Onions are well-known vegetables that are easy to grow in the garden. The crop produced can be stored for several months, which implies that it is possible for home gardeners to be self-sufficient with their onions. Onions can be grown from onion seeds or onion sets (small bulbs), each with advantages and disadvantages.
So, how many onions grow from one bulb? Well, only one onion can grow from one bulb. The bulb you plant will grow into a larger onion. Therefore, you harvest every onion from the bulb you plant.
While one bulb gives only one onion, there are several other ways you can get multiple onions from one plant. Here are some of them:
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How to Get Multiple Onions From One Onion Plant
1. Flowering Onions
Your onions will eventually flower if you leave them in the garden for a long time. Onion flowers have a spherical-shaped head made of a few hundred tiny blossoms.
Depending on the variety of onions you planted, these flowers can come in blue, violet, and pink but most commonly, white.
You can harvest seeds from these flowers and use them to plant more onions. The best time to collect the seeds is before the onion flower blooms. When the flowers bloom, the plant will release all of its seeds onto the ground.
To harvest the onion seeds, cut flowers that are yet to bloom at the stem and let them dry out. Allow it to be bone dry but not shriveled. You can then rub the flower in your hands to get the seeds.
The onion seeds have a shelf life of around a year. So, you must plant them within 12 months after harvesting.
2. Green Onions
Green onions are the green stems that grow above the onion bulb. They are also called scallions. If each stem is counted as one scallion, you can expect anywhere from 3 to 10 scallions per onion bulb.
If you would like to grow green onions from an onion bulb, bear in mind that they are harvested long before the regular onions are harvested. They are ready for harvesting when they are about 5 inches in height and a minimum of 6 millimeters in diameter (pencil diameter).
Additionally, some varieties are grown specifically for scallions. These are known as Welsh Onions, but more commonly known as “Bunching Onions”. They are easy to grow since they only need a small amount of care and are good in any soil.
What Are Onion Sets?
Onion sets are small onions that have been pre-grown and are ready to grow and attain maturity quickly. Planting onion using a seed may take a long time to mature – around five months. In many places worldwide, the growing season is not that long, so it makes growing onions from seeds challenging.
If your growing season is less than five months, consider always growing your onions from sets. They are less costly and readily available from most seed stockists.
Onion Sets Vs. Onion Seeds
Onions are commonly grown in the garden by starting with onion sets. While using onion sets is the most common way of growing onions, using seeds will give you a better chance of developing more giant onions. Here are some other benefits of using onion seeds:
- Seeds are low cost
- There is a broader choice of varieties
- They give a higher yield per square foot because of the ability to multi sow seeds
Nonetheless, the main advantage of using an onion set is that it will produce an onion crop earlier than any other method. This is because the onion set has already started making an onion bulb. Using onion sets will delay harvesting by around 4 to 6 weeks. You can mitigate the timing advantage by growing early maturing varieties.
A big challenge you may have with onion sets is from the birds. Birds are fond of pulling out onion bulbs when they are first planted. You can manage this by using netting to block access.
What is the Best Time to Plant Onions?
You can get away with planting onions over winter if the winters are not harsh. However, you can have two main harvests if you plant in early and late spring.
You can grow many onions in a small space, around 40 onions in a square foot. Consider spacing them 4 inches apart to give the onions enough room to grow to a good size. Also, good spacing makes weeding easy.
Can You Plant Onion Set From a Supermarket?
It is not recommended to grow onions you purchase from a supermarket. These onions have been grown to their full size and will not grow. Most likely, they will rot in the ground. Consider growing onions from onion sets or seeds.
How Long Do Onions Take To Grow From Bulbs?
It takes 3 to 4 months to harvest onion bulbs grown from onion sets. One of the key things you need to know is the timing of the harvest so that your onions do not bolt and turn to seeds.
