Planting And Care:

• 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
• Generally, onions do not need consistent watering if mulch is used
• About one inch of water per week (including rain water) is sufficient
• 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

Onion Improved Care:

• 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 aged manure or fertilizer the fall before planting
• Onions are heavy feeders and need constant nourishment to produce big bulbs
• At planting time, you can mix in some nitogen fertilizer, too, and side dress every few weeks until the bulbing process begins
• Seeding? Onion seeds are short-lived
• If planting seeds indoors, start with fresh seeds each year
• Start seeds indoors about 6 weeks before transplanting
• Plant onions as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, usually late March or April
• Make sure temperature doesn’t go below 20 degrees F
• For sets or transplants, plant the smaller 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