Starting Onions From Seed, Any Experience Here?

[Alan in Vermont]

I am about to blunder blindly into starting Walla Walla onions from seed. I can probably set them out around May 10, possibly a bit earlier. Average last frost is somewhere around May 20. I have not been able to find a hint of how long the seed takes to germinate nor how long the seedlings take to reach setting out size. Not wanting to put all my onions in one basket I will do three methods, seed started indoors, mail order plants, and direct sown as early as I can.

Hoping for a clue here as I have none otherwise.

[nes]

I don't know much about onions either. I set out bulbs last year & they got flooded & I got one onion...

I'm trying seeds this year, but I started mine indoors last weekend to help the bulbs get a little bigger by the end of season. I'm really hoping I'll have a good enough haul to have onions all winter (we eat ALLOT of onions!)

[soil]

we started the last batch of our onion seeds about a month ago in our unheated greenhouse. they took about 7-10 days to germinate. that being said we already have a few hundred in the ground that were planted months ago in the fall. onions can handle frost. and even the 5 inches of snow we had here for 3-5 days. we start them in 200 cell trays then they go into the ground when 4-5 inches tall.

[Tigerlilylynn]

This is my first year for onions (and most other things) but what I've read is that if you start inside from seed you should trim them to keep them around 3" tall so they have enough green for photosynthesis but focus on growing the bulb.

[soil]

onions are photo period sensitive, meaning that they wont start to form bulbs until the day length reaches there requirement. all winter they grow roots and some leaves(good for green onions), then come late spring is when they start to bulk up.

[Alan in Vermont]

onions are photo period sensitive, meaning that they wont start to form bulbs until the day length reaches there requirement. all winter they grow roots and some leaves(good for green onions), then come late spring is when they start to bulk up.

All well and fine but I don't think they would do much growing of roots and leaves when the ground is frozen hard as a rock three feet deep.


On the onions you started in the greenhouse, how long was it from seeding to setting out the plants?

[soil]

well my soil doesn't freeze 3 ft deep. it probably freezes 3-4 inches tops on the coldest days.

as far as from seed to ground, id say a month maybe a little less.

[Alan in Vermont]

The frost is out of the ground here by late April. While I have seen snow as late as May 5 there is usually no accumulating snow after April 15. We do, however, get overnight frosts as late as May 30 but that is rare. I have read that onions are cold hardy but, like all gardeners in the far northeast, it goes against everything I know to put plants out too early. In your experience, will onion transplants survive (uncovered) overnight lows of 20°?

[soil]

in my experience my onions have had temps get down to the 20s at least 10 times this winter, and low 30's practically every single night except for this past month. they are alive and well. but then again i don't live in the far northeast. if your seedlings are nice and strong and healthy, planting after the ground has thawed and there is only a slight chance of frost even a light snow i would not feel worried about onions.

[Ozark Lady]

I have no luck with onions, seeds, sets, or plants.

But, every year I try.

On you tube, I saw a guy, start the green onions that you buy at the store in a green house... Yep, the eating kind... he brought them home and planted them

When they were decent sized plants, much bigger than I ever grow... he moved them to the garden...

So, in addition to seeds, sets, and plants... I will be buying some at the grocery... not to eat, to plant...

I want to see if I can do it that way! ha ha

[cincycuse]

Not to hijack your thread but I'd like to know about planting onion seeds. I planted red onions and white onions about three weeks ago. I used the Jiffy Greenhouse and put 3-4 seeds per peat pellet. I have several pellets where all seeds germinated. Should I cut all but one, if so, when? They are about 3-4 inches tall now.

[soil]

do you want green onions or bulbs? if bulbs cull now and eat them.

[cincycuse]

I want the biggest, fattest white and red onions you've ever seen

[Ozark Lady]

If you learn how, please teach me...

I buy 5 pounds a week!

I can grow scallions, or chives, just no bulbs.

[garden5]

OK, this is my first time with the onion seeds, but I will try to help you out with what I know.

I started my seeds indoors about a little over two months before I planned on planting them. They germinated in about ten days. After they reach about 5 in. tall, cut them back to 3 in. or 4 in. This helps encourage root development. Now, you can use lights or window lighting (I'm using the latter). Some say that you should not allow your seedlings to be exposed to more than 12 hr. of light per day, or they will bulb prematurly. I don't have any first hand experience on that subject, but it probably would not hurt.

You can plant them about a week before your first frost date. Keep them moist, but if they start turning yellow and limp, hold off on the watering for a little bit. Mine are a month old, so this is as much as I know so far.

If you are planning on starting in May, now would be a good time to start your seeds. You can direct sow them, but from what I hear you will get smaller bulbs that if you started them indoor ahead of time.

Good luck!