Planting the First Onions of the Season
Planting is in full swing down in my vegetable garden.
My gardeners, Ryan and Brian, have been very busy planting herbs and scattering seeds for the carrots, parsnips, beets, and all kinds of other greens. Last week, they also planted our first onion crop. The onion plants came from Johnny's Selected Seeds - four varieties including 'Sierra Blanca,' 'Blush,' 'Walla Walla,' and 'Ailsa Craig.' We always grow a lot of onions. The onion, Allium cepa, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. They are hardy, easy to grow, and can be grown in a variety of soils and climates.
Enjoy these photos.
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- The weather has been very pleasant the last several days – perfect for planting in the garden. Onions should be planted in spring when temperatures are still a bit cool once they start to grow, and then warm when they begin to mature. Early planting gives the onions time to develop tops and store energy for the bulbs.
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- We designated three long beds for this crop – one for yellow onions, one for white, one for red. There’s also room in this area for planting leeks and shallots.
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- The onion, also known as the bulb onion or common onion, grows well in raised beds or raised rows at least four inches high. Onions are closely related to garlic, leeks, shallots, scallions, and chives. These onions are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, a source I’ve used for many years. We also start a lot of onions from seed in my greenhouse.
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- Each bed is four feet across. We wanted the onion plant rows to look tidy and straight, so to guide them Ryan uses Johnny’s Bed Preparation Rake to make five long trenches in each of the three beds. First he makes four and then goes over the bed again to make the fifth – we always try to fit as many vegetables in each bed as possible.
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- This rake is so light and easy to use. It is 29-inches wide, with a Swiss aluminum head. It also has 20 four-inch curved teeth to grab stones and debris when pulled, then level and smooth when pushed. The hard plastic red tube row markers, also available at Johnny’s, slide onto selected teeth of the Bed Preparation Rake to mark rows or to create a grid pattern for transplanting.
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- These trenches are pretty shallow – just about an inch to indicate the designated rows.
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- Onions come in three general colors: red/purple, white, and yellow. Yellow onions have strong flavors. These onions are white inside, with yellow-brown papery skins. The rich, onion taste is often used in French onion soup. Yellow onions are also higher in sulfur than white onions.
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- These are the popular mild yellow variety from Walla Walla, Washington. ‘Walla Walla’ onions are big and round with sweet, mild, juicy flesh. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
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- This heirloom variety is called ‘Ailsa Craig.’ It was introduced in 1887 by David Murray, gardener for the Marquis of Ailsa, who lived on the small island off the coast of Scotland. The skin is a pale yellow and the flesh is relatively mild and sweet. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
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- Although the white onion makes up only five-percent of the American onion harvest, it is the all-purpose onion. It has pure white skin and sweet, mild white flesh. White onions are commonly used in sauces, pasta salads, and in Mexican and Southwestern cuisines.
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- This white onion is called ‘Sierra Blanca.’ It produces uniform, large, white-skinned onions with mild flavor and thick rings. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
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- Red onions, sometimes called purple onions, have reddish-purple skin and white flesh, tinged with red. These onions are medium to large in size and have a mild to sweet flavor, though they contain less sugar than white or yellow onions. They are often consumed raw, grilled or lightly cooked to accompany other foods.
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- ‘Blush’ is an easy-to-grow, long-day onion. It has brownish-pink skins, light purple rings, and very vigorous foliage. It produces bountiful harvests of 10 oz. bulbs filled with a unique, lightly sweet flavor. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
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- The onion plant has bluish-green leaves and its bulb at the base of the plant begins to swell when a certain day-length is reached. The bulbs are composed of shortened, compressed, underground stems surrounded by fleshy modified leaves that envelop a central bud at the tip of the stem. The roots look small here, but onions are actually deep-rooted plants, which tends to extend 10 to 16 inches into the soil.
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- The onion plants are carefully pulled apart and placed at least four-inches away from each other. Onions are categorized in two growing types: long-day and short-day. Long-day onions begin sprouting in late spring to summer when days are between 14 and 16 hours long. Short-day onions begin sprouting when days are between 10 and 12 hours in length – winter and early spring.
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- Here are two onions well-placed in the furrow.
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- And here is the section of the bed showing more than a dozen onion plants ready to go into the ground. By nature, onions are biennial plants. They grow from a seed, to a plant, and then into a dormant bulb the first year. Then, in spring, the bulb begins growing again and produces a flower spike. Fertilized flowers produce seeds, and the life cycle is complete.
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- Brian uses his finger to make the holes for each plant.
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- Here’s one hole – just about three to four inches deep. Brian makes a series of holes first and then plants each onion. Because the soil is soft and well tilled, this process goes quickly. Onions grow best when the soil pH ranges between 6.0 and 6.8.
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- When planting, grasp the plant with the root end down and push it into the soil. The plant should be dropped about one-inch deep.
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- Be sure the onion roots are well covered with soil, and that the top of the plant’s neck isn’t covered too deeply. If too much of the plant is buried, the growth of the onion will be reduced and constricted. Once the plant is in the ground, Brian firms up the soil around it.
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- Onion plants generally grow from one to three feet tall and up to a one-foot spread. It is best to rotate onion crops. Last year, we planted our onions in the garden adjacent to this one.
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- And here, the beds are planted. These onions will be ready to harvest in early September – I can’t wait to use them in cooking and in delicious sandwiches.
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