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Trimming Onion Starts for Stronger Plants

3/6/2017

9 Comments

 
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How to Grow Stronger Onion Starts

Do you grow onions from seeds or do you use onions sets? Onions sets give you a jump start but for just a little more work you can grow onions from seed and greatly broaden the variety which you are able to grow. Don't be intimidated, I'm about to share a little secret with you to help you get the strongest onions starts for an abundant harvest! First let me tell you a little about what kinds of onions we are growing at Rolling Hills Farm.
At Rolling Hills Farm we always looks for heirloom varieties for our gardens. This year we are growing:

Stuttgarter- This is a medium sized yellow onion with a strong onion flavor. It produces well and stores well too. If you grow enough, and store them properly, they will last you until the following spring without going bad.

Alisa Craig- A large (it can get up to 5lbs) globe onion that was introduced in 1887. It came from the gardener of Marquis of Alisa at Culzean Castle in Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The gardener, David Murray, must have been pretty pleased with these great onions.

Southport White Globe- This little onion has quite the history. It was developed and grown in Southport Connecticut along the Mill river. From here, the then "onion capital", it was exported by the millions. These onions became very important during the Civil war  when they were pickled and used to keep scurvy away. It was considered the "best white onion for market" by Seedsman Thomas Griswold.

Southport Purple Globe- As the name states, the red version of the Southport onion. It was released in 1873.

All of these onions are considered to be long day type onions. This means they need long days to grow properly. If you live in the north this is what you want. As you move south, you will want a short day variety. Always very important to consider when picking out which onions you are going to grow.

We also grow multiplier onions. Multiplier onions are planted in the fall and harvested in mid to late summer. You plant one onion in the fall and it grows into as much as 10 or 12 by harvest.
You can learn more about them and how we harvest them here.

Onions require a long growing season to reach full maturity so they are typically started in early February here in ND. It only takes a few weeks for them to become long and tangled. The onions in the picture below are 5 plus inches long. Time for a hair cut!
Gorwnig onions from seeds, growing onions, trimming onion plants, cuting back onions, heirloom gardening, long day onions, heirloom onions
Trimming onions is very simple. All you need to do is cut them back to about 1 1/2 in tall. That's it and you can eat all the trimmings. Rinse them off and use them like chives. They go great in quiche. You might want to try this quiche recipe.

When you are all done with the hair cut your onions should look like they had a little mini lawn mower go over them. You will be amazed at how quickly they grow back. When they start to get long and tangled again give them another hair cut. You will want to to this several times. Each time you trim back the greens it forces the plants to put more energy into their roots and that is makes for more vigorous, and larger onions.
Gorwnig onions from seeds, growing onions, trimming onion plants, cuting back onions, heirloom gardening, long day onions, heirloom onions
If you are a gardener and you haven't tried growing onions from seeds before then don't be afraid to try. If you don't have the space or time then sign up for our CSA and you can still enjoy heirloom onions varieties ( as well as all the other heirloom vegetables that we grow!).

Happy, healthy, clean eating,

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9 Comments
Mark McKinley
4/7/2020 05:54:44 pm

I want to learn more...

Reply
Jaci link
4/10/2020 01:00:13 am

Hey Mark,
Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad that you enjoyed my post. I have several other posts about using and harvesting onions if you are interested. The most recent one is "Ew! What's Eating Your Carrots and Wow to Stop It" I think you would find that very interesting. If you have any other questions just let me know.

Thanks!
~Jaci

Reply
Shreyas Mahendra Chaudhari
4/21/2020 01:07:32 pm

Dear sir thank you for your idea , sir i am doing the project on onion and i want to know is it myth or fact that trimming the springs of onion can give us the bigger size of onion bulb ? Sir if we cut the spring of onion how will it get do its photosynthesis process? I want to grow the onion by keeping is size of spring very very low .. so shall i cut the spring of onion and keep its 4-5 inches does it will affect the side of my onion ? Or the growth of bulb will be stop ??

Jaci Cutforth link
4/25/2020 10:22:18 pm

Shreyas,
I have found that trimming my onions starts/seedlings helps them to grow into bigger and stronger plants. I have not found the same to be true for more mature onions. Once I plant my onion starts into the garden I no longer trim the greens. It is important that the green do not get bent over because this will stunt their growth. Wind can be very problematic with this. I try to plant my onions where they will receive some protection from the wind. I also add compost to the garden beds every year. Onions also like plenty of water. Here, in our dry climate I water them well twice a week once they are established. when they are very young I keep the soil moist. I hope this helps with your projects!

Jaci

Amanda
6/8/2020 07:04:37 pm

Hi there, thanks for the informative post ! I am having some pest issues (onion maggots) In my onion/ garlic garden. Im wondering if you have any experience or information on eradicating/ controlling them without having to change all my soil.i have tried a few things.. diatomaceous earth, neem oil with a drop of dish soap.. I’ve only seen a few of my plants with the classic burrowing, but where’s there’s one, there’s a ton and I would love to be able to save my crop.
Cheers!

Reply
Jaci link
6/10/2020 10:57:41 pm

Amanda,

I'm sorry to hear that you have onion maggots! When I first hear this I wonder where you live because onion maggots prefer cool wet soil. do you live somewhere rainy and cool? You can't escape you climate but raised beds warm up quicker in the spring and drain better than regular garden beds. If you don't use raise beds this might be something to consider for the future. Do you practice crop rotation? This is really important in disrupting the pest cycle. I have a blog post with a free guide if you want to learn more about it. Just type in "crop rotation" in the search bar. There is also a spray you can make that is supposed to deter the female flies. All you have to do is blend spicy peppers, garlic, and onions with some water and organic soap. The ratio doesn't need to be exact just make a soupy smoothy out of it and then let it sit for a day. Strain the solids out then drench the soil with the liquid. You can also get beneficial nematodes that will eat the larvae of the onion maggot. You need Steinernema feltiae nematodes for onion maggots. You can purchase them at arbico-organics.com. Once you have harvested your onions be sure that you didn't miss any. Any left onions could be a host for over wintering pests. Rough up the soil to expose the larvae and if you have chickens pen them over the area you grow onions. They will scratch the larvae up exposing it to the birds as well as eating some themselves. Onion maggots are hard to get rid of. I would employ as many of these suggestion as possible. I hope this helps! All the best to you and your efforts!!

Jaci

Reply
Rick Duiker
7/12/2020 04:01:07 pm

I have a few varieties of onions for long term storage. LaSalle, ridgeline and ruby red. They are about 2 feet tall should i trim them as i did as seedling so they won't fall over and maybe grow a little bigger.?

Reply
Jaci link
7/19/2020 03:56:12 am

Rick,

It sounds like your onions are doing great to be so tall. Does it seem like they have stopped growing? Are the stems fallen over? I have tried trimming my onions after planting them out and they start to gain size. I have not found the trimming to be helpful at this point. In fact, when I trimmed all the stems on the onion it seemed to stunt them. If you trim one stem of the onion to the point where it is bent over it doesn't seem to have the same effect. Did that make sense? I hope so. Sometime it can be difficult to try and explain thing through type. Ha!

Happy gardening!

Jaci

Reply
amanda lynne
7/24/2020 08:02:03 am

After i trimmed my onions they all started to wilt and become mushy. Theyve gotten worse everyday and its now ruined over half my onions and ive had to pull them. We water everyday though with an above sprinkler. Was i not suppose to water them after eoing the hairncut? I think the water filled the stems and rotted them and the onion...????

Reply



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    Hello, I'm Jaci. I look forward to sharing my gardening and homestead adventures to help you reach your gardening goals! If you have any questions then don't be shy, I'd love to hear from you. Send me a message and I will be glad to help!

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