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With the scientific name Allium cepa, Onion is a highly valued vegetable around the world as a kitchen ingredient, since its bulb has an intense flavor that makes it a great dressing in a huge number of dishes and sauces. On the other hand, it is also highly valued within the world of medicine, as it contains great properties that are beneficial to our health. If you want to learn how to plant onions at home, be sure to read this article by Ecologist Verde where we also explain when is the best time to plant them.
When to plant onions
The best time to plant onions is late fall, if possible with the moon in a waning phase. By late winter and early spring, your onions should already be seedlings ready for transplanting outside. If you live in an area with a particularly cold climate, wait until the frosts pass for transplanting the seedling.
In this other article you can learn more about when and how to transplant a plant.
How to plant seedless onions
One of the advantages of onion is that you don't need to be a great professional to plant it. It is one of the easiest tasks, and then we are going to explain how to do it. If we go to planting seedless onions, we will need the following materials:
- A long pot: it should be at least 15 centimeters deep.
- Onions: regardless of their size.
- Potting soil or substrate.
Once we have the necessary materials, we proceed to plant the onions. To do this, we must do what is indicated below:
- Place the potting substrate, or soil, in the pot in question.
- Cut the base of the onion: it should be a cut of about 2 or 3 centimeters as much.
- Plant the cuttings that we have made inside the pot and in a horizontal position.
- Cover the planted onions with 5 centimeters of soil and water them.
- Place the pot in a place that receives between 7 and 8 hours of sun.
- After a month the sprouts of the onions will have grown about about 20 centimeters. At this point, you will need to remove the sprouts. These must have a green color in the upper part and whitish in the part closest to the root.
- Replant the sprouts of the onions: first you will have to separate the adhering soil and avoid uprooting.
- Plant the new shoots: do it keeping a distance of 8 centimeters between each new shoot.
How to plant onions with seeds
One of the techniques for planting onions is to do it through a seedbed or germinator, in case you decide to sow the onions from seeds. Unlike many other bulb plants and root plants, the onion does admit, and even welcomes, transplantation, so sowing in a seedbed will help us ensure abundant germination.
To plant onions with seeds in a seedbed, preparing the substrate yourself, follow these steps:
- Use seedbed substrate: it is recommended to use peat mixed with vermicompost, which you can also enrich with perlite and vermiculite. Here we tell you how to make worm castings.
- Mix the onion seeds with coconut fiber: try not to put too many seeds, since they are very small and it is very likely that almost all will germinate.
- Spread the fiber and seed mixture over the prepared substrate.
- Water for Moisture - Make sure there is adequate drainage in the seedbed, just as there should be in the pot when we plant seedless onions. In little more than a week you should start to see them germinate.
If you are more curious, we recommend that you read this other article about 15 bulb plants.
Care for planting onions
As we have mentioned, onion is one of the easiest vegetables to plant. Even so, we are going to number some of the tips and basic care of the cultivation of onions so nothing can come between you and your goal of planting onions.
Soil for growing onions
The most important thing when it comes to growing onion is the soil. This plant is very demanding in terms of nutrients and, therefore, requires very rich in organic matter. It prefers soils with a loose texture, preferably sandy loam. It can develop in clayey areas, although with difficulties, and very sandy soils will give rise to poorly formed bulbs, small and with an excessively intense flavor.
Light and location
Regarding light, the onion is grateful and needs a great contribution of light solar, so it is recommended to plant it in an area with full sun, where it receives as much light as possible. You can take a look at this other Green Ecologist article where it is explained what is the importance of sunlight for living beings.
Irrigation for the onions
As far as irrigation is concerned, this plant requires very little water, especially after forming the bulbs. During their growth in the seedbed you can water them every time you notice the dry substrate, but once the bulb is formed, you have to be very careful with excess watering. If the plant receives too much moisture, the bulb will rot, so you should try to water as little as possible.
Cleaning and trimming of the stem
Finally, pay special attention to the cleaning adventitious plants or weeds. These tend to have a great capacity for draining nutrients from the soil, which can lead to the depletion of onions. Also, if your onions do bloom, you must show off the flower stalk, or the bulbs may not develop properly.
Caring for potted onions
If you are going to plant your onions in pots, make sure that the container has drainage holes and sufficient depth, as well as that you place the pot in an area with the highest incidence of direct sunlight possible, as we have already mentioned above. We recommend this post on Drainage in pots so that you have more information on the subject.
When to harvest onions
The first and most important sign that you should pay attention to to know when you can harvest your onions, you will find it in the leaves of the plant. When the vertices of the leaves begin to yellow, break the stems or necks of the plant, twisting them, and leave them in the same soil, without taking them away.
By doing this, we start the ripening stage of the onion itself. Once this is done, use a fork or other similar tool to, being very careful not to damage the skin of the bulbs, lift the onions a little, although without digging them up. Thus, we get the bulb drying process to start.
A few days after breaking the necks of the plants and lifting the bulbs, you can dig up the onions and let them dry in the sun for a few 2 weeks. It is vital that the bulbs dry out completely if you want to enjoy good onions, so after these two weeks in the sun it is recommended to collect them, tie them and leave them in a cool and dry place for their conservation and final drying.
Now you just have to enjoy them in your favorite sauces and dishes!
If you want to read more articles similar to How to plant onions, we recommend that you enter our category of Cultivation and care of plants.
