For thousands of years, onions have followed people from garden to kitchen, adding depth and sweetness to meals made from the simplest ingredients. Beneath their upright green leaves, each bulb is built slowly, one fleshy layer at a time.
Onions may be grown as scallions, small fresh bulbs, large storage onions, or sweet slicing types. Their success depends on choosing a variety suited to local day length, establishing strong leafy growth early, and allowing the bulbs to mature as the days lengthen.
Growing Guide
Timing
Start onion seeds indoors about 10–12 weeks before the expected last spring frost. Transplant outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked and temperatures are consistently cool but not severely cold.
Onions tolerate light frost and grow best when established early. Bulbing begins in response to day length, so choose short-day, intermediate-day, or long-day varieties suited to your latitude. Most northern gardens require long-day onions.
Sowing & Starting
Sow seeds about ¼ inch deep and keep the mix evenly moist. Provide bright light after emergence. When seedlings reach several inches tall, their tops may be trimmed lightly to keep them upright and manageable.
Harden seedlings gradually before planting them 1–2 inches deep. Space onions about 3–4 inches apart for mature bulbs or closer for scallions, with rows 12–18 inches apart. Onion sets are easy to plant, but seed-grown transplants offer a wider choice of varieties and often produce larger bulbs.
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