Mrs. Greenhands - Planting spring onions

There are two main types of onions in the Bluegrass Region: American (pungent flavor) and foreign (mild flavor). Each type comes in three colors: yellow, white and red. The American onions produce bulbs of smaller size, denser texture and stronger flavor, which story great.

For green onions, use sets, seeds or transplants for spring plant. For fall planting use perennial tree and potato onion sets. Onions that keep well in storage are globe types. Glob v varieties are yellow, red and white and are grown from seeds.

Spring planted sets are popular and should be placed 1 to 2 inches apart and 2 inches deep. Rows should be 12 to 18 inches apart, or you can use square foot gardening for closer planting. Avoid large sets in spring plantings. Larger sets are likely to produce seed stalks. Divide the onion sets into two sizes before planting. Large sets (bigger than a dime) are best used for green onions. The smaller sets produce the best bulbs for large, dry onions.

Sets of perennial tree or potato onion sets should be harvested in late October or early November. Fall planted sets should be spaced 4 inches apart in rows 1 to 2 feet apart. Onions are shallow-rooted and compete poorly with weeds grasses, so keep the bed well-weeded.