Onions are also identified as regular onions or bulb onions and, it is a foremost vegetable in most kitchens. Onions are a cold-weather vegetable as they are simple to grow due to their hardness. Near mid-summer, you can start picking onions easily.
Normally, onions are started to plant early in the springtime plus harvested in summer and later die after fall. In South American, amazing onion types planted in the fall.
Further, onions are somewhat inexpensive at the grocery and they are simple to grow at home quickly. If you are patient, you can grow onions from onions without even going at the store; For a quicker option, attempt to grow them with onions that you may previously have.
Also Read: How to Grow Bunching Onions in Containers?
Which is better option to grow onions from seed or the sets?
We advise you to use onion sets as this can be planted without bothering about freeze loss and have a greater benefit point rather than starting from onion seeds or transplants. Onion sets are mini onion bulbs that are marketed solely for planting purpose. When you start to plant it, they grow into a complete actual onion size bulb after for about in three development months. Onion plants are at least 4 inches tall in raised beds. If you want to know further about the full process, so keep reading till the end.
Step-1
Prepare an onion cutting
- Cut the onion about 1 inch about 2.5 cm approximately from the bottom. Put your onion on the chopping board, use a sharpened knife and cut it from the base plus exclude the outside cover. To grow a healthful onion then your onion slice must be around 1 inch that is 2.5 cm long.
- Thinking to grow onions outside then begin in early spring. For onions that develop indoors, whatever time of the year is all right. Wanted to grow more onions then you can use nearly most of the onion types together with grocery bought onions. This method goes well if you choose a fresh onion that has not spoiled yet.
- Let the onion bottom to dry for around 14-24 hours. Following cutting the onion, exclude the rest of the onion and cut a flat, dry covering on the bottom. Leave the onion to dry for a day till it is hard and dry to the touch. If you don’t want to waste remaining onions pieces, you can use the rest of it for cooking purpose.
- After it, hang onions in a little container(bowl) containing water. Pour water in a bowl and keep it on a level surface. Position the onion in order to that the bottom only is in contact with the top of the water, and let it to grow for about 3-4 days. When it starts growing small, white roots from below, begin cutting. Moreover, the diameter of the bowl must be below than the length of the toothpicks. To aid the cutting to grow quicker then place the onion near a sunlight window or put it outdoor.
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Step-2
Planting onion cutting
- Fill a pot or container (anything you prepared for your onion plant)with well-drained soil. Buy a large pot of soil mix plus a wide container with openings in the bottom from a nursery of a plant. Fill the pot with soil about half – Once you are done planting, you can fill rest of the soil after it. If you have good soil in your garden, you can also plant onion plants outside in your garden. You can test to see if the soil is well-drained by digging about 12 inches approximately 30 cm holes in the soil and fill it with water. If the water well-drained in about 5-10 minutes, then the soil is good.
- Put onion cuttings into the soil plus load it up with the soil. Meanwhile, the onion cuttings develop white roots from below, place it in the middle of the soil. Fill the rest of the pot with soil with onions about 1-3 inches from the top of the pot. Depends upon your choice, you can place the onions cuttings indoors or either outside the house.
- If you begin to plant the whole cut bottom as a single item, you can get more than one fresh onion, however, they will apparently get crowded collectively and small. The number of plants growing a single onion will vary from 1-6. To obtain several full-sized fresh onions from an only one onion, use a sharp knife to split the onion bottom, leaving a part of the roots on each side, as well as the leaves if it has begun sprouting.
- Instantly water the onion after planting it. Watering the onion cuttings adapt to its new surroundings plus makes the roots grow quicker. Give your onion sufficient water that the soil is moist to the touch, but not get wet.
- Use nitrogen fertilizer into the soil following next to watering it. Onions grow instantly in soil with the help of high nitrogen fertilizer. After using it, mix the soil with the help of your hands so that your onion take nutrients from it. Moreover, you can purchase nitrogen fertilizers easily from shops or nurseries. Examine the label to decide how much fertilizer to use into the soil.
Step-3
Taking care of your Onions
- Give your onion nearly one inch that is 2.5 cm of water per week. Onions require a lot of water to stay fresh plus for growth. Examine the soil each day, if it seems dry to the touch then water your onion until it gets moist. Do weed your garden daily, if outdoors. Onions are difficult to compete with invasive plants, and weeds may remove their water plus nutrients.
- Avoid the use of weed killers around onions, because most herbicides may kill weeds plus garden plants. Furthermore, check for small insects or another type of pests around your onion and if you notice any, spray a non-toxic, plant-friendly insect repellent over onion.
- Moreover, fertilize your onions every two weeks. Fertilizing your onion daily can benefit to grow larger, better bulbs. Use nitrogen fertilizer on onion plant at short twice a month until the bulb of the onion plant starts ripening from the soil. When the bulb begins to come out of the soil, stop the process until you cut it out.
Also Read: How to Grow Mushrooms in Small Space?
Pests and diseases
Small insects as fat as like a sewing needle are thrips. To Control it then, take a black piece of paper into the garden and knock against it on top of the onion; If thrips are present in it, you will see their tan-coloured body on the paper. Insecticidal soap can easily kill them. Just go with the package instructions. Spray it over the plants twice.
Another problem is onion maggots, all you have to do is just cover your emerging onion crop with fine mesh. Apply the mounding soil throughout the edges and seal it. Onions maggots love to lay their eggs at the bottom of the plants, so that should cover with it.
You can further hold the mulch aside as insects likes rotting organic matter plus assure that you cut your onions completely as the season progresses. Onion maggots are normally an obstacle in times when it rains, so these methods can be useless if you have a dry season.
Harvest
Begin harvesting your green onion leaves when they are about four inches high. With the help of clean scissors or hand-pruning cut it off and wash the leaves completely before using them. When the tops rise to about five inches high, the green onion is ready to be picked.
Tips
- After the harvest, dip your hand-pruners or scissors in isopropyl alcohol to help stop the spread of diseases between plants. The onions are prepared to be pulled when their tops dry out and usually come from late spring to early spring, almost in early summer. Carefully cut them by holding the tops and pulling lightly.
- Leave them on the soil for about three days to get dry, then transfer them to a shaded area where have much ventilation, like a sheltered balcony, and allow them to heal for up to 7 to 14 days. Leave about one inch of roots joined to the clipping prior to storage.
Khaja Moinuddin, a computer science graduate, finds joy in gardening and homesteading. Join him on this blog as he shares his experiences in homesteading, gardening, and composting