How to Grow Large Onions Perfectly Every Time

You all asked me to revisit the topic of growing onions. So in this video we are covering all the tips and tricks of growing onions and how we get perfect large onions every time. Check out our new clothing line! http:www.freshpickedapparel.com

[@chadj79]

I never understood why companies even sell onion sets, my first year of gardening, I purchased sets, and I found out the hard way that sets do not grow decent onions. I now start seed indoors every February and most of my onion are softball size or better. I grow kalsae, and Alisa Craig, and walla walla. Zone 5a Wisconsin. I nevertop them, just run a string between rows, that way the neck doesn’t bend and the full leaves are still intact to absorb the sun.

[@fishnlady]

chadj79 Great tip about running a string to hold up the onions. Thanks

[@ralsharp6013]

What season is it in February please?

[@lisakunish936]

@@ralsharp6013 It is winter in Wisconsin, extremely cold there, and the seeds are started indoors 😊

[@Aaron-oe8xw]

I use sets every year and get onions at 5-6inch diameter. When the bulb begins to grow from the set, loosen the soil around the bulb with a bent butter knife, this will allow the bulb to expand alot easier.

[@suetops]

How often to water red onions?

[@craigmunns6882]

Fun fact, onions (and other bulbs) need nitrogen not phosphorus because bulbs AREN'T roots, they are modified leaves #TheMoreYouKnow

[@cloutgangster]

Got em” 💥 💥

[@chrisfryer3118]

Craig Munns That explains my huge onions, grown on an old horse paddock, with wide spacing

[@Mmbohn1]

Craig Munns maybe a goos topic for Ask Levi?

[@izzzzzz6]

Thats why i pee in my onion beds. Gives them nice coloring and a strong flavor

[@aga5897]

@@izzzzzz6 That made my eyes water.

[@leeh6705]

Thank you! All my onions have fallen over and I couldn’t figure out why, nothing on the web other than they were ready to harvest, when they definitely weren’t. Live and learn for next year!

[@tomm5228]

You tube Charles dowding

[@emilyg.6639]

Here I am binge watching your old videos ❤

[@fredalyons8580]

Luke, thank you so much for the time you and your family put into helping us grow our food. We so appreciate every moment.

[@carmiejones8289]

Great info! But don't just discard those pinched off greens. Those are my favorite part of the onion. 😋 I snip them into little rings that go in all kinds of salads, soups, casseroles, eggs...

[@davidcrawford4610]

I just out they can be frozen too!!

[@KK7THK]

I’ve been freezing them and chopped chives for over a decade- fresh onion greens any time of year!

[@lizlusher]

I dehydrate them and use it in compound butter, on salad, on potatoes etc

[@VagabondPenguins]

I feed them to my rabbits and goats!

[@gingerfield1089]

I want to use them....have so many but found them EXTREMELY strong!!

[@lumbali]

Hey Luke - great videos. Would you consider doing a video on how to harvest, cure & store onions similar to the one you did for garlic recently? Appreciate all your hard work. Alison from Canada (Zone 4B)

[@BlessedBaubles]

You might tap on Luke's channel and search for a video on that. He did say he did an extensive video on onions a while back. I'm going to check that out right now. :)

[@robinbuie1987]

Pop

[@LucieMoulton]

Thanks for mentioning the garlic video! I am looking forward to searching for it now!

[@christinae.burlison936]

Agree!

[@lisacleveland5804]

Thank you for putting these videos out, even if repeat! Much appreciates!

[@Thegoobmancometh]

I discovered this channel 2 weeks ago and have been watching a few hours worth of MIgardener videos a day! I picked up a bundle of slab wood from the local Amish sawmill for $15 , and i am building several raised beds out of those. would have been close to $200 for the lumber so i am building them for basically $3 a piece. Just wanted to say thanks to MIgardener for inspiring me to get my hands dirty and help provide for my family! Also to try and eat healthier and get some exercise while we are stuck at home during these crazy times we are in! Always wanted to garden and now at 40 years old i'm diving in head first! Thanks Luke and family for the inspiration!

[@wmluna381]

It seems like we're all going back to the basics these days. Are you prepping as well?

[@Thegoobmancometh]

We are starting to get into prepping a bit more yes!

[@StaceyHerewegrowagain]

I have to admit Luke, I had no idea about long day and short day varieties! This was a great teaching video! I've only grown green onions, but I want to start growing many different varieties soon. This is going to help out a lot! Thank you so much for all this great information! Nothing beats fresh grown produce right in our own backyards!! I love how much beauty nature has to offer, right at the tips of our fingers🍃🐝

[@StaceyHerewegrowagain]

I love growing green onions!! You have such great tips about so many different plants. Thank you for clarifying how they grow! I can't wait to have an onion bed like yours!

[@joesqudy]

Hi Luke, in your opening comments you spoke about watching your older videos, I watch everything that you produce. You are the best source of information for gardening anywhere!!! 😃 You are my first go to for everything. Thank you and Cindy and your team so very much for providing all this free source material for gardening. That being said, do you have a video on Core Gardening? I would like to find out how to do that and apply it to my beds. I am in zone 9B, South Houston Texas. 🇨🇱 A lot different than Michigan. LOL. Again, thank you for all the great material. I wouldn’t have very much success if I hadn’t watched all of your videos. God bless and thanks 🙏🏽

[@jchny00]

Thanks for sharing again, I've followed you a while now didn't mind the refresher! After the first year using starts I've done seed ever since.

[@lindabullock6159]

Great information. I'm going to go back and look at your original onion video. My mother is Italian and always stir fried the onion tops in garlic. Delicious! Wish I could prune your onions. Thanks Luke.

[@williamwisenheimer2704]

I have watched a number of your videos for years and I appreciate how sincere you are and try to give accurate information. You even admit when you get things wrong.

[@53peace]

Thank you from UK. I have spent so much money buying sets of all colours and sizes and never produced a single onion worth talking about. This video is very helpful and identifies the problems. Hopefully next year I will grow some decent onions. Thanks. Really appreciate your vegetable growing videos.

[@Mrbfgray]

A topic that doesn't change much over time. Thanks for the summary, grown a lot of things but new to onions.

[@actisami1960]

I binge watch new and old videos. I appreciate all of the time you put into these.

[@thebeadstop3862]

Thank for this video!! I’m a newbie at onion and garlic growing but this video taught me a lot for next year to top off, spacing and grow from seed in the variety for long day onions! I got quite a few small golf size onions this year just winging it so happy they grew at all!

[@peterturner1582]

Thanks for another well researched and presented video. I am growing onions in the sub-tropics (Brisbane Australia) so can only grow short day onions but finding out which varieties available here are short day onions is very hard. The seed packets don't specify. I now have found a couple of varieties and they are growing well. I will harvest them in October/ November ( our late spring). I dehydrate the onion leaves and grind them into a powder to use in my cooking. It is much better than the onion powder from the supermarket.

[@mikecar6127]

Watched this and kinda put it in the back of my mind. Local farm stand here in Eastern PA, Poconos had sets. Red, White and Spanish. I bought a flat of each for a raised bed. Stuck them in early and let them go. I came back to this vid a while later and I'v topped and weeded my box. Nothing but compost and eggshells crushed and a we bit of time release lime at the start. I'm pulling 2 or 3 each week for my salads and they are banging ! Big bulbs. I think the farm stand was selling appropriate sets for the zone. The weeding and topping has made a huge difference. Other gardeners in my community garden are seeing poor results. Care and attention are my best friends. Thanks for the vids..... You Rock Dude ! ! ! ! !

[@sarahtobeywarnock2969]

Luke your onions amaze me and this year I tried my hardest to get there. I did have a success as they grew well the failure is that I kept picking them because they were so tasty. Will plant more next year and try to keep away. Thank you for all your information.

[@cruciferousvegetable]

I agree on avoiding sets, however I also avoid seeds. The easiest way to get big onions is to go to dixondale farms, pick a variety, order onion transplants, put in your zip code. They send the onions the week you should plant for your zone. I spaced mine at 8 inches and just harvested about 250 softball sized onions. Red zeplin and yellow Spanish. My largest are bigger than what you see in the store. The key is green transplants, spaced 8 inches and most importantly planted on the date for your zone which is going to be an early date. The onions nearest my irrigation stayed green longer and got larger but I only irrigate 30 min a day so it's light.

[@eminor42]

Thanks for the tip on Dixondale Farms!

[@rosedowling3690]

Where do you live?

[@cruciferousvegetable]

@@rosedowling3690 At that time I lived in NE OH.

[@fancythat5136]

@@cruciferousvegetable I just received my order from Dixondale Farms, last month right on time to plant. They have good sales on bundles. I bought a bundle of 3 kinds for $22.

[@BellezzaBellyDance]

I ordered from them and they wouldn't allow shipping in the correct time before my last frost date. They shipped after my last frost date. Planting them late and hoping for the best. Trying several varieties, in two different CT gardens. Red Zepplin, Patterson, Highlander, and the long day sammpler

[@laurafrye8635]

This is fantastic! I have been struggling a bit so now I have some great tips. Heading out to the garden now!

[@trinidadgarcilazo428]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, all your videos are great source of information. Keep up the good work.

[@kaitlynshelby]

Great video Luke! It answered a lot of questions for me. Can you also do another growing guide on shallots?

[@LittleJordanFarm]

Thanks for info..I truely appreciate it. You know you are one of the few channels I watch the whole video. .Blessings

[@MIgardener]

Little Jordan Farm this means the world!

[@lindalagarce8996]

Great tips! I’m resurrecting an old garden bed that my parents used and I used several years ago, hopefully it will yield a good crop for me! Hugs and love from Texas! Zone 8

[@brianseybert2189]

Took your advice and planted 4, 72 cell trays with 3 different onions and a Carentan leek. Started on the winter solstice, so most plants are a couple few inches tall already, looking for larger transplants in the spring as well. My potting mix is very similar to yours, 40%sifted aged compost, 40% sifted leaf mold and 20% aged worm castings. Next time I water, will start using compost and worm casting extracts as feed. Going to try using all home made fertilizers this year. I have 2, 5 gallon buckets of comfrey/borage tea from last fall and plenty compost and worm castings for making teas and extracts. Enjoy your videos. Stay well!!!

[@dianebateman6808]

Great info, I always wondered how to get BIG onions. First time last year growing onions from seed(winter sow method) which germinated wonderfully but it was such a busy year they suffered. I have seeded some onion seeds in the fall, curious to seed if they will germinate and grow(zone 3). I will definitely put your advice to the test this year! Had no idea to top the leaves which makes alot of sense. Thank you for this video, it is very helpful.

[@BigBrother420jb]

Well I learned something new todaythank you very much I always thought those onions came from Vidalia Texas I had no clue that they came from Vidalia thank you for educating me

[@joelgross8602]

Absolutely great video! Thank you, Luke.

[@Veemack21]

Thank you I watched the old video before an honestly forgot th basics. It like a refresher course.

[@allenfarm]

Luke thank you for doing this again! I just pulled out my garden journal and took notes while you spoke. I never knew that topping the onions could help. Or that you need high nitrogen.

[@missmartpants2269]

I go back and watch your old videos all the time. I even watch ones ive already watched to refresh my memory haha. God bless!

[@murrayzuckerman123]

Great information.Really enjoyed viewing it.

[@diannajones1993]

Thanks for the information. Last year was the first time I planted onions. Very helpful video!

[@rhondarichter6668]

The rain knocked down all my onions!!! I am SO bummed. I'm glad to hear this because I'll concentrate on this next year!!!

[@cynthiawilliamson5905]

Thanks! This helped me alot! I'm growing one onion in a container and its top was about to bend down so, I topped it off. The top of the onion tasted yummy!! I do have nitrogen soil in with my compost and it's doing great. I'm brand new at this. I have started a container garden on my lanai.

[@beckykelley8726]

Glad I saw this video because my onion tops are so long. Tomorrow I'll give them a haircut!! This Florida gardener loves your videos. Go Big Or Go Home. Love it!!

[@vicroberts3839]

Very good and most interesting as usual! You Yanks are so enthusiastic, which is very refreshing. We Brits are naturally a bit on the gloomy side! Keep up the good work and thankyou. Vic in South Oxfordshire, UK.

[@tracyhogan3444]

Thanks so much for your help! Looking to use all your tips!

[@savana6773]

I really enjoy how knowledgeable your videos are. They are full of tons of useful information. I also love your seed store and prices. The only thing I get hung up on in your videos is how much you tend to ramble at the beginning. Only 2 minutes of it in this video so actually not too bad. I have ADHD so its hard for me to remain tuned in long enough to get to the information I am here for. Again, I am a subscriber and a fan and I appreciate your knowledgeable videos...just a little input from the peanut gallery.

[@johnjude2685]

Thanks for clearing up about the 32 degrees for I knew nothing about that and I am planning to grow huge onions and at least pingball size and much like yours and larger. Last season I did have a bigger than my head size 16.5 lbs canolope hybrid from Gurneys Seed and they said often between 10 - 20 lbs.

[@andersonsoutdoors4873]

Great stuff Luke. I'm pumped for spring - gonna plant some yellow sweet Spanish this year and see how they will do.

[@redbow7226]

I enjoy your garden videos. Very informative. This year my young onion leaves are curling after transplanting as if someone gave them a perm. There seems to be some deformity. This is with more than one variety. I'm in zone 7a in Virginia growing in a raised bed. Any advice you may offer will be very much appreciated. Thank You, Red

[@LaurieChistine]

My onions were not very large but I am super excited that I was able to grow what I did in a couple pots. Hoping for more and better next year.

[@chaynaemslie3957]

Wow you’re a miracle man. I’ll have to look up what “Trifecta” is. I learned so much! When do you start your onion seeds?

[@lynnec.4392]

Only just started to watch your channel and have found that you can teach a very old dog new tricks.

[@stevenstillwell-NC]

Thanks for great information, answered questions I didn't even know I had.

[@amyk6028]

Thanks for another GREAT video! I always thought I needed to add a lot of phosphorus so I was gonna load up on Bone meal. But now I will add some Blood meal to my trifecta + application. Thanks again Luke!

[@Sandra-nx3pl]

Luke very good video and thank you for you time to let us to know how to really grow onions ...!!!

[@mooretimeinthekitchen7635]

Thank you! Hope to put all these tips into practice next year!

[@moonlitminda]

I absolutely love your videos! You are my go to guy for gardening! :)

[@nelliekampmann9354]

Thanks! That helps a lot. I'm taking notes for next year.

[@holly_kay5570]

Always interesting...never knew any of this!

[@jo2sj490]

I see!! I buy the sleek onions (white and yellow) in the store and what I ended was really but I mean really small onions. Thank you for sharing this information I do really appreciate and try to do better the coming year. God bless you.

[@susanmccall8063]

Awesome video! I learned a lot! I just set out a bunch of seedlings without knowing whether they are short or long day variety…. I guess I will find out! Next year I will be more careful on selection!

[@danielleterry180]

Zone 8 and my onions are doing great it’s my first garden short day onions and I just ringed them and wow so excited to start harvest when I get the 13th leaves they seem to be growing in different stages but that’s ok I can’t eat all 75 at one time lol going to be eating fresh and dehydrating for filling my powdered onion jar along with premade season packages I use for fast cooking

[@chipgeil489]

Hey Luke, thanks,great video. When do you advise starting onion seeds in zone 8 for fall planting?

[@laurenwesseler9680]

Awesome thank you I’m planting onions this year for my canned salsa!

[@annehellmann4454]

Nice information. Thank you, learned a lot!

[@juliek7650]

WOW! I had no idea I needed to top my onions. Thank you!!

[@chantelmcskimming6633]

Thank you!!!!! super helpful :-). ready to try again this spring

[@michaelmichael5974]

Love your channel! Ive learned so much!

[@skflyfish]

Good info. I 100% agree about onions sets. One option that you didn't mention is buying onion plants. Browns of Omaha or Dixondale are good places to buy plants. They ship when you want them and offer a good selection of varieties and the more you buy the cheaper they are. I usually order for a bunch for the neighbors also. So much easier than starting from seed. Long day onions are very frost tolerant. I planted mine on April 4th and had two heavy snows after that. (I am west of you and another MI gardener) Only the cippolinis (Italian flat) wanted to flower. Cheers.

[@HollyMarsh0716]

Dixondale Farms are an awesome company to deal with! Their plants are very healthy, and the customer service is top notch.

[@rayjones4963]

I truly love your video's . I just planed my onion seeds today

[@paisley1134]

I am brand new sub. I picked out 4 videos I really needed to watch and now as I am doing some chores I am going down the lines to watch all of them or at least I will watch 95% I bet. You would be surprised at some golden nugget bit of info you really needed found in some previous videos. Learn from others!!!!

[@johndifrancisco3642]

I appreciate you going threw the chemicals in the fertilizer and what they do for the plant. For YEARS I've been gardening and they just won't stick in my head. I wish there was a fertilizer for the brain :( Thank you for the video.

[@IwillBinthewoods]

Thank you, great tips! My onions look beautiful this year but they have a crazy amount of leaves and I was wondering if I needed to top them. Now I know!

[@jody2873]

Great info! Thanks for the tips

[@frankr3889]

Thank you for a very informative video! How often do fertilize?

[@salvi92]

I love binge-watching all your informative videos

[@Mase326]

Long/short day has always frustrated me haha, on my street I’m above 32* latitude. But my neighbor is south of it! Right on the line.

[@patriciabarton7523]

Hello Luke, first of all I love your videos, honesty and passion you have for gardening. You’ve mentioned that you don’t water your raised beds because you do core gardening. My question is, would this apply to my beds being that I live in Southern California? In the San Fernando Valley to be exact, where the summer temps can be over 100 degrees, and we don’t get any rain like you guys in MI. Thanks in advance and keep up the great job! 👍😊

[@BlessedBaubles]

I bet you need core gardening even more! Can't wait to see the response.

[@supergran1702]

Same here.

[@susanlocklear2468]

Very helpful information, I'm trying to learn all I can

[@alicenakajima6014]

I never knew the importance of keeping onion plants from getting top heavy so thank you for that. You mentioned your raised beds all have a Core. I recall in past videos you mentioned a need to prepare the core by wetting it. How do you decide how much water to give the core, especially for *un-rotten* straw? If I were to put a moisture into the soil of a raised bed with a core, what is the ideal reading at 6” into the soil (dry, moist or wet)?

[@wilheys.6224]

Awesome 👍 tips! Thanks Luke!

[@karencooper6634]

learned a lot , thanks. This year I will try seeds and trim the tops.

[@noahcarver1707]

I'm gardening for the first time and i felt mildly called out,,, but! this was super helpful! I took lots of notes!

[@HigherInfluence]

At the start you mentioned that you hadn't watered those onions and they turned out great. A little later in the video you mentioned the more water (within reason) the larger the onion. I was researching how to water onions and was a little confused by those two statements. Many thanks.

[@wayneburks5872]

Great info thank you. I just found our about the nitrogen factor in onions last week I made the mistake of thinking that since it's a bulb they needed phosphate. So now I know to use more nitrogen.

[@sagepreaumx9903]

What I find with old videos that the vlogger will learn more and the newer videos provide much more updated & experienced information so I'm glad you are speaking on this topic again. This was great info. When you recommend a product (like Trifecta +) could you put it below in your notes? Often it's really difficult to understand exactly what the product name is. Do you have a suggestion of how to cure onions when one doesn't have a basement? I put them under deep shade under trees (where they can still get good circulation) but it does still get warm during mid-day.

[@Rick-the-Swift]

Loved the video! I'm planting sets from a big box store now- I know, I know, but I'm a beginner and wanting to learn. Hey, I was just wondering, when you talk about pruning the onion tops, it made a lot of sense, but was wondering. What if you constructed a slat of fencing that would lay horizontally above the bulbs about 10 inches high or so. Could that maybe help support the leaves so they remain upright and reduce the need to prune? I only ask because as a former grower/harvester, it was always hotly debated whether pruning hurt or helped, because it forces the plant to heal, and also to grow new shoots. But as you say, creating new shoots may in fact add to the bulb size. This is something I may experiment with in the future and let you know if I have any success. Thanks a lot for the great info!

[@timothyalan7731]

Excellent info...thank you.

[@jb-zv3ji]

Now I’m going to try onions from seed next year!

[@lucascritchfield9923]

Thank you I've learned very useful stuff from your videos

[@ghanmiwael3198]

very informative...THANKS !

[@bobyayros5872]

Hi Luke, thanks for all the info. How often do you fertilize

[@natureswildplayground]

Great video new subscriber love the way you explained things thanks a bunch hugs

[@denisebrady6858]

Luke what a great video & so helpful for me here in Australia. You knowledge is fabulous & you explain so well. Cheers Denise - Australia

[@zinnialady5153]

Thank you for all the great info

[@homesteadbythehighway8548]

😊 thank you so much for reviewing this again. I have epically failed at growing onions. That being said, I did little research and bought sets with no knowledge of long day short day. My husband just came out of his office and giggled as I am watching your video and said “so your trying onions again I take it?” My response right before you talked about. I bought sets and the store doesn’t say long day or short day. So I was doomed before I started. 😂 This year is my year!!

[@Catoncat]

Beautiful gardens!

[@michelemarble6799]

Excellent video on growing big onions.

[@bluemoonsri]

Thanks for the video. How often should we water and fertilize ?

[@marceamarine7972]

Thank you for the helpful hints on growing onions. We always buy seeds/plants from a local nursery. You mentioned buying them according to our latitude which is 48. Is there a place to buy the seeds best for our latitude?

[@trackee2024]

I’m starting a garden this year, and I just want to say - your videos are so helpful! I just looked at your website and am excited to experiment with different seeds next year. I always said, “I want to garden but I need someone to explain how to do it all to me!” And I feel like you’re a gardening expert that I can get an answer to any question now! Seriously, your channel is really great!

[@catherinegrace2366]

I buy seed from him also. I ❤️ his website.

[@CustomGardenSolutions]

Luke great tip on cutting the extra greens off the top of the onions.

[@sandy-rr1by]

well, i failed onion seeds this summer, so bought garlic and onion bulbs at lowes for fall planting. i see now that was a mistake, but it's done, so i will plan to retry seeds in the spring! sooner or later i'll get it right!!!