Plant Database / Vegetables / Onion
Vegetables

Onion

Allium cepa
Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis)

In the South you must plant short-day varieties or they'll never bulb. Cure them dry and they store for months.

EdibleCool-seasonStores well
Onion (Allium cepa) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun
Water
Even, then dry to cure
Soil
Loose, fertile
pH
6.0–7.0
Hardiness
Cool-season; day-length sensitive
Height
12–18 in
Spacing
4–6 in
Days to harvest
90–120

What it is

Onion (Allium cepa) is in the Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis) family. In the South you must plant short-day varieties or they'll never bulb. Cure them dry and they store for months.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it even, then dry to cure, and give it loose, fertile soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–7.0. Space plants about 4–6 in apart. Expect roughly 90–120. Cool-season; day-length sensitive.

How it's used

Onion is used: raw, cooked, stored.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Hollow tubular leaves
  • Onion smell when cut
  • Bulb forms at soil line

Edibility

PartsBulb and greens
UsesRaw, cooked, stored
CautionNone.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.