“Thinning out excess plants is important to develop good-sized onion bulbs, but often I will thin out crowded onion plants gradually and harvest the larger than normal thinnings to eat like a spring onion,” shares Master Horticulturist Dan Ori. ![]() With outdoor sown onions, these can now be further thinned to a final spacing as above, depending on the desired size of the harvestable crop. However for smaller onions, to maximise space, this distance can be reduced. Plant out the onions at the same depth they were previously planted and water in.įor decent-sized onions it is recommended to plant them 10–15 cm apart. On this occasion, our seedlings were grown undercover in trays in a greenhouse, with water added regularly to the bottom of the tray. Having been grown on in small pots undercover, the onions can be planted out, but only having been gradually hardened off first. With indoor sown onions, thin the seedlings to 1–3 per module and when they are 5-7cm tall, prick out into individual pots to grow on under cover.įor outdoor sowings, once the seedlings are large enough to handle, they can be thinned to a spacing of 5–7cm, or less for more onions of a smaller size. If sowing directly outdoors, prepare the soil by raking to a fine tilth and sow the seed thinly in rows 15-20cm apart at a depth of 1cm.Ĭarefully water after sowing and keep the soil moist, but not wet. Water gently on sowing to avoid dispersing the seed and keep at a minimum temperature of 10☌, with the soil moist until germination occurs. ![]() If sowing onion seed indoors, fill a seed or module tray with a seed sowing compost mix and sow the seeds individually in cells or in groups of 3–4 at a depth of 1cm and cover over with compost. Onion seed is cheaply and readily available and is therefore most often purchased rather than being collected. Store the seed in a cool, dry place to sow the following spring. To harvest onion seed, allow a stem to develop flowers and subsequently set seed before allowing to dry and collecting using a paper bag. Onions can also be sown outdoors later in spring, but only once the soil has begun to warm up. The months of January and February are generally considered the best. Onion seeds can be sown indoors in late winter to plant out in spring. ![]() Seed or module tray, trowel, fork, rake if sowing outdoors This process is explained in more depth below: Difficulty Fill shallow trays with a peat-free growing medium.Harvest seeds from the pods of existing plants, or purchase seeds from your chosen retailer.Here’s a simple process for growing onions from seed:
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