David Trinklein said that the regular onions are what we planted in the garden during spring. If growing from seed, Trinklein suggests starting onions indoors long before you plant them outdoors. The best time to start onion seeds outside is during the spring, once the soil is workable in your area
It is also possible to plant seeds directly into a vegetable garden once soil is workable in the spring, but the resulting onions are likely to be smaller. Once soil can be worked early in spring, plant the onions sets or starters/replants approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep in soil. We recommend planting onions sets (transplants) or sets into soil a month or so before the last freeze to plant them in spring.
If you really want to go the seed-starting route, you will want to plant those in the soil 3 or 4 weeks earlier than the onion sets. For spring planting (for early summer harvest), Growfully Protips suggests starting onion seeds 12-16 weeks prior to the last freeze. Start your onion seeds 10-15 weeks before you expect you will be able to transplant them in your garden, in mid-February through mid-March.
Onions planted in October/December or replanted in January/February should have bulbs ready for planting in May/July. Onion plants depend on the length of the days to tell them when to begin producing bulbs.
When the tops of the onion plants start turning yellow and falling off, it is time to harvest. When onion plants are about 5 or 6 leaves, re-apply the fertilizer to promote larger plants and larger bulbs (Fig. Planting in an upright position allows the onion bulb to readily shoot up straight up through the soil.
Now is a good time to remove the mulch around your onions to prevent any disruption of bulb formation. Planting onions in the fall may result in larger bulbs that will be ready to be harvested in the following summer. Our spring-planted bulbs are generally smaller, which is good for both spring onions or baby onions.
We plant a mixture of yellow, red, and white onions both fall and spring. We generally plant a mix of white, yellow, and red onions every fall so that we will have good diversity next year. Here in Ohio, we typically plant our fall onion sets during mid-September.
Long-day onions are best suited to a New Hampshire garden, where the days are longer during summer, giving onions ample time to develop several leaves before bulb production begins. If you plant long-day onions in a region where there is not as much daylight, do not expect them to produce bulbs.
You can plant onions pretty much any time of year (especially if growing green onions), but the time of year will affect how big of onions you will get, and when they are harvested.
Your onions can be harvested anytime, either as smaller onions, or allowed to grow to full size for harvest in mid-to-late summer. Onions can be planted from seeds, from smaller bulbs called sets, or transplanted. If used as spring onions, they can be picked from when they are pencil-sized to when they start forming bulbs.
Even better, this also means that the onions sets, or seeds, may be grown and rapidly established strong roots before winter sets in. Shallow root systems mean that onion plants can pull themselves out of the ground with very little provocation, particularly if young.
When it is time to transplant the transplants into your garden, you can gently pull onion plants roots out of the ground using your fingers or a plastic fork (do not worry, onions are incredibly tough, even though they are small). Assuming that you planted the seedlings in a mix of well-drained soil, water the onion plants thoroughly each week. Direct-Seed Red Onions Direct-Seed Red onions once soil is tillable during spring.
In about eight to 10 weeks, onion seeds will sprout into healthy transplants ready for outdoor replanting. Onions require a minimum of 60 to 70 days, depending on the variety, to grow from seed indoors before being transplanted outside to an extensive garden. Onions have a longer growing season, typically taking around 90 days to reach maturity. At two weeks, soil is cool enough for onions to set their bulbs.
You can now pick the onions, leaving them in the garden for two days before you pull off the tops. If you wish to harvest dry bulbs, you will need to wait for the onions to grow long enough. You can harvest young onions only a few weeks after planting if you wish to use them as Spring onions or Scallions.
Spring-planted Common onions are grown from sets, transplants, or seeds. Onions sets can be planted without fear of frost damage, and they have higher rates of success than onions planted from seeds or transplants. If you know how to plant onions from seeds, any of the methods of planting onion seeds will produce a plentiful supply of onion crops.
We also prefer direct planting for winter, but for planting onions sets or transplants for winter, plant them 4-6 weeks before the first fall freeze. Most of our onion varieties are sold as small seedlings in packages with no roots; each plant will begin growing a few days after planting.
Most folks plant onions (Allium cepa) in early spring to reap the benefits in the early summer, or many grow seeds in late summer or early fall to reap the benefits in the winter.
While onions do indeed bounce back nicely after a drought and begin growing again with irrigation, keeping the soil constantly moist is best before bulbs grow large.
Onions tolerate mild freezing temperatures and may be planted outside the garden in late April or May. You may leave onions in the soil for several days if it is going to be dry and warm, or take them inside to cure.