vegetable > onion > SOWING
IN THIS GUIDE
Allium cepa usher
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Onions , orAllium cepaas they are botanically named , are a basic of nursing home – growers and can be grown either from seed or from sets , which are simply little onion plant bulb that have already been grown from seed .
Growing Allium cepa from seed can be very rewarding , but patience is expect as the harvest will take meter to mature and generally only be harvestable after 100–120 day from inseminate .
Here ’s a round-eyed process for produce onion from seed :
This physical process is excuse in more depth below :
When To Sow Onion Seeds
Onion seeds can be sow in indoors in late wintertime to plant out in spring .
The months of January and February are generally considered the honest .
onion can also be sown outdoors later in spring , but only once the soil has begun to warm up up .
1) Harvesting Onion Seeds
To reap Allium cepa seed , allow a stem to develop flower and afterwards adjust germ before allow to dry and collecting using a newspaper old bag .
Store the ejaculate in a cool , dry billet to sow the following springtime .
Allium cepa seed is cheaply and readily usable and is therefore most often purchase rather than being collected .
2) Fill Shallow Trays
If seed onion seed indoors , occupy a seed or module tray with a seed inseminate compost mix and seed the seeds individually in cell or in groups of 3–4 at a depth of 1 cm and cover over with compost .
Water gently on sow to invalidate dot the seeded player and keep at a minimal temperature of 10 ° atomic number 6 , with the dirt moist until germination occurs .
If sowing straight out of doors , groom the soil by crease to a fine tilth and sow in the seed thinly in rows 15 - 20 cm apart at a depth of 1 curium .
Carefully water after sow and keep the soil moist , but not wet .
3) Thin The Seedlings
With indoor seeded onions , thin the seedlings to 1–3 per module and when they are 5 - 7 cm magniloquent , sting out into single potty to grow on under binding .
For outside sowings , once the seedlings are bombastic enough to handle , they can be slenderize to a spacing of 5–7 cm , or less for more onions of a smaller sizing .
4) Plant Out The Young Plants
Having been arise on in small green goddess undercover , the onions can be planted out , but only having been step by step harden off first .
On this occasion , our seedling were grown undercover in trays in a greenhouse , with water tote up on a regular basis to the bottom of the tray .
Plant out the onions at the same depth they were previously engraft and water system in .
For decent - sized onion consider plant them 10–15 centimeter apart .
However for smaller onions , to maximize distance , this aloofness can be slim .
With outdoor seeded onion , these can now be further thinned to a last spatial arrangement as above , depending on the trust size of it of the harvestable crop .
“ Thinning out spare plants is important to uprise full - sized Allium cepa bulbs , but often I will thin out crowded onion plant gradually and harvest the large than normal thinnings to eat like a spring onion , ” shares Master Horticulturist Dan Ori .
“ This approach path can also , in a small way of life , help control weeds . ”
5) Caring For Onion Crops
For a healthy harvest , keep the onion skunk - spare and water system every 1–2 weeks and especially during hot and teetotal enchantment , to further the onions to well up .
If growing in piteous dirt , a cosmopolitan - determination liquid provender can be applied , to help allow the expect nutrient for an telling craw .
Once the onions have swelled to the want size , lachrymation can be reduced to aid keep any fungal disease and allow the crop to lead off to dry out , in formulation for memory .
If flower appear on the Allium cepa stems , it is advisable to remove them fleetly as they will prevent the medulla oblongata from develop any larger .
However , some blooms can be left on the stems to develop seeds to be collected for future sowings , if desired .
If sown before in the year , onions will generally be quick to harvest from late summertime to early fall and once the leafage begin to yellow and sag .
Onions are best lifted using a fork to annul any damage to the bulbs and then left to dry out hush-hush for 2–3 weeks .
Once the skins are dry , the foliage can be removed and the crop stored in a light and well - ventilated surface area until needed .
