Learn How to Grow Onions the Easy way!
Where to Purchase: I purchase my organic heirloom onion sets from Organic Heirloom Gardens – www.organicheirloomgardens.com
The sets are larger onion bulbs, which would be different than starting your onions from seed yourself. Which can be difficult since they are a biennial. If you are new to planting onions I suggest starting with Onion SETS. Depending on the length of your growing season you can choose from size 1 or size 2. Size 2 being a bit larger for shorter growing seasons as myself here in Northern Michigan. I also purchase my strawberry crowns from the same website and I highly recommend this small company, he does a great job with great products.
How to Plant – Find an old broom stick and use the handle to poke the holes into the soil, and plant approx. one inch deep. Cover lightly with soil. Keeping the onion bulbs 4 inches apart. Alternatively you could use a wedged hoe (shown in the video) to create a trench.
Make sure to plant with the tip UP and the roots which are barely seen down.
Watering – Water as usual like the rest of the garden. Once a week 1 to 2 inches in depth of wetness.
Care – If you see an onion stalk going to flower, bend over or cut off. Sometimes this means that they are done growing, however I typically bend over and they seem to continue to grow. You do NOT need to cover the bulbs with dirt, they are not a root crop and do not need to be buried.
How to Harvest – When the onions are nearing done the tops will begin to yellow and fall over. You can hurry the process when they are at this point by stomping or bending over all the stalks. Typically I harvest onions in September. When the tops are brown it’s time to harvest. Using a shovel or potato fork , or gently pulling them. They need to now “cure”. This is how they get the paper covering on the outside so they are able to store for quite some time. We use a rack that is off the ground several feet and using a screen to hold the onions in a single layer in a place with plenty of air flow. They need to be in a dark location like a lean to or barn with plenty of air. Leave them there for several weeks to dry out.
Storage – You can store them in a darker area about 40-50 degrees F in a single layer but do not store near potatoes or apples or so I’ve heard, I store mine near potatoes all the time. I’ll keep a smaller portion in the fridge as well until I need to get out of the store room. I typically get my onions to last for 6 months up to a year
