Crafts & DIY
Important Tips For Growing Big Onions
This is some very good information.
Kathleen Shipman
06.05.20

Onions are an excellent addition to a variety of dishes including soups, stir-fry recipes, casseroles, and pretty much everything in between. Whether cooked or raw, they provide that extra kick of flavor that’s second to none!

But if you need another reason to love onions they also have health benefits too. According to Healthline, they’re full of antioxidants, nutrients, and may help in areas such as heart, bone, and digestive health.

Pixabay/Joseph Mucira
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Pixabay/Joseph Mucira

With how amazing onions are, have you ever considered growing your own?

Onions are known for being fairly simple to grow. According to the expert from Hoss Tools, “…an onion plant will grow just about anywhere.” However, if you want bulbs that are the size of softballs, then there are a couple of important tips to follow.

Fortunately for us, he shared these useful tips – along with other details on how to grow your own large, juicy onions!

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Tip #1: It’s all about timing.

Timing plays a key factor in a lot of things, so it makes sense that it does in onion growing as well. The man explains in the video:

“You want to plant those onions as soon as you can, so you can get as much growth as possible out of the window for that particular onion variety.”

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When planting onions, there are two growing stages to expect. The first is the “vegetative stage” or the “investment stage.” The second is the “bulbing stage,” or what the expert calls the “payoff stage.”

When it comes to the vegetative stage, you want “as much leaf growth” as possible. Each leaf on the plant represents an onion bulb ring – meaning the more leaves, the bigger the onion! He says:

“…planting those onions early is important to maximize that vegetative stage, and get as many leaves as you can so that it’ll payoff in the end. So for us in the South, the ideal onion planting time is late November.”

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Tip #2: Feed them well.

Feeding is the next key to producing large onions. They’re “heavy feeders,” which is why lots of fertilizer and water are important in their growth.

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For his garden of Texas Legend and Red Creole onions, he used a Drip Tape irrigation system. Prior to planting, he laid the Drip Tape using two feet of row spacing. He explains:

“I like that two-foot spacing because once those onions get larger, I can just make one pass between those double rows with my single wheel hoe – and it makes it really easy to cultivate it and keep it clean.”

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Keep them happy with these feeding techniques.

After planting your onions (which is demonstrated in the video) there are two ways to feed them. The first involves injecting 20-20-20 fertilizer into the drip system at an early stage to help with root development. Eventually, he switches to a nitrogen-based fertilizer (15-0-2 blend).

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The second way you can feed your onions is to “side dress” them (which is a slow-release method). It involves sprinkling the nitrate fertilizer alongside the rows of onion plants. All of the watering and feeding during this vegetation stage will help you achieve positive results!

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It’s a video from Hoss Tools with more than 960K views.

By following the two tips during the “investment stage,” it should lead to a crop of big and juicy onions. Your tastebuds will certainly thank you for it!

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Be sure to press play on the video below for more info and additional instructions!

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