Month: February 2020

Onion Seeds

Since I’ve had a little bit of trouble finding onion starts when I want them, and had limited success growing them, I decided to order a couple of packets of seeds to try “winter sowing” in containers. It’s tricky to find local instructions on this, so I’m not sure it’s gonna be a great bet (or when to start them- although it looks like the whole point is that they sprout when they want to.)

I’m also going to sow a couple of rows in the onion beds… everything seems to be pointing towards an early spring so it’s worth a try?

Here’s an article on sowing onions

3- Winter Sowing

This is perhaps the second easiest option as it takes little time on your part and almost no equipment. Winter sowing is basically cold-stratifying your onion seeds to the outside temperatures, then they sprout when conditions are right in the spring. You can plant your seeds this way anytime from early December to mid-February in most locations. 

Seed sowing is similar to starting seeds in a container, except you skip the heat mats, grow lights and all of the other equipment. Start with a container that has some holes in the bottom for drainage, fill to within an inch of the top with good quality dry potting soil and sow your onion seeds across the top with a sprinkling motion, giving them about 1/4 to 1/2 inch spacing. Poke 1/4 inch holes in the lid for ventilation and put it on the container after labeling it with the date and type of onion you planted. 

Now place the container in a shady, protected spot outside. It doesn’t matter if it freezes or snows – the onion seeds are acclimating to the changing conditions and will remain dormant until the conditions are right. This is why you use dry potting soil! 

When the temperatures and day length are right, your onion seeds will start sprouting inside the container. As the weather starts to warm up during the day, check your seed container every couple of days for signs of sprouting. Once you see the tiny bits of green peeking out, then you’ll need to water the potting soil, keeping it slightly moist but not wet. As they grow, open the lid on warm days and close it at night, still keeping it out of direct sun. If you get a hard freeze once the seedlings have germinated, cover the container with a blanket or towel at night to protect them, but remove it next morning. 

As soon as you can work your garden soil in early spring, transplant your seedlings just like if you had started them indoors. Before transplanting, refer to the garden bed preparation section below.You don’t need to harden them off because they’ve been outside all winter and are acclimated to the temperatures. 

The pros to this method are the plants are used to the natural temperature and light cycles and are primed to germinate at the right time. They usually form larger bulbs more consistently as well. The cons are remembering to check on the container that might be out of sight outside, especially when the temperatures warm up. 

The cons are remembering to check on the container that might be out of sight outside, especially when the temperatures warm up.