How to Raise Onion Plants From Seed

Raising onion plants from seed, to set out in your garden.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Onion seeds

1. I like onions! But, the seeds are SO small, and the young onions look too much like grass. That makes them much harder to keep weeded when they are still small!

2. To get around that, I like to start mine in the late winter/early spring.
   
   I sprinkle the seeds onto the top of a large flower pot full of potting soil, trying to keep the seeds about 1 inch apart. I gently rake them in using an ordinary dinner fork, and not being too fussy about it.

3. Because I start them in the VERY early spring, they need little watering although I still check them every couple of days.
   
   Even so, keep the soil damp until they sprout. I find that they sprout shortly AFTER the maple seeds do! (Every spring my maple tree drops seeds and some of them land on the pot of onion seeds. First the Maple tree seeds sprout and I pull them: then the onion seeds sprout).

4. When the onion plants look large enough and stout enough to be easily recognized and easily handled, then dig them up and gently separate them if the roots are tangled.
   
   If you plant them deeply the roots get better moisture: if you plant them shallowly the bulbs have an easier time of swelling up and getting fat and tasty.
   
   Keep them well watered for the largest, mildest onions!

5. Onions are lovely, whether you prefer them as green onions or as large bulbs in the refrigerator!

Tips & Warnings

• Commercial potting soil is best for pots: garden soil does NOT do as well in pots! The seedlings will only grow half as quickly as they should (I learned the hard way!)!

[Wasatch]

on 9/10/2009 Thanks for the tips on Onions from seed.