comments below. And for more oniony tip and advice , check out some of these guides:. Greenhouse photos by Leslie M. See our TOS for more details. Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Leslie M. She lives in rural southern Vermont with her wife, two dogs named Charlie and Ruby, and one sneaky little cat named Max. She is a grower, a farmer, a forager, and a writer who loves to combine all of these things to eke out a life in her little corner of the world.

When the growing season comes to New England, her favorite thing to do is put on her overalls and head out to the garden, where she can plunge her hands into the rocky and fertile Vermont soil and get dirty. Her second-favorite thing to do? Pluck juicy ripe tomatoes from the vine and gobble them up, one by one. I enjoyed your article about onions and gardening. Good range of topic there.