🧅 Learn How to Grow Onions the Easy Way
These step-by-step directions are also included in my book, Seed to Plate, where I walk you through planting, harvesting, curing, and storing onions as part of a complete garden-to-kitchen system.
If you love having everything in one place — garden plans, preserving guides, and recipes — you’ll find the full onion section there as well.
Where to Purchase Onion Sets
I purchase my organic heirloom onion sets from Organic Heirloom Gardens
👉 www.organicheirloomgardens.com
I highly recommend this small company — great products and great service. I also purchase my strawberry crowns from them.
These are onion sets (small bulbs), which are different from starting onions from seed. Onions are biennial, so starting from seed can be tricky for beginners.
If you’re new to growing onions, I strongly suggest starting with sets.
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Choose Size 1 for longer growing seasons
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Choose Size 2 (slightly larger bulbs) for shorter growing seasons — this is what I use here in Northern Michigan
How to Plant Onions
Onions are simple once you know the basics.
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Use an old broom handle to poke holes in the soil
OR use a hoe to create a shallow trench. -
Plant about 1 inch deep
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Space bulbs 4 inches apart
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Cover lightly with soil
👉 Important:
Plant with the pointed tip UP and the tiny root end down.
And don’t overthink it — onions are forgiving.
Watering
Water as you would the rest of your garden.
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About 1–2 inches per week
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Keep soil evenly moist but not soggy
Care During the Season
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If you see a flower stalk forming, bend it over or cut it off.
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Sometimes this means the onion is finishing up, but I usually bend mine and they continue growing just fine.
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Onions are not a root crop — you do NOT need to keep covering the bulbs with soil. It’s perfectly fine if the tops are exposed.
How to Harvest
When onions are nearly ready:
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The tops will begin to yellow and fall over.
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At this point, you can gently bend or step on the stalks to speed up the finishing process.
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I typically harvest in September.
Once the tops are fully brown, it’s time.
Use:
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A shovel
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A potato fork
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Or gently pull them by hand
Curing (Don’t Skip This!)
Curing is what gives onions that papery outer skin so they store well.
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Lay onions in a single layer
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Keep them off the ground (we use a raised rack with screen)
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Store in a dark, well-ventilated space (lean-to, barn, shed)
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Allow to cure for several weeks
Airflow is key.
Storage
Store cured onions:
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In a dark area
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Around 40–50°F
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In a single layer (or mesh bags with airflow)
You may hear not to store near potatoes or apples. I’ve stored mine near potatoes many times without issue — but good airflow matters most.
I typically get 6 months up to a year of storage life.
I also keep a small portion in the fridge for everyday use.
