How to Farm Onions
Onion farming is a good idea if you have unused land in your backyard. Perhaps, this crop does not attract the attention of many people yet it supports a million lives specifically children who help in the planting process.
There are some places in the world where locals depend on their living in onion farming.
For many years, onion farming became popular across Yemen. However, due to the lack of interest of many farmers the industry declines. Fortunately, nowadays lots of people engage in backyard gardening and they find growing onions as their choice. There are two categories of onions as the short day onions and the long day onions. These two onions differ in the growing period. Likewise, when buying onion varieties that you will grow you can choose from bulb onions and perennial onions.
How to Plant Onions?
Onions can be grown from seeds, sets, and transplants. When you choose to grow onions from seeds you should plant the seeds ½ inches apart and 3/8 inch deep. The rows should be 15 inches apart. On the other hand, the bulb onions are perfect to grow from transplant. The planting process is merely the same as growing from seeds. In like manner, the bulb onions can be easily grown by planting sets. Planting sets can be grown closely together but needs to be thin out by getting the green onions and the others will grow into bulbs.
Maintaining onion Plants
Farming onion plants require a lot of water as they initially grow. However, as the plants mature, they do not need much water. Sometimes you can just depend on rainwater but make sure that the plants absorb the right amount every 5-7 days. Mulching can help reduce the weeds and at the same time maintain the soil moisture level. Keep in mind to weed out once the onions start to grow so that the weeds will not absorb the soil nutrients needed by the onions. However, you should be careful when weeding and ensure not to disturb the roots of the onions. In addition, you may not use fertilizer if you employ quality compost in the soil before planting the onions. Instead, you should use a root builder like the natural mycorrhizal fungi. It helps the roots in absorbing water as well as soil nutrients by attaching to the roots. In this way, you can save the organic fertilizer for other crops.
Harvesting Onions
Bulb onions can be harvested within three months. When the plants start to yellow then it is the right time to harvest the bulb onions. The ripening process can be induced by breaking the tops of the onions. It is best to harvest the onions prior to producing flower stalks. On the other hand, you can only harvest the green onion as soon as it reaches 5 inches tall. The flavor depends on how taller they get. This means that if you want a strong flavor onion you should let it grow taller.
FAQ
Q. What is the best time for planting onion?
A. Usually onion seeds are planted in mid-October.
Q. What temperature is best suited for onion farming?
A. Temperature should be 15-25 degrees Celcius or 60-80 F. Onion needs uniform moisture throughout the growing season. More likely the furrow irrigation is used for onion planting.
Q. What are the various onion plant diseases?
A. Here are the common diseases that you need to be aware of like botrytis leaf blight, purple blotch, pink root, smudge, and several basal rots.
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@ben kyengo, I am a farmer from North India and we also get extreme hot temperature in summer(40 degrees Celsius plus) and in winters dec, jan, feb( touches 0 degrees also sometimes). We plant seeds in oct and transplant saplings in dec-jan. harvest in april( temp around 33-37 deg C). I have farmer friends in kenya who are into wheat and sugarcane. Since you have not mentioned the temperature and rain distribution of your area, I cannot be specific, but our onions and wheat grow concurrently. So, it is likely that you too can grow onions( We have an Indian variety called Nasik reds which can bear high temperature). They are similar to spanish red onions and have strong taste and average size. I hope this helps. All the best,
captbhattal@gmail.com || Farming Expert
@Ash Farmer, Yellow and white onions of Geogia state, USA are very famous. Yours and Wala Wala in Washington state are most famous. I am sure red Indian onions are being cultivated there in small quantity though those cold months can ab issue. Please elaborate what kind of help you need? Is it only the seed that you need or advice or contract farming? All the best.
captbhattal@gmail.com || Farming Expert
@Anteneh Aenhesha, Temperatures of 25-30 Celsius are no problem for red onions. They thrive well in heat provided the soil has good drainage and are regularly irrigated. All the best.
captbhattal@gmail.com || Farming Expert
@simba silendeni, Onions do not fare well in frost like conditions, specially at nascent stage. spread hay around the saplings( Also Mulching) can be helpful upto some extent. About fertilizer, I suggest you should get the soil tested to see which nutrients are lacking in soil before fertilizing it. Onions can give good results in low fertility soils also and cattle manure, compost and vermi compost are always suitable for onions.
captbhattal@gmail.com || Farming Expert
@Thandeka, A rough estimate would be around 150-200 quintals....depends though on breed of onions, soil, care.. many factors...All the best
captbhattal@gmail.com || Farming Expert
2. I know that onion bolts in the second harvesting year. What is the cycle of bolting of onions?