Are you concerned in grow a diverseness of vegetables in your garden ? An easy and oft used veg that you may grow around your home is the red Allium cepa .
I love scarlet onions because they ’re neat in salads , on ground beef , or used in various other dishes . If you ’d like to enjoy this veg on a steady foundation , study growing it .
Even if you ’re new to gardening , do n’t shy out from red onions . I ’ll take the air you through what you should know to grow them .
Here ’s how you could start grow cherry-red onion plant in your home garden :
Growing Conditions for Red Onions
Red onions are an interesting craw to grow . For starters , this vegetable is a biennial . This entail it accept two year for the plant to complete its full cycle .
Therefore , in the first class the onions will spring up foliage and small bulbs . In the 2d year , they ’ll reach matureness and be good for harvest .
This is why many gardeners prefer out of start theironionsfrom seeds and buy 2nd - year bulbs to ensure they get an decent harvest , but we ’ll talk about this a little further in the next section .
For now , regardless of how you start your ruddy onions you should ensure they have the right growing conditions .
cherry onion are n’t picky works . Therefore , they only necessitate a maturate expanse with full sunshine . This should equate to or so six 60 minutes of direct sunlight per day .
They also need well - enfeeble , nutrient - impenetrable soil . You also want your soil to be loose , so it ’s loose for the bulb to get .
In compact , clay stain ( for instance ) your bulb may have a hard time reach their full potential . If you need to amend your soil , be sure to do so prior to planting .
This is all you should provide for onions . You may do this in traditional garden plot , raised bed , or even incontainers . As long as the craw has the firing and soil it needs , you should be able-bodied to start carmine onions on the right foot .
Now that you jazz what your onions need from you , permit ’s talk about how you could begin the uprise process .
How to Plant Red Onions
There are two options for rise red onions . One is to start them from semen and the other is to start up them from set . Seth are 2d - year onion bulbs .
You should choose when you want to reap your onions to take the appropriate method . However , the growing cognitive operation is interchangeable for either .
If you desire to start your onion indoors , be sure to do so approximately eight hebdomad prior to the net frost date .
Fill a growing tray or container with well - drain grime . implant a seed in each cell of a produce tray or a circle in a container .
come should be planted a ¼ inch beneath the grime , while bent should be planted two inches into the soil in a deeper grow container .
Be certain to water the onion carefully to ensure the soil is saturated but the germ or set is n’t leave in overly moist shape which can run to rot .
Onions will grow in temperature that remain above 40 - degree Fahrenheit . However , the idealistic growing temperature is around 75 - degrees Fahrenheit .
endeavor to make idealistic growing condition to secure the onion sprout in a timely manner . It should take between one to two week for the plants to begin to grow .
After all terror of frost is over , you may engraft your onion plant outdoors . Be sure to amend the stain in the growing location as needed prior to planting .
If your soil needs tease apart or more nutrients , it ’s fresh to add a pair inches of compost to the area and make it in .
Plus , you could add a slow - release fertilizer to ensure the onions have what they need throughout the growing time of year .
If you ’re found the onion plant in the ground , be certain to leave a foot of space between wrangle and six inches between plants .
Once the rise area is complete , plant each onion plant two inches into the stain . Backfill the yap with soil and apply water to the crops .
Onions need consistent moisture as this will give them a sweeter flavor over sentence . When the onions are in the ground , you ’re well on your way to a divine harvest .
Caring for Red Onions
Are you finger surefooted in originate onions , yet ? If you have n’t noticed , they ’re a rather scummy maintenance crop .
Therefore , it should n’t come as a surprise that they do n’t require much aid after imbed . To keep your Allium cepa tidy and growing , ensure they pick up enough water , right fertilizer , and an app of mulch .
When watering onion , it ’s best to practice the deep watering method . This allows you to water the onions for a longer period of time , fewer days of the week .
This ensures that the onion receive enough water without oversaturating them . Before irrigate them again , be sure to test the soil . When you sneak in your digit into the dirt around the Allium cepa and it ’s dry to your first knuckle joint , it ’s meter to water the plants deeply again .
It ’s important that red onion receive an inch of urine per week . You do n’t need to overwater them , though , because this conduct to take with rot .
It ’s also wise to water onions in the morning . If you irrigate them at night , it could tempt disease to your crop .
To ensure the onions retain enough wet , and to keep the weed under control , it ’s impertinent to supply a wakeful bed of mulch around the plants . This will help the soil retain moisture and also make it hard for weeds to acquire .
Finally , insure onions receive enough fertiliser . These plants love N , so be trusted to apply a fertilizer luxuriously in N three weeks after constitute .
From that point forward , continue to supply a high - nitrogen fertilizer every three hebdomad . By supplying the few need red onion have , you ’re giving them every rationality to thrive under your care .
Garden Pests and Diseases Which Might Impact Red Onions
The only problematical part , in my feeling , to raising onions is protecting them . Some people take over that onions do n’t face many hardships due to their scent .
unluckily , this is n’t the compositor’s case . Onions usually present pests such as leaf miners , onion plant maggots , and soupcon .
When you spot a pest way out , it ’s wise to treat it immediately with a pesticide to ensure you eliminate the problem before they have clock time to do further damage .
The most vulgar diseases red Allium cepa brass are pinkish roots and fluffy mildew . When pinkish origin occurs , it ’s due to a fungus in the soil .
You ’ll only discover this disease if your Allium cepa set about looking sickly , and you prod them up to investigate . Once the onion are fag up , you ’ll notice the roots are pinkish .
There is no cure for pinkish root . However , the disease may damp your harvest , but it should n’t kill your plants all together .
Therefore , by providing quite a little of food and reducing the amount of water supply to the onions , you may be capable to salvage a small crop .
The best way to stupefy pinkish theme is by avoid it all together . Be sure to go around your onion plant craw to where it is n’t planted in the same space for six produce seasons .
When dealing with downy mildew , it ’s best to apply a antifungal agent as soon as you notice the issuance to avoid further damage to your plant .
These are a few of the menace ruddy onions may confront in your garden . Act quickly , and it should n’t be enough to down your crop .
How to Harvest Red Onions
The last step in produce red onion is understanding when and how to harvest them . If you ’re interested in using onions for scallions , wait approximately one month to get harvesting them .
However , if you ’d like to have full - size onions , wait until the green tip deform scandalmongering and hang over . When most of the tops are come down over , stop applying body of water to the Allium cepa .
At this point , you may labor up the onion bulbs to lay in them indoors , or you may leave them in the ground to hive away over winter .
Should you take to harvest them , cut into up the bulbs and shake off any loose dirt . Lay the harvest onion in a warm locating that welcome sizable airflow .
You could lay them on a palette in your garage , barn , or terrace . They should remain in this location for ten days to heal .
Once done , you may pleach the onions and attend them in a cool , ironic emplacement with temperatures between 35- and 50 - point Fahrenheit .
However , you may also dispatch the spinning top and roots . From there , hang them in a breathable , mesh bag in a cool , wry location with the same temperature as mentioned above . This could be a root basement , basement , or dark box in a larder .
After your onion plant are safely stored , be certain to check off them regularly to catch any rot that may form . absent any rot onion as quickly as potential to bar it from spreading .
Otherwise , enjoy your homegrown onions and cover to grow them each year for your enjoyment .
You now know the basics to growing red onions . These methods work for most miscellany of onions , but violent onion are some of my favorites due to their versatility .
Now that you know what to do , figure out where you’re able to grow onions around your home and try out your hand at it . This could be your new favorite crop to grow year after year .
More About Red Onions
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-onions
https://extension.psu.edu/onion-production
