We grow onions. Lots of Onions. We LOVE onions! Onions are one of those things that make (nearly) any dish better. When a stir fry calls for an onion, I often toss in two.
One of the lesser-known garden secrets is how awesome homegrown onions are. (Step aside, tomato!) They’re easy to grow, they store well, and they’re a cooking staple. Also, onions contain B6, B1, and folic acid, and fight free radicals. Eating raw onion daily is even better for you, just kiss your honey first 🙂
So how do we grow them here in Central Texas? I’m so glad you asked. Here are some tips and tricks to get you started.
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What Varieties of Onions Grow Best in Central Texas
Short to intermediate day onions are best for southern states. Triggered by the lengthening days in spring, onions begin to “bulb”. Short day onions begin this process with only 10-12 hours of sun per day and are the best option for our area.
Our top variety short day onion picks are: Texas Early Grano , Yellow Granex (Vidalia), White Granex, White Bermuda, Red Grano, and Red Creole.
When Should Onions Be Planted
When it comes to planting onions, here’s the Golden Rule: Seeds in October, transplants in January to Feburary. Why? In order to avoid bolting (producing a flower stalk) in spring, you must prevent the onion from forming a flower “bud”, of sorts, at the center prior to winter dormancy. To do this, seed must be sown with just enough time to grow as weather cools, not enough time to “bud”. Mid to late Oct. is the sweet-spot for seed.
The second method is planting transplants (seedlings) or sets in January, to bypass the flower bud formation phase. We’ll focus on transplanting for this post.
How to Plant Onion Transplants OR Sets (Plant from Jan to early Feb)
ONION SETS (look like small, dried onion bulbs)
Plant in rich, loose soil at least 4″ deep and 4″ apart for room to bulb.
ONION TRANSPLANTS (pictured above and are our preferred type to grow; look like small green onions about pencil thin in size)
Plant in rich, loose soil at least 3/4″ – 1″ deep and 4″ apart for room to bulb. If not planted immediately, lay out in a cool, dry place. They can dry out a bit for even a week or two just fine—they’ll sprout right back. Don’t let bulbs get wet before planting.
How to Care for and Feed Onion Plants
Onions are super heavy feeders! That’s a big bulb to plump up. A good trick is to give them a boost by laying a row of organic high phosphorous (the middle number) fertilizer in a trench 2-3″ below the transplant roots.
Onions need consistent water, and a bit extra near harvesting to plump those succulent globes. We recommend drip irrigation—it’s a miracle, I tell you. If drip is not available, then water at the soil level in the morning. Aim for moist but not wet/soggy soil.
Did I mention onions are heavy feeders? Keep those bulbs happy with an initial all purpose fertilizer at planting such as Microlife All Purpose. After one month of grow switch to an organic fertilizer that contains more phosphorus, such as Microlife Maximum Blooms, to help promote better bulb growth . Always water in fertilizers.
Once onions begin to bulb, they need loose soil. Loosen the soil around the bulb a bit while you weed if needed, but don’t cover with soil. Leave the bulb tops exposed. Once the neck of the onion feels soft, stop fertilizing (about a month before harvest).
When to Harvest Onion Plants
Onions are ready to harvest when their tops have flopped over and die back. Dig them up carefully to not damage them, and lay them out to dry or “cure” before storing. We love to hang ours upside down in the garage on a shelving unit. You will want to make sure they cure in a dry location. Once they are cured, you can knock off any remaining dirt and cut off the roots and stalk to store.
Ready to start your garden?
If you don’t have an onion patch but you would love one, drop us a line! A pretty garden makes all the more reason to visit it often and check on those beauties.
My oinions did not get very big last year (about the size of a golf ball) the leaves grew about 2ft tall and very green.I watered every day ( no rain for about 3 months) and temperatures over 100 degrees for about 70 days straight. Was it the extreme weather conditions or did I do something wrong?any suggestions?
It sounds like you might have planted your onions too late and they had too much nitrogen causing leafy growth instead of bulb growth. If you are in Central Texas you will want to plant your onion sets now through mid February. You can start with an all purpose fertilizer like Microlife Multi Purpose and then after a month switch to something with more phosphorus such as Microlife Maximum Blooms. Lastly, make sure you are planting the right type of onions. You want short day onions if you live in Texas.
I planted my onion slips in early March and they are tall with alittle bulb at the top of some..what is that and are they still safe to eat
Hi Teresa! When you onion is forming a bulb at the top that means it is about to flower and that means your onions are bolting which is not good news for bulb onions. It means the plant will no longer put energy into making a bulbs at the base of the plant. This happens when the plants have been stressed either due to the weather or watering conditions. You can still eat the onion plant, but it will not store long. You will want to cut up what you harvest and either use or freeze. Or you can let several plants flower and go to seed to save seed for this fall.
Are window boxes suited for growing onions? Too sensitive to temperature extremes in zone 8b?
Hi Laurie! You can grow in containers and I recommend the soil be at least 6″-9″ deep. You will need to monitor the soil moisture level to make sure it isn’t drying out too easily and that your onions are getting enough sunlight. If you live in Texas then it is too late to plant bulb onions in May, but you can plant those in February. I highly recommend Itoli Onions if you can find some. They are small onion that does very well all year long. They multiply and would be very easy to grow in a container and less fussy than bulb onions.