There’s more to planting onions than purchasing a bag of sets from the store in the spring. You need to understand what types of onions grow best in your area, as well as what is available to you. Below, I have created a graphic to explain the three main categories of onions. To see this information in a video form, click here.
As you can see, certain types of onions do best in certain areas. This is because different varieties have varying times of daylight hours they require to bulb nicely.
Your options for planting are purchasing seeds, buying started plants, or buying a bag of sets. Set onions are the tiny bulbs in a bag you see most often in garden centers in the spring. These are onions that were started the year before, made to go dormant, and then shipped to you. These onions will not give you the big bulbs you are most acquainted with from your local supermarket. If they’re all you access to, then they’re a nice option. If I grow sets, I use them mostly for their tops.
Seeds are the least expensive option. They require the most work though (of course). To plant seeds, you should either start them indoors depending on when they need to be planted outside. While onions can take some frost and enjoy the cold, seedlings will suffer and can die from frost or shock. If you plan to grow from seed, use heavy mulch or start them indoors before transplanting outside in the late winter or early spring. Make sure the introduce them to their new environment gradually.
The last option is to purchase started seeds or onions plants. These plants have been started for you, and are usually more resilient as they have been accustomed to cooler temperatures. Reputable websites for purchasing plants are Johnny’s Select Seeds and Dixondale Farms.
I hope you find this article informative and to the point. Search the above websites for the type of onion you need based on your area.
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