Onions are one of the most used vegetables and they are delicious as well as healthy. However, some gardeners have much space to grow this wonderful vegetable in their garden. Luckily, it can be grown indoors in containers, growing them indoors is easy and effective too. It easily keeps pests away from attacking your plants in your space.
Let’s see how to grow onion indoors in 8 simple and easy steps.
Choose The Right Variety:
There are number of varieties of onions and each variety has its own distinguishing taste. The taste of onion generally depends on its color. White onions has tangy flavor, yellow onions have sweet flavor and red onions are the sweetest variety and frequently eaten fresh.
Well, these onions varieties under two categories which are long day onions and short day onions. Long day onions require at least 14 hours of sunlight to grow and form bulbs on the other hand short day onions don’t need more than 12 hours of sunlight in a day. Choose the right variety that suits your location for healthy harvest.
Planting From Seed Or Bulb:
Expert gardeners suggest that, growing onions from bulbs is far better than growing them from seeds. Bulbs are studier than seed and can tolerate poor conditions. However, you can also grow onions from seedlings. But this method doesn’t guarantee successful growth or successful harvest.
Choose A Container:
Choosing the right container is crucial for successful growth of onions. Choose a container which is 6 to 8 inches depth, the deeper the container the bigger your onions will be. Don’t forget to drill holes at the bottom of container to encourage successful growth of onions.
Quality Of Soil:
Onions require nutrient rich moist soil and you should never use the soil in your garden. It is full of pests and diseases which harms the growth of your onions. Potting mix is an excellent choice, make sure the soil of PH vary between 6.5 to 7.5 as they don’t like to grown in extreme acidic conditions.
Planting Onions:
Onions should be planted in spring season, dig two inches hole in the soil and plant one single bulb in it. Be careful not to plant bulb deeper than 2 inches it may restricts its further growth, then cover it with soil slightly. Leave spacing of 4 to 6 inches in all directions between each hole.
Choosing Right Location:
Sunlight is vital for growing healthy onion indoors. Place the container in a spot where it gets 14 hours of sunlight daily. If you cannot find such spot in your space, then consider getting grow lights or fluorescent bulbs to provide light for your onions.
Watering And Fertilizing:
Regular watering is required for the growth of onions. They require at least two inches of water weekly and check top of the soil before watering it next time. If it is dry you should water them. In hot weathers, you should water them regularly.
Watering regularly contributes sweetness of onions, more water means sweeter taste of onions. Generally, they do not require fertilizing but you could occasionally apply mixed fertilizer to encourage its growth.
Harvesting:
You could know whether your onions are fully ripe or not by seeing their colors. If the tops are golden color that means you can start harvesting your plants. Harvesting is also quite easy, just dig around your plant and remove them from the soil.
After removing the onions, clean the dirt off them and place them in sunny spot and dry them for about three weeks. That’s it, your onions are ready to be eaten cooked or fresh.
So, you know how to grow onions indoors easily. Start growing your vegetable as soon as possible to have a constant supply of it.
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