ONION SET PLANTING GUIDE - Organic Heirloom Gardens

Posted by Organic Heirloom Gardens on Jan 30th 2018

Plant onions as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, usually late March or April.
Plant in fall Sept-Nov but in some locations you can start them even later.
Select a location with full Sun where your onions won’t be shaded by other plants.
Soil needs to be well-drained, loose, and rich in nitrogen; compact soil affects bulb development.
Till in compost the fall before planting. Onions are heavy feeders & need constant nourishment to produce big bulbs.
At planting time, you can mix in some organic fertilizer dress every few weeks until the bulbing process begins.
Plant the sets 1 inch deep, with 4 to 5 inches between each plant and in rows 12 to 18 inches apart.
Think of onions as a leaf crop, not a root crop. When planting onion sets, don’t bury them more than one inch under the soil; if more than the bottom third of the bulb is underground, bulb growth can be restricted.
Practice crop rotation with onions.

Fertilize every few weeks with nitrogen to get big bulbs. Cease fertilizing when the onions push the soil away and the bulbing process has started. Do not put the soil back around the onions; the bulb needs to emerge above the soil.
Onion plants do not need consistent watering if mulch is used.
If you want sweeter onions, water more.
Onions will look healthy even if they are bone dry, be sure to water during drought conditions.
Make sure soil is well-drained. Mulch will help retain moisture and stifle weeds.
Cut or pull any onions that send up flower stalks; this means that the onions have “bolted” and are done.

Thrips: To control thrips take a dark piece of paper into the garden and knock the onion tops against it; if thrips are present, you will spot their tan-colored bodies on the paper. A couple of treatments with insecticidal soap kills them. Follow the package directions. Spray the plants twice, three days apart, and the thrips should disappear.
Onion Maggots: Cover your emerging onion crop with a fine mesh netting. Seal it by mounding soil around the edges. The onion maggot likes to lay its eggs at the base of plants, so the netting should prevent that. You should also keep mulch away because the insects like decaying organic matter, and make sure you completely harvest your onions as the season progresses. Onion maggots are usually a problem in very rainy periods, so these precautions may be unnecessary if you have a dry season.

When onions start to mature, the tops become yellow and begin to fall over. At that point, bend the tops down or even stomp on them to speed the final ripening process.
Loosen the soil to encourage drying, and after a few days turn them up and let them cure on dry ground. Always handle them very carefully—the slightest bruise will encourage rot to set in.
When tops are brown, pull the onions.
Be sure to harvest in late summer, before cool weather. Mature onions may spoil in fall weather.
Allow onions to dry for several weeks before you store them. Spread them out on an open screen off the ground to dry.
Store at 40 to 50 degrees F. Mature, dry-skinned bulbs like it cool and dry.
Don’t store onions with apples, pears, or potatoes.