By Garry Onion: sowing, planting, growing and harvesting
Learn when to sow, plant, care for and harvest onion in your garden.
🌱 Onion : key growing facts
📅 Growing calendar
Indicative Northern Hemisphere temperate-climate calendar only. Adjust to local frost dates, climate, variety and growing conditions. In the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are approximately six months later.
🔎 Growing specifications
🧺 Harvest readiness & expected yield
When to pick
Lift storage onions when tops fall and begin drying; cure thoroughly before storing.
What to expect
One bulb per plant; bulb size depends on cultivar, spacing and day length.
Indicative only; variety, climate and care affect harvests.🌿 How to grow successfully
🤝 Companion planting
Grow beside leafy greens or carrots if spacing and watering requirements allow.
↔️ What to avoid
Avoid poorly drained soil and repeated allium planting in the same bed.
🐛 Pests and diseases
Check regularly for aphids, slugs and fungal disease.
🧤 Ongoing care
Weed carefully and reduce watering as storage bulbs mature.
🧺 Harvest and storage
Harvest storage onions as tops fall and necks soften; cure thoroughly in a dry airy place.
🧑🌾 From sowing to harvest
Prepare the soil
Remove perennial weeds and prepare a firm, well-drained bed without fresh manure.
Sow or transplant
Sow seeds or plant sets/cloves according to the crop; keep the growing point at the correct depth.
What to monitor
Check for rust, thrips and yellowing foliage; keep beds weed-free.
When and how to harvest
Lift storage onions when tops fall and begin drying; cure thoroughly before storing.