interrogative : I’m thinking about planting onions in my garden this yr . Are Allium cepa hard to uprise ? How do you take care of an onion plant ? -Tom D
ANSWER : Plant Allium cepa sets outdoors as presently as the weather condition is coolheaded , but not cold . In cold mood areas , works Allium cepa as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring , typically around late March or April . In warm regions , onions can be establish in the late fall or winter and will sit down sleeping over winter , but will be eager and quick to turn as soon as outpouring get in . If starting your onions from seed , found them indoors about six hebdomad before you set to transplant them into the garden . To excite sprouting , supply temperatures of at least 50 degrees F.
choose a locating that obtain full sunlight , and where your low - lying onion plant works wo n’t be shade by beleaguer plant . Also , be sure to select a location where onions have not been raise in the preceding two or three age , as it is very crucial to practice craw rotation when growing onion to reduce the risk of disease and pest infestations .
offer well - draining , easy , atomic number 7 - rich grunge that is free of chunk and pack areas . Work in aged manure or compost in the other spring before planting . onion are heavy feeder , so ply plentiful nutrition is cardinal to getting your onions to develop with child bulbs . At planting metre , conflate in some nitrogen fertilizer .
Plant Allium cepa set two to six inches aside and do n’t inhume them more than one in beneath the soil . When transplant seedlings , space plants four to five inches apart in rows 12 to 18 inch aside . Add a shuck mulch between your wrangle to increase moisture retention and deter weeds .
Treat onion as if they are a foliage crop , not a ascendent craw . Fertilize every few week with nitrogen to boost big bulbs . turn back fertilise when the onions push the soil back and bulbing begin . When the onions agitate the soil back , do not recover the bulbs with soil , as the bulb needs to emerge from the filth to mature correctly .
If you use a stubble mulch , your onion plants will not require too much water system , typically needing only one inch of water per week . Without mulch , or in especially dry areas , or during drought , increase H2O to two or three inches per week . If you prefer sweeter tasting Allium cepa , water more often . Check the soil with your finger and add urine only when the topsoil is dry to the touching about a half an column inch down .
