Great video as always! I grow onions the same way (i live in socal, zone 10) and have great success every year. If I could suggest a tip though, next time you grow seedlings DON'T thin them out. Onions are very hardy, resilient plants and you can grow several of them in the same cell without an issue. They separate extremely easily, the roots basically never tangle, and it can save you a lot of time and money spent on seed and soil. I've grown up to 10 in the same cell and I just make sure they never grow past the thickness of a yellow pencil. Then I just wash off the soil once they're ready to transplant and separate the roots. They're also really easy to transplant to soil outside afterwards, just stick your finger in the soil 3-4 inches, put your seedling in the hole and cover with soil while leaving an inch still exposed to the sun.
Maybe I’ll leave them 2 in a tray and separate them. I know onions can take a beating, hence onion sets and the shipment of bunches of green onions. These cells are very small, but they should easily accommodate 2 onions. I’ll probably do that and skip thinning a second time.
@@colliecoform4854 yes, an no need to use and entire tray. I grow mine in cups with the seeds densely sown. They look like a patch of grass in the cup. Separate and I lay them on the soil and layer soil over the roots. The roots grow down into the soil and the onion stand up straight in about 2 weeks.
If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 The Biennial Life Cycle Of Onions 1:11 What Are Onion Sets? Onion Bulbs Explained 2:02 The Problem With Onion Sets 3:03 Why I Prefer Growing Onions From Seed 3:54 Direct Seeding VS Starting Onion Seed In Trays 5:23 Short Day VS Intermediate Day VS Long Day Onions 6:12 The Onion Varieties And Shallots I Am Growing 7:07 Scarlet Bandit Bunching Onions 7:20 Setting Up The Seed Trays For Planting 7:51 How To Plant Seed For Onion Transplants 9:59 Germinating Onion Tips 11:09 Thinning Onion Seedlings 12:56 When To Transplant Onion Plants 13:43 Adventures With Dale
Great video as always! The only thing I do differently is when I sow my seeds, I sow them heavy and don’t thin them. I separate them at time of planting into the garden. They separate very well. Especially in seed starting mix.
I grow mine in clumps of 5 or 6; you can thin out salad onions as they grow or let them be and end up with medium sized onions. I haven't got a lot of space so works well for me. Got this tip initially from Charles Dowding who does the same.
I have had great success using the tray you show your potting mix in, the one on the right. I plant 1 seed in proper spacing, about a 2" grid, double what I need. No wasted seed! I HATE THINNING! The trays lid workes well to keep them moist and to ventilate when needed. Easy to move around as well. At planting time, with decent moisture in the tray, I just use a kitchen fork to get 'em out and plant. For Welsh bunching onions I take the seedling completely out of the soil, put them on a moist paper towel, and stick them into an index finger sized hole and move the soil back around them. They are TOUGH! They dont mind this at all, ... just sayin. Enjoying yout videos! Thanks!
Great explanation of why sets and bulbs may not provide a big bulb for harvest. Starting from seed is easy and also gives more options for variety choice that sets don't.
Thank you! I messed around with onion sets for years, because I thought it was the *easy* way. Turns out it was just the more expensive way with less predictable results 😅 You can't beat the productivity of a $2 pack of onion seeds!
I've had great success not thinning the seedlings until my final transplant into the garden bed. The roots tend to come apart fairly easily at that point and I'm not essentially wasting any seeds. It just means that I need to have more available room in the garden bed
Because I used 72-cell trays, the onions have to be thinned since the cells can’t hold more than 2-3. That’s one of the downside to the cells. If you have a large, open tray where they can push each other around, you can thin less or possibly not at all. I enjoy popping them out of these trays, but it is not without downsides. That’s up to the individual to find their preference.
I never knew there was a long day and short day onion! I almost set myself up for failure. Your channel for gardening is one of my top favorites. Thank you!
Well done. I've watched a ton of gardening videos over the years and I almost never leave a comment. This was well done. Thank you for the solid and well organized information.
Great video ! I’m going to try onions fir the first time this year . I now realize that I should probably may get the seeds started this week . Time to run to the garden center !
Incredible video - answered some questions for me! Over the last year or so we've planted both onion and shallot roots when using them in the kitchen. So now we have these huge green stalks with flowers drying up and I just shook hundreds of black seeds from them. I still have to figure out if they were stalks from shallots or onions. Now I have to plant the seeds and see what comes up! The biennial cycle is now explained.
Incredibly helpful video for this amateur gardener. Thank you I have my onion seeds that have germinated and think I will need to start thinning them out now
I live in zone 5 and started my onions Jan 1st this year. Last year I started them early Feb and they were a bit scrawny when I planted them in March, although they did fine and had a pretty good harvest. I think for the heck of it I will plant my onions closer together and harvest every other one when they bulb to about 1" diameter for my own onion sets next year. I just use a plastic container and fill with about 4" of my home made potting mix and broadcast seed the whole tray and let em go. The plants pull apart very easily when I go to stick them in the ground. Enjoyed your video.
I can't prove this, but I think with onions, they like to be planted when it's still cold outside and the days are short. I think if you wait until it gets too warm and the days get too long, they'll try to grow greens too fast. Planting them during the short, cold days, I think, maybe makes them grow better roots. I'm not an expert with Zone 5, though. Our planting times are wildly different, so I guess it all comes down to trial and error.
@@TheMillennialGardener I put my onions out as soon as I can work the soil. In fact last year I had to cover them a couple times when we went down into the teens at night. If interested I posted a garden tour from last Aug, "Brian Seybert garden tour." Enjoy your videos!
This is my second year growing onions...I was so surprised to learn how tough they are. Last year I grew mine from sprouts I purchased from a well-known company here in TX. Most of my sprouts lived through that crazy ice storm we got last Feb. They just shook it off and I got decent sized bulbs that stored pretty well. Hopefully we aren't in for an ice storm repeat this year. Thanks for the info.🙂 Howdy to cute Dale. He's such a good boy.🙂
Pretty much everything in the genus Allium is tough: onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, etc. They also benefit heavily from the warmth of the soil itself, so even if the greens become damaged, they often come back. Last year, I planted all my onions in January, but we had a much milder winter. We're getting hammered this year with multiple nights in the teens and two winter storms, so I held back some. I'm so happy it's February - spring will be here, soon. Dale says hi!
Thank you. Great video. I've planted my onions in the fall (I'm the same zone in GA), and have some starting from seeds. Will see which ones will do better. I'm very impressed that you can leave your shoes on the floor. My Molly would get them right away. Great catch Dale!
I have been really meticulous with Dale. I stay on him pretty well, and I reward him very well when he's good. I work from home, so I'm home every day, which keeps his anxiety at bay. Dale is half Pit Bull, and contrary to popular belief, Pit Bulls may be the loyalest dogs in existence. They want nothing more than to please their people. Dale is very "hound dominant," but his loyalty is extreme and he's *extremely* sensitive. It's unreal.
I live in New Bern about 2 hours north of you. It's really great to have a "local gardener" with tips that can help me right where I live! Your videos are well done.
Very thorough information and well-delivered, thank you! Check the date on your seed packets as onion seed is very short-lived. After one year, seed viability drops to 50%, after that, they are hardly worth planting. Also for us long day growers in the north, it's hard to time when to start onions because you might be snow-free by early April but, conversely, could still have snow into May. In late snow years, keep checking root growth by lifting the inner tray. If you see more than a few strays, go shovel the snow aside and plant them. One year I left them in the trays too long and lost a lot of roots in transplanting. That shocked the plants and gave really poor results. Seeds are the way to go particularly in the north; by planting time, sets have been in warmth and light for a long time.
Great explanation on the difference between sets and seeds and also the different day lengths. Red burgundy onion is a short day red onion. I got seeds for them at victory seeds.
Those fancy plant cell trays are great to use but they do cost money. In my area, they are selling for about $6 per tray, with tax included. Frankly, the onions will do just as well planted in the same seed mix in any type container you may have around the house. Some people like to use egg trays, for example. I sometimes just use left over food trays from the grocery, such as plastic salad trays or aluminum trays that contained cooked meats, etc. Just clean them out well and fill them with potting soil. When it is time to plant the onions, it is easy to just use a large spoon or a small spade to lift out a bunch of the onions. As others have said, you can simply wait to thin the onions into individual plants at the time of planting. Thinning earlier may however help the young onions have less competition from their peers for available nutrients and thus grow stronger and faster. Very nice video presentation! I enjoyed watching it.
I make holes in bottom of an empty mushroom container and fill with potting soil. I put 50+ seeds on top of the soil and dust with soil. I don't thin at all. Onions separate easily from each other. Plant as usual in the garden with at least 3" spacing. They grow quickly cuz they are happy to have the room outside. Been doing this for years. Zone 8b
I start my seeds in the tray you have. I sprinkle in 100 seeds then they grow,a hair cut to 3”,separate them and plant them. I get 3” onions every time. I live in Vermont and I have to get them in the ground in early may for them to grow before the solstice in June where the bulbs start. I never have a bad harvest from seeds
I have struggled for years to grow big onions. Never started seeds. Always sets and the small bulbs. Always a fail, and seem to go to seed. This year I started seeds. I know it will be the best harvest yet! Can’t wait. I have seen videos on cutting/trimming them as they grow. Do you plan on doing this?
As long as you are growing the appropriate day-length varieties for your latitude, I think growing from seed will fix your problems. Once the onions go in-ground, I will not touch them. Aside from handfuls of organic fertilizer every few weeks and watering as needed, they'll get no other attention til harvest.
Great video and thanks for all you do for the gardening community. Have you ever tried starting them in a high-intensity spacing manner? I've been overseeding just a few larger cells for the past several years with great success. There are virtually no issues with seedling competition and at the time of transplantation, the roots are so fibrous that you can gently tease each seedling away from another without any difficulty. This method is nice because it takes up much less space in your grow room and eliminates the need to spend time thinning your onion seedlings.
I may try that next season: basically take a lasagna tray or something and just dump in a whole packet of seed, let them germinate, thicken up, push each other apart, then manually separate them. I think that's how they're grown in commercial operations. Apparently, they separate pretty easily.
@@TheMillennialGardener Depends on how many you want to grow. A whole lasagna tray could easily make 100s. With a single 3 x 2 cell tray, I've been able to grow about 50 or so onion starts just with overseeding and separating them apart at transplantation.
@@RocketPipeTV 4-5 won't fit in these seed start trays. 2-3 may. They need to get to be around 1/4" in diameter before I transplant them, and that won't fly in these little 1" cells. Some thinning is necessary for the convenience of using multi-celled trays.
Thanks for the video. I just started my onion, broccoli, and cauliflower seeds this morning, here in East TN, in my passive solar greenhouse, where I have our citrus trees. We go through a LOT of onions yearly, so I'm starting about 300 from seed this year. We have problems in our soil with Fusarium basal rot. It causes our onions to quickly rot, after pulling them from the soil. This year I'm trying a variety from Johnny Seed; Expression, an intermediate day onion. We are also "on the cusp" of growing long-day onions, so if the Expression doesn't do well this year, I'll shoot for a long-day that is resistant to Fusarium basal rot in next years garden. Last year I grew shallots that I started from seed. They were of a medium-size, which we used up fast. Bunching onions do very well in our smaller garden greenhouse. They even survived the sub-zero deep freeze we made it through this winter. I just cut them all down to about 1" after the deep freeze and you would never know they were effected by the very low temps. They are starting to divide and "bunch" now...awesome! Question...When don't you transplant your little onions that you thin out into other pots? I've done this before with great success. This years thinning will go into our small greenhouse, rather than the garden.
I'm glad I watched this as I'm on day 26 since planting and day 20 since germination started and didn't know if or when u should thin out. So tomorrow I'm going to start thinning them out and then leave them a week and do the same again then hopefully by the end on February they will be ready to plant out.
I grew from sets last year and maybe 10-20% put up flower stems. I pulled the bud off and used the bulbs fresh rather than dry and store them, and still had plenty to store. This year it's all from seed, I did buy some shallot bulbs though.....
Great video. The other 3rd option not mentioned is using onion plants. Here in TX you can buy a bundle of about 50 onion plants for $3 to $4. I plant these as well as a package of seeds so I can harvest at 2 different times as the plants have a way head start.
I see other commenters have covered the thinning topic. I'm in MI and just planted (4) 4" containers with 3 different kinds of onions. One whole packet went into 2 containers and 1/2 of the other packets went into the other two containers. I didn't count the seeds but there's probably over 150 in those 4 containers. I have them on a thermostatically controlled heat mat at 75 degrees, bottom watered and a dome. I'll removed them from heat after 50% germinate and will get them under the light. I had zero luck starting from starts or sets...this is my first time starting from seed. I've done a lot of research and this is the method I'm going to try this season.
I’m curious why you’re adding bottom heat. Onions don’t need it. They’re a cooler season plant, so they don’t benefit from warm soil like a tomato or a pepper would. I think you actually may be harming your germination rates. Keeping them indoors at room temp on a cool tile floor or comparable works really well. No need to use seedling mats.
I saved seeds from a couple onion plants that made it to year 2. I'm wondering if I can plant them going into this year if I will get a decent onion out of it? There's a risk of some cross-pollination as I also let some leeks go and the onions that flowered might've been from different varieties. Thanks for what you do as your content and presentation skills are spot on!
Good afternoon from East Texas! You answered a LOT of question I had about growing from seed. I have higher hopes for my crop next year… 💁🏼♀️… Thanks!!
Great information and perfect timing! I was just thinking today that I need to start some onions. I agree with you about sets. Too iffy and pricey. I read this onion hack in a Jerry Baker book: Step on the soil around the onion foliage to press the bulb deeper into the soil. He says this gives you bigger onions. Have you heard of that?
I have not. Do you wait until the onion is well-rooted? I assume this isn't the case immediately at planting. I always heard sort of the opposite - let the soil be as loose as possible so there is as little resistance as possible for the onion to bulb. I always heard compact soil makes it hard for the onions to grow big bulbs, so this seems to conflict what I was always heard. Last year, I did nothing, and my onions were awesome.
@@TheMillennialGardener He doesn’t say when. I think you’re right. It makes sense that loose soil would be best. Rather than compacting them, I’d think it would be better to add another inch or two of soil if the depth is a concern. Btw, you’re going to love the bunching onions. They’re kind of a pain to clean, but they taste good. Once you’ve grown them you’ll always have them. They’re very easy to keep going by just leaving one or two behind, so they provide “onion security.” 😂
@@muziklvr1729 So, basically it sounds like he's recommending hilling, by either pressing them deeper or filling soil around them? I could see that making sense. It seems to work for potatoes.
Excellent video. So very clear. I just got my trays and heirloom seeds in the post, but I think our onion planting season has passed here in NZ, but I’ll get on with the summer crops. I hope the sowing process is similar to this. Thanks.
I got the same scarlet bandits and was trying to find how to plant them and find your video. Never tried onions/bunching onions before, can't wait to see the results 😁
You're welcome! Dale is obedient when food rewards are involved. If there is no reward, he often ignores you if he doesn't feel like getting up. Hounds very much have a mind of their own.
I've always had great success growing onions from sets. This year I'm going to try both methods. Good video! SE Kansas on the Short Day/Intermediate line
I recommend growing them side by side. I did that last year and the results were clear to me. Sets can be successful, but they’re more expensive and do run the risk of not bulbing well. Planting them side by side may be a good experiment.
@@TheMillennialGardener I plan to do this experiment this year. I also try to tuck onions in amongst lots of other things with companion planting. By planting them side by side in one bed, and together scattered in my other beds I hope to have a good experiment. (or maybe an abundance of scallions. Ha!)
@@zinnia3190 onions make great companion plants. They also help repel some pests, so by interplanting them around pest-susceptible plants (like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), you can naturally repel some of those nuisance pests! It's a smart use of space, and a smart way to limit pest pressure.
Hi, great video, I do grow from sets but, im growing from seed too this season to trial tge difference between both. If it goes well will definitely not bother with sets next year, thanks for sharing & take care 🙂
Great plan! Nothing better than a side-by-side comparison. That's what I did, and I was amazed by the results. My seed-grown onions not only grew larger, but they matured more quickly. I was pretty surprised.
He impresses me every day. He was apparently doing tricks at playcare the other day for treats and rolling over to impress them. They didn't know he knew so many tricks 😅
@The Millennial Gardener I love how well he listened. Better than my kid😂😂😂You told him back to his bed once and he did it👏👏👏👏 He is great and you are blessed to have him❤🐶🦮❤
@@mariap.894 he's an extremely good listener. But will he actually do what I ask? That depends on his mood and if treats are involved. The boy is a hound at his core and is extremely...independent.
I always have good results growing onion seed, but this year 2 out of 200 seed from botanical interest the yellow granex brand new seed packet for 2023 didn't germinate, so now gonna try my old seed from 2021 Texas early grano from baker creek.
Have you grown Yellow Granex before? They're fantastic. It's funny to say that an onion is delicious because...you know, it's an onion...but they're really great!
I have never grown onions from seed. And I thought to myself, why? I have grown TREEs from SEED! But then.. i did it this year! I think I’ll get less bulting and more of an overal larger bulb. I should have done this years ago
You’re welcome! Thank you for watching. Shallots cost around 75 cents a piece, so growing your own is the way to go. A packet of 200 seeds only costs around $2!
Hey FYI your video played 14 ads in this one video. Not sure if you were aware - your content is great and you're very likable- maybe reduce the ads a bit and your channel would do amazing.
Just about to start my onion seeds this week! I was wondering, I've heard that cutting the tops of the onions after a few weeks helps strengthen the onions. Have you tried this before?
Loved your video…and all of them!! I live in Sacramento, CA…zone 9, and would like to try growing onions. Looks like I’m in the intermediate section. Should I start mine now? Thank you so much.
Thank you! Yes, absolutely, start them now. Don’t delay. Onions mature around the solstice, so the sooner your start them, the better. In your zone, you can plant them in December for an early crop since onions are hardy to Zone 9.
Did i watch one of your videos once and you said to trim the tops with sissors? before they go outside at the thinning out stage? if yes how much and often. Thx BC, vancouver canada
Sooooo how do you sustain the onions in the ground during winter so they are viable to flower the next year? How much do you water them during winter? How do you cover them? How do you harvest the seeds? Could you please film a Complete Guide To GROWING ONIONS?
I just started my onion seeds on the 30th, but my sets arrived today (feb 8th). Should I wait and plant everything out after my frost date has passed? Or plant the sets out ASAP and cover them? Zone 8a Charlotte NC. Thank you!
Hey, how deep of a container for onions and leeks? I have Alison Craig (the big one) as well as smaller red onions. I also have leeks, which I wish to place in containers as well. Both the onions and leeks are currently in small pots ready to be transplanted. I live on the west coast of Canada.
That’s sad to hear. You may want to protect your annuals like I protect my avocados and citrus. Frost cloth isn’t enough. Having a few boxes of incandescent lights in stock to warm them underneath a frost blanket is what is needed for a real deal freeze. Florida is so unpredictable.
@@kennethlatimer4607 we get bit here every year. My figs got burned pretty badly in that ice storm and 14 degree freeze. It's always best to grow a diversity of things, so every year something succeeds.
I have a video on this here: ruclips.net/video/hsxK-bFynO8/видео.html "How often" depends on how often they dry out. You can't let them completely dry out, so you need to keep an eye on them.
@@imanderdumme8706 I can try to make a video on that if time allows. I think I have a video showcasing that last year here: ruclips.net/video/ZGVlbcfmSJE/видео.html
yes you can. I broadcast my onion seeds into an open flat. After they're up and spreading roots, I break open the soil and "prick"; them out and transplant one in each single cell. they are very robust. Most of the seedlings fall out of the sprouting tray without a root ball attached. I just plunge them into a hole I've poked into the new pot. I honestly don't think I've lost a single seedling using that method.
Great video as always! I grow onions the same way (i live in socal, zone 10) and have great success every year. If I could suggest a tip though, next time you grow seedlings DON'T thin them out. Onions are very hardy, resilient plants and you can grow several of them in the same cell without an issue. They separate extremely easily, the roots basically never tangle, and it can save you a lot of time and money spent on seed and soil. I've grown up to 10 in the same cell and I just make sure they never grow past the thickness of a yellow pencil. Then I just wash off the soil once they're ready to transplant and separate the roots. They're also really easy to transplant to soil outside afterwards, just stick your finger in the soil 3-4 inches, put your seedling in the hole and cover with soil while leaving an inch still exposed to the sun.
Maybe I’ll leave them 2 in a tray and separate them. I know onions can take a beating, hence onion sets and the shipment of bunches of green onions. These cells are very small, but they should easily accommodate 2 onions. I’ll probably do that and skip thinning a second time.
I said the same thing. My eyes got so big when he was thinning. 😢😭
I said the same thing also. They are very easy to separate, no thinning needed.
@@colliecoform4854 yes, an no need to use and entire tray. I grow mine in cups with the seeds densely sown. They look like a patch of grass in the cup. Separate and I lay them on the soil and layer soil over the roots. The roots grow down into the soil and the onion stand up straight in about 2 weeks.
@Tyler Day, fellow Socal gardener here. I'm in zone 9b. When do you start your seeds Tyler?
If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 The Biennial Life Cycle Of Onions
1:11 What Are Onion Sets? Onion Bulbs Explained
2:02 The Problem With Onion Sets
3:03 Why I Prefer Growing Onions From Seed
3:54 Direct Seeding VS Starting Onion Seed In Trays
5:23 Short Day VS Intermediate Day VS Long Day Onions
6:12 The Onion Varieties And Shallots I Am Growing
7:07 Scarlet Bandit Bunching Onions
7:20 Setting Up The Seed Trays For Planting
7:51 How To Plant Seed For Onion Transplants
9:59 Germinating Onion Tips
11:09 Thinning Onion Seedlings
12:56 When To Transplant Onion Plants
13:43 Adventures With Dale
Can you let them all grow and separate them when transplanting?
Great video as always! The only thing I do differently is when I sow my seeds, I sow them heavy and don’t thin them. I separate them at time of planting into the garden. They separate very well. Especially in seed starting mix.
Next year, I may just sow them in a lasagna foil pan or something. Thanks for watching!
I do the same
I grow mine in clumps of 5 or 6; you can thin out salad onions as they grow or let them be and end up with medium sized onions. I haven't got a lot of space so works well for me. Got this tip initially from Charles Dowding who does the same.
Exactly. I never waste the onions. To easy to seperate
I have had great success using the tray you show your potting mix in, the one on the right. I plant 1 seed in proper spacing, about a 2" grid, double what I need. No wasted seed! I HATE THINNING! The trays lid workes well to keep them moist and to ventilate when needed. Easy to move around as well. At planting time, with decent moisture in the tray, I just use a kitchen fork to get 'em out and plant. For Welsh bunching onions I take the seedling completely out of the soil, put them on a moist paper towel, and stick them into an index finger sized hole and move the soil back around them. They are TOUGH! They dont mind this at all, ... just sayin. Enjoying yout videos! Thanks!
Great explanation of why sets and bulbs may not provide a big bulb for harvest. Starting from seed is easy and also gives more options for variety choice that sets don't.
Thank you! I messed around with onion sets for years, because I thought it was the *easy* way. Turns out it was just the more expensive way with less predictable results 😅 You can't beat the productivity of a $2 pack of onion seeds!
That’s great that Gardener Scott watched and liked your Tutorial…..I subscribe to him also….he is so knowledgeable just like you……
I've had great success not thinning the seedlings until my final transplant into the garden bed. The roots tend to come apart fairly easily at that point and I'm not essentially wasting any seeds. It just means that I need to have more available room in the garden bed
Read my comments above and watch Charles dowding
Because I used 72-cell trays, the onions have to be thinned since the cells can’t hold more than 2-3. That’s one of the downside to the cells. If you have a large, open tray where they can push each other around, you can thin less or possibly not at all. I enjoy popping them out of these trays, but it is not without downsides. That’s up to the individual to find their preference.
I never knew there was a long day and short day onion! I almost set myself up for failure. Your channel for gardening is one of my top favorites. Thank you!
Well done. I've watched a ton of gardening videos over the years and I almost never leave a comment. This was well done. Thank you for the solid and well organized information.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the format. I appreciate the feedback.
Yes, I agree. This video helped me to understand how & why to plant seeds, as opposed to sets, my question about heat mat, etc. Thank you so much!
Great video ! I’m going to try onions fir the first time this year . I now realize that I should probably may get the seeds started this week . Time to run to the garden center !
Incredible video - answered some questions for me! Over the last year or so we've planted both onion and shallot roots when using them in the kitchen. So now we have these huge green stalks with flowers drying up and I just shook hundreds of black seeds from them. I still have to figure out if they were stalks from shallots or onions. Now I have to plant the seeds and see what comes up! The biennial cycle is now explained.
I'm so happy I found your channel. Finally someone in my area.
I'm glad it's helpful!
Incredibly helpful video for this amateur gardener. Thank you
I have my onion seeds that have germinated and think I will need to start thinning them out now
I live in zone 5 and started my onions Jan 1st this year. Last year I started them early Feb and they were a bit scrawny when I planted them in March, although they did fine and had a pretty good harvest. I think for the heck of it I will plant my onions closer together and harvest every other one when they bulb to about 1" diameter for my own onion sets next year.
I just use a plastic container and fill with about 4" of my home made potting mix and broadcast seed the whole tray and let em go. The plants pull apart very easily when I go to stick them in the ground.
Enjoyed your video.
I can't prove this, but I think with onions, they like to be planted when it's still cold outside and the days are short. I think if you wait until it gets too warm and the days get too long, they'll try to grow greens too fast. Planting them during the short, cold days, I think, maybe makes them grow better roots. I'm not an expert with Zone 5, though. Our planting times are wildly different, so I guess it all comes down to trial and error.
@@TheMillennialGardener I put my onions out as soon as I can work the soil. In fact last year I had to cover them a couple times when we went down into the teens at night. If interested I posted a garden tour from last Aug, "Brian Seybert garden tour." Enjoy your videos!
This is my second year growing onions...I was so surprised to learn how tough they are. Last year I grew mine from sprouts I purchased from a well-known company here in TX. Most of my sprouts lived through that crazy ice storm we got last Feb. They just shook it off and I got decent sized bulbs that stored pretty well. Hopefully we aren't in for an ice storm repeat this year. Thanks for the info.🙂 Howdy to cute Dale. He's such a good boy.🙂
Pretty much everything in the genus Allium is tough: onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, etc. They also benefit heavily from the warmth of the soil itself, so even if the greens become damaged, they often come back. Last year, I planted all my onions in January, but we had a much milder winter. We're getting hammered this year with multiple nights in the teens and two winter storms, so I held back some. I'm so happy it's February - spring will be here, soon. Dale says hi!
Best explanation of the difference between seeds vs sets, and I have watched dozens of them.
Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful.
Thank you. Great video.
I've planted my onions in the fall (I'm the same zone in GA), and have some starting from seeds. Will see which ones will do better.
I'm very impressed that you can leave your shoes on the floor. My Molly would get them right away.
Great catch Dale!
I have been really meticulous with Dale. I stay on him pretty well, and I reward him very well when he's good. I work from home, so I'm home every day, which keeps his anxiety at bay. Dale is half Pit Bull, and contrary to popular belief, Pit Bulls may be the loyalest dogs in existence. They want nothing more than to please their people. Dale is very "hound dominant," but his loyalty is extreme and he's *extremely* sensitive. It's unreal.
I live in New Bern about 2 hours north of you. It's really great to have a "local gardener" with tips that can help me right where I live! Your videos are well done.
I'm glad the videos are helpful! Thanks so much for watching!
Very thorough information and well-delivered, thank you! Check the date on your seed packets as onion seed is very short-lived. After one year, seed viability drops to 50%, after that, they are hardly worth planting. Also for us long day growers in the north, it's hard to time when to start onions because you might be snow-free by early April but, conversely, could still have snow into May. In late snow years, keep checking root growth by lifting the inner tray. If you see more than a few strays, go shovel the snow aside and plant them. One year I left them in the trays too long and lost a lot of roots in transplanting. That shocked the plants and gave really poor results. Seeds are the way to go particularly in the north; by planting time, sets have been in warmth and light for a long time.
Great explanation on the difference between sets and seeds and also the different day lengths. Red burgundy onion is a short day red onion. I got seeds for them at victory seeds.
Those fancy plant cell trays are great to use but they do cost money. In my area, they are selling for about $6 per tray, with tax included. Frankly, the onions will do just as well planted in the same seed mix in any type container you may have around the house. Some people like to use egg trays, for example. I sometimes just use left over food trays from the grocery, such as plastic salad trays or aluminum trays that contained cooked meats, etc. Just clean them out well and fill them with potting soil.
When it is time to plant the onions, it is easy to just use a large spoon or a small spade to lift out a bunch of the onions. As others have said, you can simply wait to thin the onions into individual plants at the time of planting. Thinning earlier may however help the young onions have less competition from their peers for available nutrients and thus grow stronger and faster.
Very nice video presentation! I enjoyed watching it.
I make holes in bottom of an empty mushroom container and fill with potting soil. I put 50+ seeds on top of the soil and dust with soil. I don't thin at all. Onions separate easily from each other. Plant as usual in the garden with at least 3" spacing. They grow quickly cuz they are happy to have the room outside. Been doing this for years. Zone 8b
I start my seeds in the tray you have. I sprinkle in 100 seeds then they grow,a hair cut to 3”,separate them and plant them. I get 3” onions every time. I live in Vermont and I have to get them in the ground in early may for them to grow before the solstice in June where the bulbs start. I never have a bad harvest from seeds
I have struggled for years to grow big onions. Never started seeds. Always sets and the small bulbs. Always a fail, and seem to go to seed. This year I started seeds. I know it will be the best harvest yet! Can’t wait. I have seen videos on cutting/trimming them as they grow. Do you plan on doing this?
As long as you are growing the appropriate day-length varieties for your latitude, I think growing from seed will fix your problems. Once the onions go in-ground, I will not touch them. Aside from handfuls of organic fertilizer every few weeks and watering as needed, they'll get no other attention til harvest.
Always full of useful information without all the fluff!
Great video and thanks for all you do for the gardening community.
Have you ever tried starting them in a high-intensity spacing manner? I've been overseeding just a few larger cells for the past several years with great success. There are virtually no issues with seedling competition and at the time of transplantation, the roots are so fibrous that you can gently tease each seedling away from another without any difficulty.
This method is nice because it takes up much less space in your grow room and eliminates the need to spend time thinning your onion seedlings.
I may try that next season: basically take a lasagna tray or something and just dump in a whole packet of seed, let them germinate, thicken up, push each other apart, then manually separate them. I think that's how they're grown in commercial operations. Apparently, they separate pretty easily.
@@TheMillennialGardener Depends on how many you want to grow. A whole lasagna tray could easily make 100s. With a single 3 x 2 cell tray, I've been able to grow about 50 or so onion starts just with overseeding and separating them apart at transplantation.
No need to separate. Plant 4-5 in a clump. You’ll be amazed
@@RocketPipeTV Do you run into any issues with bulbing if you plant them that close together?
@@RocketPipeTV 4-5 won't fit in these seed start trays. 2-3 may. They need to get to be around 1/4" in diameter before I transplant them, and that won't fly in these little 1" cells. Some thinning is necessary for the convenience of using multi-celled trays.
Thanks for the video. I just started my onion, broccoli, and cauliflower seeds this morning, here in East TN, in my passive solar greenhouse, where I have our citrus trees. We go through a LOT of onions yearly, so I'm starting about 300 from seed this year. We have problems in our soil with Fusarium basal rot. It causes our onions to quickly rot, after pulling them from the soil. This year I'm trying a variety from Johnny Seed; Expression, an intermediate day onion. We are also "on the cusp" of growing long-day onions, so if the Expression doesn't do well this year, I'll shoot for a long-day that is resistant to Fusarium basal rot in next years garden.
Last year I grew shallots that I started from seed. They were of a medium-size, which we used up fast. Bunching onions do very well in our smaller garden greenhouse. They even survived the sub-zero deep freeze we made it through this winter. I just cut them all down to about 1" after the deep freeze and you would never know they were effected by the very low temps. They are starting to divide and "bunch" now...awesome!
Question...When don't you transplant your little onions that you thin out into other pots? I've done this before with great success. This years thinning will go into our small greenhouse, rather than the garden.
I'm glad I watched this as I'm on day 26 since planting and day 20 since germination started and didn't know if or when u should thin out. So tomorrow I'm going to start thinning them out and then leave them a week and do the same again then hopefully by the end on February they will be ready to plant out.
I grew from sets last year and maybe 10-20% put up flower stems. I pulled the bud off and used the bulbs fresh rather than dry and store them, and still had plenty to store.
This year it's all from seed, I did buy some shallot bulbs though.....
My knees hurt when watching you on the garage ground! LOL! Great info!
I do a lot of leg exercises 😂 It keeps them in shape.
Great video. The other 3rd option not mentioned is using onion plants. Here in TX you can buy a bundle of about 50 onion plants for $3 to $4. I plant these as well as a package of seeds so I can harvest at 2 different times as the plants have a way head start.
Smart!
Hi @CraigDAL12 where did you buy the onion plants? I'm also in Texas. I'm in zone 8b. Thanks 😊
Very good video. Thank you.
I see other commenters have covered the thinning topic. I'm in MI and just planted (4) 4" containers with 3 different kinds of onions. One whole packet went into 2 containers and 1/2 of the other packets went into the other two containers. I didn't count the seeds but there's probably over 150 in those 4 containers. I have them on a thermostatically controlled heat mat at 75 degrees, bottom watered and a dome. I'll removed them from heat after 50% germinate and will get them under the light. I had zero luck starting from starts or sets...this is my first time starting from seed. I've done a lot of research and this is the method I'm going to try this season.
I’m curious why you’re adding bottom heat. Onions don’t need it. They’re a cooler season plant, so they don’t benefit from warm soil like a tomato or a pepper would. I think you actually may be harming your germination rates. Keeping them indoors at room temp on a cool tile floor or comparable works really well. No need to use seedling mats.
I saved seeds from a couple onion plants that made it to year 2. I'm wondering if I can plant them going into this year if I will get a decent onion out of it? There's a risk of some cross-pollination as I also let some leeks go and the onions that flowered might've been from different varieties. Thanks for what you do as your content and presentation skills are spot on!
Thanks for the clarification. I found the information I wanted to know. 😁
Good afternoon from East Texas! You answered a LOT of question I had about growing from seed. I have higher hopes for my crop next year… 💁🏼♀️… Thanks!!
Great information and perfect timing! I was just thinking today that I need to start some onions. I agree with you about sets. Too iffy and pricey. I read this onion hack in a Jerry Baker book: Step on the soil around the onion foliage to press the bulb deeper into the soil. He says this gives you bigger onions. Have you heard of that?
I have not. Do you wait until the onion is well-rooted? I assume this isn't the case immediately at planting. I always heard sort of the opposite - let the soil be as loose as possible so there is as little resistance as possible for the onion to bulb. I always heard compact soil makes it hard for the onions to grow big bulbs, so this seems to conflict what I was always heard. Last year, I did nothing, and my onions were awesome.
@@TheMillennialGardener He doesn’t say when. I think you’re right. It makes sense that loose soil would be best. Rather than compacting them, I’d think it would be better to add another inch or two of soil if the depth is a concern. Btw, you’re going to love the bunching onions. They’re kind of a pain to clean, but they taste good. Once you’ve grown them you’ll always have them. They’re very easy to keep going by just leaving one or two behind, so they provide “onion security.” 😂
@@muziklvr1729 So, basically it sounds like he's recommending hilling, by either pressing them deeper or filling soil around them? I could see that making sense. It seems to work for potatoes.
Excellent video. So very clear. I just got my trays and heirloom seeds in the post, but I think our onion planting season has passed here in NZ, but I’ll get on with the summer crops. I hope the sowing process is similar to this. Thanks.
Thank you so much for this! I have always assumed I should get the bulb but next year I'm definitely going to get some seeds.
Very helpful.
You are a fantastic teacher. 👍
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
Wonderful! Thx for sharing this info. Extremely helpful. 😊
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
As usual: concise, clear information! Just what I needed my friend. Just getting ready to start onions from seed indoors in zone 6B Southern Indiana.
You the mann👊🏾.
This is the video I needed.
Great catch Dale.
Thanks for sharing. Got to watch it one more to make sure i got it lol.
Thank you for the link ! I will give the tray a go. 🥰
I got the same scarlet bandits and was trying to find how to plant them and find your video. Never tried onions/bunching onions before, can't wait to see the results 😁
I'm looking forward to them, too! Mine should be ready for transplant next week!
Great to have this video to refer back to as I started onion seeds a few weeks ago, and needed some guidance on what to do. Great video AS ALWAYS!!!
Thank you!
So informative! Perfect step by step. My mannn
Dang it. I wanted to try onions this year so I bought a small bulb set. 😂. Next year I’ll try seeds! Thanks for info!!
finally a good explanation on all options!!! thank you
You're welcome!
A perfect procedure to grow onoions
I grow mine in multiples and plant out in 3-4 to grow together . Increases overall yield
Very helpful. Thank you. Dale is so obedient 🥰
You're welcome! Dale is obedient when food rewards are involved. If there is no reward, he often ignores you if he doesn't feel like getting up. Hounds very much have a mind of their own.
Thankyou!!!🥰
Finally...I now know why and how!
Grrrrrrate!😀👍Awesome!
I'm glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for watching!
Hi I'm in Greenville. I just planted sweet peas.
Thank you! Great video, great explantion!
You are welcome! Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Thank you
Great video! I love the explanation on bulbs versus seeds thank you so much.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the lesson.
When and what do you feed the seedlings? We really enjoy your videos!! Thanks
Thank you for the great information! ✌️
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
I've always had great success growing onions from sets. This year I'm going to try both methods. Good video! SE Kansas on the Short Day/Intermediate line
I recommend growing them side by side. I did that last year and the results were clear to me. Sets can be successful, but they’re more expensive and do run the risk of not bulbing well. Planting them side by side may be a good experiment.
@@TheMillennialGardener I plan to do this experiment this year. I also try to tuck onions in amongst lots of other things with companion planting. By planting them side by side in one bed, and together scattered in my other beds I hope to have a good experiment. (or maybe an abundance of scallions. Ha!)
@@zinnia3190 onions make great companion plants. They also help repel some pests, so by interplanting them around pest-susceptible plants (like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), you can naturally repel some of those nuisance pests! It's a smart use of space, and a smart way to limit pest pressure.
Howdy neighbor, I'm in Goldsboro so happy to have found you today. I'm a new subscriber
Thanks for subbing, neighbor! I appreciate it. We have extremely similar climates, so what does well for me should do the same for you!
I’m going to try short day and intermediate day onion. I’m in 7a in Reno. I think I can do both; yet I’m doing each type with own rows to confirm
I direct sowed my seeds....then weeds popped up. Well now i know next time do a seed tray and transplant 👍
Very informative, many thanks . 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Excellent, informative video. Thank you! I may have to try some onion seeds next year!
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful.
You explain so good. Very helpful. You also discipline your dog very nicely... He's lovely ^_^
Very nice explaine i will do the same way you did it
Hi, great video, I do grow from sets but, im growing from seed too this season to trial tge difference between both. If it goes well will definitely not bother with sets next year, thanks for sharing & take care 🙂
Great plan! Nothing better than a side-by-side comparison. That's what I did, and I was amazed by the results. My seed-grown onions not only grew larger, but they matured more quickly. I was pretty surprised.
When sown, where did you keep them? Sunlight? Temperature? Great video, I want to have a try at bunching onions
Thank you. God bless you
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
This explains so much! Thanks!
You're welcome!
Good dog, good dog. Way to go Dale. Our basset hounds would love you.
Dale loves other dogs. He's a rescue, so he "grew up" around a lot of other dogs. He always gets to excited to play.
@@TheMillennialGardener we raise basset hounds. You can check us out at Bailey’s Basset Hounds on RUclips too.
The cheese grater is out! 😂😂😂😂
He is so good, smart and a great catcher! Long live Dale🙏❤👏👏👏🏆
He impresses me every day. He was apparently doing tricks at playcare the other day for treats and rolling over to impress them. They didn't know he knew so many tricks 😅
@The Millennial Gardener I love how well he listened. Better than my kid😂😂😂You told him back to his bed once and he did it👏👏👏👏 He is great and you are blessed to have him❤🐶🦮❤
@@mariap.894 he's an extremely good listener. But will he actually do what I ask? That depends on his mood and if treats are involved. The boy is a hound at his core and is extremely...independent.
I always have good results growing onion seed, but this year 2 out of 200 seed from botanical interest the yellow granex brand new seed packet for 2023 didn't germinate, so now gonna try my old seed from 2021 Texas early grano from baker creek.
Super great information!!
I’m near Charlotte, NC and just started my onion seeds two days ago. I’m also growing the yellow granex.
Have you grown Yellow Granex before? They're fantastic. It's funny to say that an onion is delicious because...you know, it's an onion...but they're really great!
This is my first time growing the granex. Really good germination so far though.
@@bz963 you're going to love the variety.
I have never grown onions from seed. And I thought to myself, why? I have grown TREEs from SEED! But then.. i did it this year! I think I’ll get less bulting and more of an overal larger bulb. I should have done this years ago
Enjoy your videos Im wondering if you have one on growing and harvesting onion seeds
Really good information! I would really love to grow shallots as well. Thank you for a great teaching video.
You’re welcome! Thank you for watching. Shallots cost around 75 cents a piece, so growing your own is the way to go. A packet of 200 seeds only costs around $2!
Your onions look amazing!
Thank you!
Great explanation. Thanks
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Is December or January the best time to get the trays loaded with the seed?❤ love your videos!
Hey FYI your video played 14 ads in this one video. Not sure if you were aware - your content is great and you're very likable- maybe reduce the ads a bit and your channel would do amazing.
Interesting. Usually, that only happens if you skip around a lot. If you let it play through, it triggers less ad breaks.
I’ve watched it straight through, twice. No ads
I had onion leaf miners this year. 😭 I'm going to try to grow from seed next year and transplant in a different location.
Just about to start my onion seeds this week! I was wondering, I've heard that cutting the tops of the onions after a few weeks helps strengthen the onions. Have you tried this before?
Loved your video…and all of them!! I live in Sacramento, CA…zone 9, and would like to try growing onions. Looks like I’m in the intermediate section. Should I start mine now? Thank you so much.
Thank you! Yes, absolutely, start them now. Don’t delay. Onions mature around the solstice, so the sooner your start them, the better. In your zone, you can plant them in December for an early crop since onions are hardy to Zone 9.
Very informative video! Great job I am a new subscriber
Did i watch one of your videos once and you said to trim the tops with sissors? before they go outside at the thinning out stage? if yes how much and often. Thx BC, vancouver canada
Thank you! I will try your method!
I think you'll like it! Best of luck!
Damn. This gardening video was actually useful. Most Chanel’s don’t do that :3
Was very helpful
Sooooo how do you sustain the onions in the ground during winter so they are viable to flower the next year? How much do you water them during winter? How do you cover them? How do you harvest the seeds? Could you please film a Complete Guide To GROWING ONIONS?
Can you transplant those onions you pulled out into another cell so you have more onions than just the ones you have in the original cells?
maybe I should also plant a few onion sets to get the seed!
I just started my onion seeds on the 30th, but my sets arrived today (feb 8th). Should I wait and plant everything out after my frost date has passed? Or plant the sets out ASAP and cover them? Zone 8a Charlotte NC. Thank you!
Hey, how deep of a container for onions and leeks? I have Alison Craig (the big one) as well as smaller red onions. I also have leeks, which I wish to place in containers as well. Both the onions and leeks are currently in small pots ready to be transplanted. I live on the west coast of Canada.
On we go after losing so much to the southwest Florida freeze. Planted many seeds today. Maybe some onions next week.
That’s sad to hear. You may want to protect your annuals like I protect my avocados and citrus. Frost cloth isn’t enough. Having a few boxes of incandescent lights in stock to warm them underneath a frost blanket is what is needed for a real deal freeze. Florida is so unpredictable.
@@TheMillennialGardener learning.
@@kennethlatimer4607 we get bit here every year. My figs got burned pretty badly in that ice storm and 14 degree freeze. It's always best to grow a diversity of things, so every year something succeeds.
Do you feed seedlings while they are still in the tray ? ... if so , how often and how much and what kind of fertilizer ?
I have a video on this here: ruclips.net/video/hsxK-bFynO8/видео.html
"How often" depends on how often they dry out. You can't let them completely dry out, so you need to keep an eye on them.
Thanks for the great content .
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
@@TheMillennialGardener thanks im looking forward to see how the seedling are transplanted into the soil . hope you get a very delicious 😋 yield .
@@imanderdumme8706 I can try to make a video on that if time allows. I think I have a video showcasing that last year here: ruclips.net/video/ZGVlbcfmSJE/видео.html
Could you re-plant the seedings that get pulled out? In their own space?
yes you can. I broadcast my onion seeds into an open flat. After they're up and spreading roots, I break open the soil and "prick"; them out and transplant one in each single cell. they are very robust. Most of the seedlings fall out of the sprouting tray without a root ball attached. I just plunge them into a hole I've poked into the new pot. I honestly don't think I've lost a single seedling using that method.