Onion is the most popular vegetable used in a variety of dishes to enhance their taste, with sweet, sour, and tangy flavors, soft and crisp onions become a favorite among gardeners to grow in their home gardens. Growing onions at home is a wonderful and cost-effective way to gain gardening experience. In this step-by-step guide on how to grow onions from bulbs/without seeds or seeds, we will walk you through the entire process of how to grow onions at home, from selecting seeds to harvesting home onions. Get ready to learn an easy way to planting onions in containers or pots.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Grow Onions at Home
Let us know how to grow onions in pots at home or in gardens, and we will tell you about growing onions from seeds or onion bulbs. Let’s learn a step-by-step guide to grow onions.
1) Information To Grow Onion At Home
- Common Name: Onion
- Scientific Name: Allium cepa
- Plant Height: 12 to 18 inches
- Growing Season: Spring, Fall, and Winter
- Level of Growing: Beginner to Intermediate
- Germination Temperature: 15-24°C
- Germination Days: 7 to 14 days
- Soil: Well-draining, loose soil
- Water Needs: Moderate
- Sunlight: Full sunlight
- Harvesting Days: 3-5 months
2) Essential Tools and Materials To Grow Onions
Before you start growing onions from seeds or without seeds, gather the necessary tools and materials. You will need:
- Best Quality Onion Seeds
- Onion Bulbs
- Seedling trays or small pots
- Grow bags or pots
- High-quality potting soil mix
- Watering can or spray bottle
- Organic Fertilizer
- Gardening Tools
(Read More: Essential Tools for Successful Winter Garden…)
3) Ideal Growing Season For Onion
Onions thrive in mild and cool climates, making fall, winter, or spring the ideal time for planting in India. You can decide to plant onions with or without seeds in the months of September-December and February to March.
4) Choosing the Right Onion Variety
Before knowing how to grow onions in pots from seeds or without seeds at home, it is important to choose the right onion variety. Choose onion varieties that are suitable for your location such as short-day varieties suitable for areas with short daylight, long-day varieties that do best in areas with long daylight, or intermediate-day varieties.
If you are confused to choose one of these varieties then you can choose onion based on taste or color. Some of the popular varieties of onion that you can choose to grow in your home gardens are red onion, Gavran onion, white globe onion, Star Z black onion, or yellow onion. You will get all these onion seeds with high germination rates at affordable prices from Organicbazar.net.
5) Optimal Grow Bag Or Pot Sizes For Planting Onions
Onions can grow easily in containers as it does not require much space. Choose a grow bag or pot that is at least 6 inches deep. This allows for proper root development and ensures that your onions have enough room to grow. Some of the best sizes of grow bags for planting onions at home are:
- 18 x 6 inches (Width x Height)
- 24 x 6 inches (Width x Height)
- 18 x 9 inches (Width x Height)
- 24 x 9 inches (Width x Height)
- 24 x 12 inches (Width x Height)
(Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Grow Bag Gardening…)
6) Best Potting Soil For Growing Onion At Home
Use well-drained and fertile soil mixed with high organic matter. You can either buy ready-to-use potting soil mix or make your own by mixing garden soil, coco peat, vermicompost, cow dung manure, and perlite or vermiculite.
7) Growing Onion At Home From Seeds
- Sow the onion seeds by transplant method.
- Take seeding trays or small pots, and fill them with the potting soil mix or seeds starting mix.
- Spread the onion seeds on the surface then cover them with a thin layer of soil.
- Water the soil gently with a spray bottle and keep it consistently moist until the seeds germinate.
- Place the seedling tray in a place where it gets moderate to bright sunlight. Onion seeds germinate best in soil temperatures around 15-24°C, seed germination may take 1-2 weeks.
- Once onion seedlings are a few inches tall, transplant them into larger pots or directly into the garden, leaving 4-5 inches of space between plants.
(Read More: Best Root Vegetables to Grow in Pots: Simple and Easy Guide…)
8) Planting Onion from Scraps
Growing onions from scraps or bulbs is a fun and sustainable way to produce new plants. For this, take an onion and cut off the root end of the onion, leaving about 1 inch of the bulb attached. Plant the root end in well-drained soil, and then you’ll see a new onion growing in just a few weeks.
9) How To Care For Onion Plants
- Watering: Onions require consistent moisture, water once a week or when the top inch of soil feels dry.
- Sunlight: Onions love full direct sunlight, so choose a location where the plant gets 6-8 hours of sunlight every day.
- Fertilizer: Onions require regular fertilization to grow well, add compost tea or nitrogen-rich water-soluble fertilizer such as cow dung manure or mustard cake to your onion plants every 2 weeks.
- Common Pests and Diseases: Onion suffers from various diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and insects. Fungal diseases like damping off and purple blotch and pests like thrips and aphid mites infect onion plants. To avoid these insects or pests, use neem oil.
10) Harvesting Your Onion
- It is important to know when to harvest onions for optimal flavor and storage.
- Generally, depending on the variety, onion harvesting takes 3-5 months.
- Ripe onions can rot easily during the rainy season, so make sure to harvest onions early.
(Read More: 365 Days of Freshness: Growing Vegetables All Year Round…)
Growing or planting onions at home in containers is a straightforward process that every gardener enjoys. Whether you start to grow onions at home from seed or without seeds (bulbs or scraps), providing the right conditions and care will provide you with a bountiful harvest of fresh, delicious onions. With this step-by-step guide to grow onions from bulbs or seeds, you are well-equipped to begin your onion-growing journey and enjoy the satisfaction of homegrown produce. Happy gardening!