How to Grow Lots of Bunching Onions

Begin seeds at the end of March. Fill the cells of a seed tray with seed starter mixture and sprinkle seeds across the top; each cell should contain three to six seeds. Sprinkle a light dusting of soil over the seeds and then mist them until they are evenly moist. Place the lid on the seed tray.

Put the flat in a moderate light until the seeds germinate and then gradually introduce them to more light. Keep the cells moistened. Thin only those seedlings that get so crowded the roots are coming out of the top. The cells can handle three to four plants each; they are divided at planting time.

Prepare a sunny well-drained garden bed. A raised bed is perfect but if that is not available till the soil with 5 inches of compost and 2 lbs. of fertilizer per 100 square feet of bed. Use a rake to pull the soil into a mound. Compact the mound manually.

Transplant the seedlings in early to mid May. Fill a bucket with water and soak the seedlings after removing them from their cells. This helps separate them. Gently pull apart the plants. Use a pencil as a dibble and insert the seedlings into the holes you make. Space them 1 inch apart.

Apply 1/2 lb. of ammonium nitrate per 100 square feet two weeks after planting and again a month later. Remove any weeds. Water the onions to moisten the soil to a depth of 18 inches every week.

Sow seeds between the rows of started onions at the time of transplant. This gives you another harvest in late June or July. Begin another crop indoors in early August or direct sow in July for an early fall harvest. This ensures a constant and abundant crop of bunching onions.