Dan's Garden Update, How to Plant Onions

May 23rd, 2006

Dan's Garden Update

How to plant onion transplants (slips):

1) Rake soil smooth.

2) Apply 2" of compost and rake smooth. This will smother any weed seeds from sprouting.

3) Make a 2" deep groove in the soil by carefully pushing the soil away from you.

4) Untangle the growing onion roots carefully without ripping all the roots off the bulbs (I shake the dirt off - then it is easier to untangle.)

5) Lay the onion across the groove (see last picture below.)

6) Carefully push compost over roots, BUT do not cover the white bulb part of the slip. Only cover the roots. If the bulb gets covered - pull the onion out of the soil until all of the bulb is showing, like pictured here. Then lay down the onion on top of the soil. Do not plant it upright.

7) Plant onions about 4" to 5" apart in the groove.

8) Hoe another row 4" to 5" away from first row and plant onions in a checkerboard fashion.

9) Should look sorta like this. Last row is still uncovered. After a couple of weeks the onions will pull themselves up. The bulb will form on top of the soil, not in it.