I Wish I Had Known THIS About Growing Onions!

[@TerriEscobar-dc4jj]

Great info! New gardener in Tampa. Your videos are incredibly helpful! Thank you so much! Really appreciate you!💕 🥕🧄🍠🍅🥬🫑🧅

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

You are so welcome!

[@permit40]

The best success I have had in central Florida with onions: We bought 1 bunch of green onions from the grocery store. We ate the greens, but planted the 1" roots in a 12" pot with regular potting soil. It has been prolific with fresh green onions for 3 years! We just trim the greens and the grow back.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I love doing that too!

[@andreacastelli6296]

Star of the show... the beautiful cardinal chirping away 😂😂❤❤❤

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I love those cardinals 🐦💚

[@oreopaksun2512]

That is a monster "green onion"! Brag-worthy, even if no bulb. Just watching your old videos because we had that weird onion shortage last fall, and I got a bundle of starts just to try. Glad to know I am not the only person having trouble getting onions of any type to grow from seed; never made it past that hairlike seedling stage. I will give it another go; I have all these seeds, and I hear they really don't keep well. Thank you for all the good info.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Onion seeds are tough. I planted an entire seed packet and only 20 germinated. You are correct that they don’t keep very long so might as well toss them in a container or bed and let them fight it out. 😂 They stay pretty small and wispy for a long time but then they just take off.

[@jlseagull2.060]

@@HomegrownFloridaZ9a It is the same with leeks, chives, bouncing onions etc growing from seeds. They take a while to “grow up.” I just let them do their job in the garden and ignore them for a while (still keep regular watering). Then, one day…surprise, surprise!

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

@@jlseagull2.060 what a great surprise 🧅

[@ellenconforti5693]

I am a new subscriber and already I have learned so much from your videos. I am also in zone 9a just up in the next county. Did live in your county for many years but never got into growing till many years later. Now we grow a lot of vegetables as well as fruits. I am addicted now. We are retired but this is definitely a job but one that is so rewarding. I too grow my onions from starts. Have been doing this for 3 years now and am going to be harvesting them tomorrow. They look ready. We buy them from Dixondale Farms and yes they're expensive but I have had great success with them. Until KZbin I was never able to grow an onion but now I see where they buy them, what type of onion and when they plant them which is crucial. I finally have it down pay. All these videos really help everyone learn to grow and we appreciate what you do. Thanks Ellen Florida Gardener Zone 9a

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Thank you so much Ellen. I’m addicted to gardening too, lol. I had so many struggles in the beginning and once I started getting the hang of it, I wanted to share what I’ve learned to help other people. I got my onion starts from dixiondale farms this year too. The quality was really good. They are my new go-to place for starts. I’m still doing seeds too but they are always hit or miss.

[@ellenconforti5693]

@Homegrown Florida I too tried the seeds this year so maybe i wouldn't have to spend all that money. They were very skinny and i don't think they did well. I will try again next year but start during August sometime as September wasn't enough time.. I actually bought the same seeds that I grow from Dixondale Farms which are the Texas Legend. They are a large, white sweet onion. I bought the seeds, I think, from Baker Creek. I also watch Hollis and Nancy in upper Florida and they grew the Texas Legend and they look so beautiful.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

@@ellenconforti5693 mine were pretty wimpy too

[@susanchavez8197]

I grow them from seed. I grow my Celebrity tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets and I put 3 onions around it. When my tomatoes die, my onions bulb out. Great companion plants!

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

That’s a great idea!

[@telliehack2590]

Great info thanks. On a side note Omg that sparkling ring is beautiful.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Aww thanks. My husband has great taste.

[@susanchavez8197]

This is my first time growing short day from seeds. There’s nothing better than homegrown. I’ve used starts before and find that they grow well with my tomatoes.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I agree completely. I usually do a combination of starts and seeds. Basically I use the starts for any areas the seeds didn’t work out.

[@dunaj1]

Thank you for such an informative explanation of onions. Now headed to look for the short day for 10b South Florida

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I’m so glad it helped. They are super easy to grow once you get your hands on some short day onion varieties

[@tashiii18]

I’m in zone 10a, did you find a variety that would work in our heat?

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Yes I did. Granex and Texas super sweet are my favorite to grow but they don’t store very long. I’ll be trying red creole this year which I hear has a longer storage.

[@asahglobalspheresapostolic6044]

Awesome video extremely informative taught me alot. Question can we grow white and reds onions in Florida zones 9-10?

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

We can! But pick varieties that are short day versus long/intermediate. Dixiondale farms has a lot of short day varieties that work down here.

[@asahglobalspheresapostolic6044]

Okay thank you 😊

[@jerrydaniel1530]

i like the way u talk.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Thanks 👩‍🌾

[@myfrugalsolution]

A very informative video that I will use to choose my onions. How do you stop birds getting at them when they are young. Just subscribed Thanks.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I usually start mine in trays under my covered patio and transplant them once they get a bit larger. They may still go after them when you transplant them but usually they leave them alone once they are a bit bigger

[@PlumeriaCottageFL]

Have you noticed I'm going through all your videos this week? lol. Sorry for the overload of questions! I've been watching you since last year, but now I am going back and rewatching some things and taking the chance to ask questions. I hope you don't mind... So, my onion question is: when do you call it quits and just eat them as they are - bulb or no bulb? Is it after a certain amount of time from planting? A certain month? A certain look they have? Thanks again for your time helping us all in this gardening journey! :)

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Haha. No worries. I love the questions. Thanks so much for watching. Usually I give up on them by June. They should have bulbed by then if you planted them in winter. Sometimes that just doesn’t happen. So I just eat them like green onions. If the bulb partially forms but not all the way, you can continue to wait but usually I just pull them, chop them, and put them in the freezer. They will keep better that way. The ones that bulbed, I hang those to dry and they should last a few months in the pantry. 👩‍🌾

[@sgordil2]

do you know where i can buy onion starts im in tampa fl.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

Home Depot should have them around November. I get mine from dixiondale farm. Good quality

[@kgeistfeld]

Where do you find your onion starts?

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I normally get mine from Dixiondale farms. They have done well for me

[@CristalMermaid]

I prefer to grow them from seeds, my favorite varieties are Red Creole and White Creole.

[@HomegrownFloridaZ9a]

I’m actually going to be trying a red creole this year. Good to know they grow well here.

[@CristalMermaid]

@@HomegrownFloridaZ9a they are the biggest I have grown.