Spring onions have arrived at Wells Brothers. We’ve got Walla Walla, Texas Sweet, Red, and 1015 onions in-stock. Plant onions as soon as they become available in full sun and well-drained soil that is loose to about eight inches deep. Onions should be planted deep enough to hold up the plant and about four to five inches apart. Once a root system is established (about three weeks) pull some of the dirt away from the top to expose the bulb to sunlight. Don’t let them get thirsty. Onions require good moist soil during the first part of the growing cycle. Once the bulbs start to form, moisture becomes less of an issue.
Onions require more fertilizer than most garden crops. They really enjoy moderate nitrogen (1st number) and high phosphate (2nd number) fertilizers. Apply fertilizer when you prepare the bed. I have also used bone meal and Wells Brothers “Jump Starter” when planting. At three weeks top dress with nitrogen and then again when the bulb starts to grow. I also fertilize every three weeks or so until the end of April. You should be harvesting onions towards the end of May.
Now on to crop rotation. Farmers have been moving crops around their fields for more than a millennium. Even so, I still talk to folks that insist on planting the same crop in the same space year after year and expect the same results. It never happens. You might get lucky for two years but not for three. In the past, I have had excellent crop rotation plans and I have had some that really stunk up the garden. As the saying goes, plan your work and work your plan.
