How To Plant Onion Set

When it comes to planting onions in the leap for a big summer harvest, onion sets are the style to go. Not but will it help ensure an earlier harvest, but one with larger, more flavorful onions also!

Onions tin be planted and grown in a diversity of methods. By seed, every bit transplants, or past planting sets.

Although all three methods can certainly produce a tasty crop, planting with sets (bulbs) has several advantages. Especially when it comes to planting onions in the spring.

Planting Onion Sets vs. Onion Seeds In The Spring

Growing from seed is certainly one of the near economic ways of all to grow onions. Merely it does have a few drawbacks. Peculiarly for planting early in the growing season.

Unfortunately, in many growing zones, in that location simply isn't enough time to grow onions from seed to total size.

More than anything else, onions require loose, fertile soil that drains well. Soil that is besides heavy or moist can stunt their growth and cause them to rot abroad before reaching maturity.

Onion seeds take a long time to develop and mature. In fact, many onion varieties can take as long as five to 6 months to develop large bulbs. In almost climates, that means a frost or freeze is likely to occur before the onions reach full size.

The outcome is a harvest of smaller onions that haven't fully develop their entire flavor profile. And that is exactly where onion sets come to the rescue!

The Power Of Planting Onion Sets

Onion sets are basically small, immature onions that take been grown from seed. The growing process is and so halted and the onions are harvested. Not to exist consumed, but to be planted again to grow to total size and flavour.

Because they have already aged a bit in the growing process, onion sets mature much more than speedily than seeds.

In fact, instead of the v to vi months information technology tin take an onion seed to develop, onions sets can exist harvested in every bit niggling as 60 to 80 days for mature onions. And even sooner for smaller spring onions.

But bulbs also have another big reward over planting seeds – they are far easier to maintain! Onion seeds and sprouts are tiny. And they can quickly go lost and crowded out with weeds that sprout upwards along with them.

Anyone who have ever weeded tiny onions seed sprouts knows exactly how hard the chore can be. But onion sets germinate fast with much larger sprouting stalks.

Not only are they easier to distinguish every bit onions, only they tin can compete against young weeds seeds much more than successfully.

Selecting The Best Variety – Planting Onions Sets

Most all onion sets are sold every bit either white, yellowish or cerise onions. There are a lot of varieties inside each color of bulb, only in full general, the flavors pan like this:

• White Onions – White onions tend to be a bit more crisp, with a stronger flavor than xanthous. They are ane of the best choices for salsa and hold up to cooking well
• Yellowish Onions – Yellow onions are the workhorse of the iii and are the near common. They have a good balance of flavour and concord upwardly well in all kinds of dishes, or for fresh eating.
• Red Onions – The mere color profile of red onions makes them perfect for using in salads, salsas and more. The can be a fleck strong for some, particularly if allowed to age. They brand an excellent young onion too equally their flavour tends to be crisp and however sugariness.

Onion sets can usually be found at local nurseries, greenhouses and big box stores. But, they usually get pretty rapidly, so get them early. You tin can as well observe them online.

Nosotros constitute the Stargazer Mix Assortment of Carmine, Yellow and White onions online, and have had great success with them. It's prissy to have all three varieties to grow for whatever demand that arises for cooking or canning.

As a side note, smaller bulbs are amend than large bulbs for planting. If onion set up bulbs are overly large, they can hands bolt earlier they mature.

How To Plant Onion Sets

Onions will grow best in fertile, loose and well draining soil. As a root crop, the more loose the soil is, the easier they will abound and develop. Skillful drainage is of import as it keeps the bulbs from rotting out in the soil.

Prior to planting, work in ample amounts of compost to the soil. We like to create a small trench a few inches deep, so fill up up halfway with an inch of compost.

Side by side, we plant our onions down into the compost so that the bulbs are virtually 1.5″ deep. This gives the onions plenty of good organic matter around their roots to power the bulbs. Nosotros so water the bulbs and cover with the remaining soil.

If you lot have exceptionally hard or clay-like soil, you can also meliorate your soil with a fleck of sand. Sand tin can help meliorate drainage, and promote ameliorate bulb growth.

Spring Onions vs. Mature Onions – Planting Onion Sets

Equally for spacing the bulbs, information technology all depends how y'all volition exist harvesting your crop. Onions can exist harvested early equally smaller spring onions, or left in the ground to mature to full size.

For our spring onions, we constitute each bulb about one″ apart. Since we are always harvesting them before as smaller produce, they don't crave as much room to grow.

In fact, we get-go harvesting our bound onions as little every bit four weeks after planting. Not only are they delicious, it'south nice to have a bit of fresh produce so early in the growing flavor!

For onions we are letting abound to full maturity, nosotros allow four″ inches between bulbs at planting time. This gives them each plenty of infinite to mature and grow into full size onions.

Mulching, Watering & Fertilizing – How To Plant Onion Sets

Onions will not require much in the way of additional nutrients beyond the compost in the soil. They are low feeders, and likewise many nutrients tin actually cause them to commodities early.

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Mulch plants with a thin layer of straw or shredded leaves after planting. This will not only help conserve moisture, but help to proceed weeds out.

I the bulbs have sprouted through, mulch to a depth of iii to four″ to aid snuff out competing weeds. Onions will not require a lot of additional watering unless you experience long periods of drought.

You may want to water every few days the first few weeks if information technology does not rain to help the sprouting process. After that, equally long as they receive a bit of rain every week, they should be fine.

Here is to planting and growing your ain onion sets this twelvemonth! Happy Gardening- Jim and Mary.

Every bit always, feel free to e-mail us at thefarm@owgarden.com with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You tin can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe at present box in the centre of this article. Follow usa on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may incorporate affiliate links.

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