Onion sets (recommended): Plant sets directly in the ground in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked and the danger of hard freezes has passed. This is typically 2 to 4 weeks before your last spring frost date.
Seeds: Onion seeds can be started indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last spring frost. However, some gardeners start them even earlier to get larger transplants. Either way, onion seedlings should be hardened off and transplanted outside in April in most areas, or 2 weeks before the last spring frost when the risk of extreme cold is over for the season.
If you want to plant a late crop of onions too, sow seeds outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before frost is expected in your area. Seeds should lie dormant during the cool season and sprout in spring.

Where to Plant

Onions need full sun and should not be planted in areas where they’ll be overshadowed by other veggies. The more energy onions can get from the sun, the larger their bulbs will grow! For best results, make sure the soil at your planting site is well-draining and loose with a slightly acidic to neutral pH, and blend some aged manure or compost into the ground before sowing onion seeds or sets.

How to Plant Onions

Starting seeds (indoors): Fill a shallow tray to the top with seed starting mix, sow onion seeds 1/4 to 1/2-inch deep, lightly water, and then set the tray in a warm and brightly lit location. When the seedlings sprout, thin out the weakest seedlings using fingernail scissors, and harden off and transplant the remaining seedlings outdoors when the weather starts to warm.
Starting seeds (outdoors): Prep your planting spot by removing weeds and blending compost or aged manure into the earth. Sow the seeds 1/4 to 1/2-inch deep in rows spaced 12 to 18-inches apart, and thin out the weakest seedlings when they’re a few inches tall so the remaining plants are spaced 3 to 4-inches from each other. Keep in mind that outdoor sowing can lead to patchy planting efforts, so you may want to overseed if you go this route.
Planting onion sets (outdoors): Prep your soil as above, then plant onion sets — pointy ends up — 1 to 2-inches deep. Space the sets 3 to 4-inches apart in rows that are 12 to 18-inches from each other, and cover the space between planting rows with a layer of straw mulch to stifle weeds. Don’t cover onions as they grow with more soil as this can interfere with the bulbing process.

Spacing for Onions

Growing

Watering

Provide onions with about 1-inch of water per per week to keep them growing strong. If you want sweeter onions, water more often. You may need to increase watering during hot spells to prevent bolting, while well-mulched plants may require less frequent watering.

Fertilizing

Onions are heavy feeders and demand constant nourishment to produce big bulbs. At planting time, I like to blend compost into the soil before sowing onion seeds or sets. Then, I feed my plants every few weeks with a balanced, organic liquid or granular fertilizer following the instructions on the fertilizer packaging, and I only stop fertilizing when my onions begin to bulb and push out of the soil.

Pruning and Maintenance

Onions don’t need pruning, but it’s wise to keep a lookout for pests and to apply mulch as needed to keep weeds down.

Seasonal Care

Some hardy varieties of onions can potentially be planted in fall, overwintered outdoors, and then harvested in spring. If this thought appeals to you, look for onion varieties that are suited to cold weather and protect your crop with cold frames, thick layers of mulch, or frost blankets.

Growing in Different Climates

Onion varieties are categorized as “short-day,” “long-day,” or “day-neutral” plants depending on the day length that’s required to trigger bulb growth. It’s important to select the right varieties for your location!

Short-day onions grow best in the southern United States and begin to bulb when the sun stays up for about 10 to 12 hours per day. The earlier short-day onions are planted, the larger they’ll get. These onions can potentially be planted in the fall and overwintered outdoors in warm areas.
Intermediate, or day-neutral, onions are best suited to slightly cooler climates and begin to bulb when the day length is around 12 to 14 hours.
Long-day onions are ideal for chilly northern areas and begin to bulb when they receive 14 to 16 hours of sun per day.

Harvesting

Harvested onions still covered in dirt in the garden . Photo by Rootstocks/Getty Images — *Photo by Rootstocks/Getty Images*

When to Harvest

Spring-planted onions are usually ready for harvesting by mid- to late summer. You’ll know it’s time to pull in your crop when the onion tops begin to yellow and fall over. When this occurs, you can speed up the ripening and harvesting process by bending the remaining leaves down to the soil.

How to Harvest

Make sure to harvest onions in dry weather. Wet-harvested onions don’t cure well and are more likely to rot in storage!

To harvest, use a shovel or gardening fork to loosen the soil around onion bulbs and encourage drying. Just be careful that you don’t damage the bulbs while you work. Then, grasp the onion tops and pull them carefully from the ground to avoid bruising.

Tip: Any onions that send up flower stalks should be harvested ASAP. Flowering means the bulbs have stopped growing. These onions won’t store well and should be used right away.

Storage and Preservation

To keep onions fresh, cut the roots back and trim the tops to 1 or 2-inches in length. You can leave the tops in place if you’re planning to braid the onions later on.

This done, lay the trimmed onions on dry ground for a few days to cure if the weather permits. Or place them in a protected and well-ventilated spot that’s shielded from the rain — such as a garage or covered porch.

Once cured, hang onions in a mesh bag or nylon stocking, spread them up to two layers deep in a box, or braid and hang them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. A root cellar where temperatures stay between 40 to 60°F is ideal. Although many of us do it, onions don’t keep well in refrigerators as they often run too damp!

To make onions taste milder, soak them in milk or pour boiling water over the slices and let them stand for 20 minutes. Then, rinse with cold water.

Check out this video to learn how to harvest and store onions.

Pests and Problems

Onions contain sulfur-like compounds that give them their pungent scent and naturally repel many common garden pests. But while onions are naturally resistant to many plant problems, harvests can still be troubled by a few issues!

Common Problems

Poor bulbing may occur if onions are grown too closely together or not provided with enough nutrients. Crops may also fail to bulb out if you choose the wrong onion variety for your growing location.
Yellowing leaves may indicate nutrient deficiencies or watering problems; however, onion leaves also naturally yellow as harvest time approaches.
Pests can still affect onions in some conditions, but they aren’t as likely to target these crops as other veggies.
Rot can turn onion bulbs mushy and destroy entire plantings if onions are grown in soggy spots.

Common Pests

Thrips are tiny, sap-sucking insects that feed on many plants, including onions. You can prevent thrips by covering onion crops with floating row covers, while active infestations can be managed with weekly applications of an organic insecticidal soap spray.
Onion maggots are more likely to affect onions during extended periods of rain. Like thrips, these pests can be prevented by harvesting all onions at the end of the season and covering newly plantings with row covers.

Plant Diseases

Onions can succumb to white rot and other fungal issues if they’re grown in overcrowded or poorly draining conditions. You can avoid many of these problems by rotating crops around your garden, cleaning up old plant debris at the end of the season, and growing onions from seeds or sets purchased from reliable suppliers.

Types

Onions are divided into “short day,” “long day,” and “day-neutral” categories, and it’s important to select the right onion variety for your specific growing location. Local seed companies and plant nurseries usually offer onion varieties that are well-suited to local areas, but you may also want to look into these popular picks!

Long-day varieties:

‘Yellow Sweet Spanish’: A long-day variety, these onions are prized for their large and rounded, yellowish-white bulbs.
‘Ailsa Craig’: An heirloom plant with pale yellow skin and mild, sweet bulbs, ‘Alisa Craig’ onions are named after a Scottish island and grow up to 8-inches in diameter.

Short-day varieties:

‘Stuttgarter’: Typically sold in sets, this early maturing variety produces yellow bulbs with a slightly flattened shape.
‘Red Burgundy’: A good slicing onion, this variety has a mildly-favored, sweet white interior, but its shelf-life is relatively short.

Day-neutral or intermediate varieties:

‘Candy’: Jumbo, golden bulbs with thick-flesh set ‘Candy’ onions apart from the rest. They also store well!
‘Purplette’: A mini onion variety, ‘Purplette’ bulbs max out at around 1-1/2-inches across and have glossy, burgundy red flesh when raw, which turns a pretty pastel pink when cooked or pickled.

Vegetables

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

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Comments

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<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 04/23/2013 - 10:36

It sounds like you have onion maggots. The adult onion maggot fly lays it's eggs in the soil around onion plants in the spring and the maggots appear when the soil warms up. Yellow sticky traps will capture the flies in the early spring or you can use row covers to protect the onions. Plant a new row of onions in a different spot of your garden. Try red onions which are more resistant.

Anonymous Sun, 04/07/2013 - 21:56

Had a freak hail storm here in Texas the other day. It trampled the green stalks. Will this "speed up the ripening process" like if you stomped them? They still needed another 25 days or so to mature.

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 04/10/2013 - 11:11

Garden lore tells us that bending the green leaves of onions close to maturity will help the plant to spend more energy on bulb growth. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The plant needs the leaves in working order so that they can make food for bulb growth. Bending or otherwise damaging the green leaves (such as via storm damage) will harm the growth of the bulb. Because of hail damage, it is possible that your bulbs will be smaller this year. Harvest time might actually be delayed, depending on the percentage of leaves lost on each plant and the ability of the plant to recover. Some leaves might heal and help with bulb growth, or new leaves start to form, so we'd recommend leaving the plants alone in case they will perk up again. Wait until the leaves have yellowed and browned on their own before harvesting the bulbs.

Anonymous Sun, 04/07/2013 - 17:14

my 1015 onions tops are about 10" and are setting blooms. A onion bulb has only begun to form. I planted them 62 days ago. Is this normal?

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 04/10/2013 - 10:30

Flowers on onions are not desirable (unless saving seed), as it compromises the quality of the bulb. Flowers can be triggered by temperature fluctuations (such as a period of warmth, followed by cold, followed by warmth). A bulb uses energy to send up a flower stalk (called bolting), so once it does, the bulb will be smaller and won't be as large as an onion that does not bolt. It is still edible, but lower in quality. It is not necessary to cut off the flower stalks (some gardeners do, some don't), but you should harvest the bulb as soon as you can, and use it promptly--it will not store well. When buying onion sets, look for those that are no thicker than a pencil, and plant them out at a time recommended for your area; larger sets tend to bolt. Also, keep in mind that 1015 onions are a short-day variety; make sure that type is recommended for your area. Short-day varieties form bulbs when daylength is between 10 and 12 hours; intermediate-day (day-neutral) onions start to form bulbs between about 12 and 14 hours of daylight; and long-day varieties form bulbs at about 14 to 16 hours daylight. If a short-day variety is planted in an area best suited for a long-day type, for example, then the bulbs might form early and not get very large. A general rule of thumb for the U.S. is that northern gardeners use a long-day type, gardeners in the mid-section use day-neutral, and southern gardeners, a short-day type.

Anonymous Wed, 03/27/2013 - 18:26

I live is San Diego county. I've planted several onion sets this past fall. None of them have actually formed a bulb. They're almost straight up and down. What am I doing wrong?

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 03/28/2013 - 15:54

Onions come in long-daylength, medium-daylength, and short-daylength varieties, based on amount of sunlight needed. You grow long-daylength in northern latitudes and medium-daylength in central latitudes. In the southern latitudes, you need to plant short-day onions. Short-day do not come in sets. You need to seed OR plant bareroot transplants from local nurseries.

Ptbassmam Fri, 03/22/2013 - 09:26

Is 10-10-10 fertilizer just as good as 6-12-12 ? Thanks

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 03/22/2013 - 10:54

For home garden use, either usually type usually meets the plant's requirements. Leafy veggies usually do better with a complete balance, and tuber/root veggies as well as flowers usually do better with 6:12:12.

Anonymous Thu, 03/21/2013 - 07:22

What kind of fertilizer i need to spray to make the onion good? Thanks

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Planting and Growing Onions