Growing onions is simple: If you can poke a hole into the ground, you can grow an onion from a little plant. Sold as little seedlings in bare-root bundles; each plant will start growing within days after you plant. If you can’t plant your onions right away, remove their bindings and place them in a bucket with 2 inches of moist soil in the bottom. Keep them in a cool, bright place but out of direct sun until you are ready to plant. A sunny basement is ideal.
Quick Guide to Growing Onions
- Plant onions in early spring once the ground is workable. In-ground gardens and raised beds are both excellent options for growing onions.
- Space onion plants 6 inches apart in rows that are 12 inches apart. Grow them in a sunny spot that has fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8.
- Improve your native soil by mixing in several inches of aged compost or other rich organic matter.
- Onions aren’t great at taking up water, so it’s important to keep soil moist so their shallow roots can drink up. Water whenever the top inch of soil becomes dry.
- For best results, keep your growing onions fed with a continuous-release plant food.
- Onions can be eaten at nearly any size so harvest when they’re the right size for your next culinary creation.