Plant Your Texas Short Day Onions Before October Ends For A Coming Spring Harvest!

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Why Plant Onions?

Onions are a must have staple in most kitchens! They are the heart to pretty much any dish! Despite the after breath onions can give us, raw or cooked, onions have many health benefits for our bodies. Adding onion bulbs to your garden plan this season is essential to reaping the benefits!

Short, Intermediate, Long Day Onions

Short Day Onions (Suitable For Texas)

Suitable for southern states with shorter daylight hours
10-12 hours of daylight needed to form bulbs

Intermediate Day Onions

Suitable for mostly garden zones 5-6 but can still be planted in any state
12-14 hours of daylight needed to form bulbs

Long Day Onions

Suitable for growing in northern states with longer daylight hours
14-16 hours of daylight needed to form bulbs

Which Varieties To Pick?

There are many varieties of onions to pick from. Yellow, white, red onions! Sweet and savory onions! If exploring new onion varieties is something you would like to try, buying seeds from a reputable source is the way to go. Otherwise, its easier to find the common varieties of onion seeds and sets suitable for growing in your area at your local plant nurseries.

Short Day Varieties For Texas

Purchase sets from a reputable seller like Dixondale Farms

Texas 1015Y Super Sweet
Texas Early Grano
Texas Early White
Red Creole
Southern Belle Red

Planting Seeds or Sets?

Onion Seeds

Starting onions from seeds is a cheaper option to grow onions but requires more care during the seedling stage and will have longer wait time from seed to harvest.

Onion Sets

It is much more beginner friendly to start with onion sets which are mini onions. From sets, onions can be ready to harvest in about 3-4 months.

Where To Buy

Seeds can be found much easier than sets especially during the spring season. Seeds can be ordered online from a reputable seller, bought at your local plant nurseries or at your local big box stores like Walmart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot, and Tractor Supply mostly year round.

Onion sets are harder to locate during the fall season. Buy them online from a reputable seller like Dixondale Farms or during the spring season you can call your plant nurseries to see what they have in stock. Many will stock up with the appropriate day length onion sets suitable for your area. It wouldn’t make sense for plant nurseries to sell long day onion sets in Texas but still double check with the a staff member or a quick online search that the variety you are buying is suitable for your location.

If the onion sets don’t have any information on the variety or daylight hours then its probably not a good idea to waste your money on something that may not thrive in your garden.

Pick a Location

Onions are better off planted in an open, sunny location. As mentioned, they need certain amount of daylight hours to form bulbs. Pick a sunny location!

Containers or grow bags can be used to grow onions. Many patio gardeners can harvest a successful crop of onions but if you have raised beds or garden rows, you could grow larger quantities of onions. It all depends on your personal preference.

Preparing The Soil

Onions produce shallow roots, meaning they don’t necessarily need deep garden beds or pots to thrive. This doesn’t mean they will thrive in poor soil. Onions still need at least 6-8 inches of mixed sandy loam with compost to grow to their full potential.

If the soil is compact, onion roots will struggle to grow through hard soil and stunt their growth. Start onions off right with good sandy loam soil and compost!

If using pots or grow fabric bags, remember to buy potting soil or make your own to ensure proper drainage. Raised garden bed or in ground soil will not drain well in pots!

Spacing

Onions like their space to grow! Don’t be greedy and try to sow too many onions sets close together because you will end up with small onions!

If you do happen to sow too many sets or seeds together, thin them out to a 4-6 inch spacing and use the harvested onion tops as a spring onion for your next meal.

Sowing Steps For Sets

Create a trench about 1 inch deep
Add mycorrhizal fungi to your trench for healthy root development
Sow onion sets tip side up about 4-6 inches apart for medium to large onions
Ensure onion tips are slightly above the soil and firm soil gently around the sets
Repeat steps for additional rows about 4-6 inches apart
Water lightly

Watering

Because onions have shallow roots, watering is needed more frequently especially during hot summers. When in doubt, check your soil moisture with a garden moisture meter or check for moisture two inches into the soil with your fingers.

As the onions grow larger, more water will be needed but be careful not to over water. Over watering can cause rot, so make sure you don’t over saturate the soil. A drip irrigation system will save you time during the growing season!

Fertilizing

Fertilizing onions is important! They require the proper nutrients like nitrogen, ammonia sulfate, and phosphorus to grow.

Fertilizing onions every 2-3 weeks with a combination of organic options such as worm castings, blood meal, bone meal, and compost are far better options than using synthetic fertilizers. You could also choose to buy an all purpose organic plant food option with all the proper nutrients. Organic fertilizers will keep your soil healthy longer.

Pest, Disease & Protection

Cover with netting to keep birds from pulling out your onion sets
Use row covers to protect onions from onion flies during warmer weather
Mulch with a thick layer of straw to keep your onions safe from hard frost or freezes during winter

Harvest & Cure

As the harvest day approaches, we may get excited to dig out those beautiful onions! Remember that onions are ready to harvest when their necks get soft and their tops flop over.

After gently digging out your floppy top onions, they require time to dry out and cure. On sunny days, curing onions can be done outdoors for about a week or until the outer skin is papery.

On rainy days, a garage with the door open can guarantee better ventilation for curing onions indoors. Using racks and a fan may be needed to help with the proper airflow! Don’t over crowd onions when curing and turn them as needed for even drying.

Storage

Onions prefer to be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. Before storing, either remove the onion tops and store in wooden storage crates, reusable netted bags or braid dry tops together for hanging. Some varieties of onions can store longer than others, possibly for as long as 6 months or up to a full year with proper ventilation to keep them from sprouting or molding.

Conclusion

Once you get into planting and harvesting onions, you just wont go back to buying store bought. It’s a must have staple so why not give planting onions a try? It’s not too late and fall is the best time to get started. By the time you know it, you will be harvesting onions this coming spring!