Choosing a Location for Onion Plants
As with all garden plants, each has its specific preferences and needs. For each plant to perform at its best, it’s important for you to understand where the plant will be the happiest, and how much room to give it to grow. The more you know about what your onion plants need, the more successful you will be! Consider the following before you plant:
- Sun and soil needs
- Plant spacing requirements
- Leaving space for future expansion
NOTE: This is part 3 in a series of 9 articles. For a complete background on how to grow onion plants, we recommend starting from the beginning.
Sun and Soil Needs
In general, an area with full sun (between 6 and 8 hours a day) is recommended for onions. If planted in a shady area, the bulbs will not develop properly and will be very small. Check into the specific requirements for the onions varieties you’d like to grow.
Onions love well-drained, fertile soil as well as full sun, so make sure all three conditions are met before you plant. If the soil needs to be amended, do this before planting or your results will be disappointing. It’s well worth the effort! Detailed information on this topic is available in the Soil Preparation article.
Plant Spacing Requirements
Onions require very little space in your garden in which to grow—you can place them just 4 inches apart. Onions can be planted into narrow spots between other plants (except beans and peas) as long as they get the sunlight they require. All gardeners have room for onions! Detailed information about spacing your onion sets can be found in the Planting section.
Space for Future Expansion
Onions are so easy to grow that you’ll surely want to plant more next year, so take that into consideration when laying out the space for your onion bulbs. Once you get a taste for homegrown onions, you’ll never buy them at the grocery store again! You can always start small but make sure you create some room for a bigger crop next year. You’ll thank yourself later!
