Complete Guide To GROWING ONIONS From Seed [BETTER Than Onion Sets]

This is a complete guide to growing onions from seed. I show you the entire onion growing process from start to finish and explain why seed grown onions are better than planting onion sets. This simple method will help you grow onions without fail!

I'll explain why growing onions from onion seeds performs better than growing onion sets, how to select the proper onion varieties to grow in your location, why I don't bother growing onion bulbs anymore, how to thin onion seedlings, and when you should be transplanting onions in your garden.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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

If you have any questions about how to grow onions from seed, want to know about the things I grow in my garden, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and "garden hacks" like this, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and "how to" garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!

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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8A

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© The Millennial Gardener

#gardening #gardeningtips #onions #growing #onion

[tylerday]

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.

[GardenerScott]

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.

[charlichad]

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!

[brownthumbnursery]

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.

[TheMillennialGardener]

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

[michaelkolanda]

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

[ketchfamily]

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.

[catherinesanchez]

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 !

[michaell]

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.

[brianseybert]

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.

[fah]

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

[rosiehowell]

I'm so happy I found your channel. Finally someone in my area.

[valoriegriego]

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.🙂

[doggiefamily]

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!

[joancoble]

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.

[billieharris]

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

[TrehanCreekOutdoors]

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.

[natgirrl]

Best explanation of the difference between seeds vs sets, and I have watched dozens of them.

[mo]

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.

[cbk]

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