How Many Onions Per Plant

How Many Onions Per Plant? 5 Things You Must Know!

Have you ever wondered how many onions per plant, or are you considering growing some onions and find yourself wondering about the overall yield they might provide? 

Growing onions is a hobby that is not only good for practicing gardening but can help prevent cancer, fight candida, cold, flu, promote healthy hearts and relieve mosquito bites. 

One onion bulb produces one onion under normal conditions. In other conditions such as when sprouting an onion you can get as many as three or sometimes more from one sprouted one. Onions are an easy plant to grow, requiring little maintenance and yielding a bountiful harvest when planted in the right conditions.

There are a few ways onions can be planted, and all have their pros and cons depending on what your interests are and what you plan to use the onions for. 

This article will explain onion growing, and the technical differences between growing onions depending on their type and how far along they are in ripeness and their general life cycle. 

No matter what you want to know about onions (especially regarding their yield), you’ll be more comfortable after learning what they’re all about.

How Many Onions Per Plant?

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Generally, most onion bulbs are grown from sets in the spring and fall.  One bulb will usually produce one onion, and sets should be spaced apart accordingly to allow for each onion to reach its fullest mature size. 

It is known that the smaller seeds/sets of onions will eventually produce a much larger onion.  Depending on the care, your onion can be large or small.

How Many Onion Bulbs Should I Plant?

The amount of onion bulbs you should plant entirely depends upon your uses for growing onions, and/or how many people you need to feed. 

In a well-worked plot you should be able to receive good sized onion bulbs.  If your family consumes one onion per day, you might consider planting approximately 400 seedlings or sets, around 50 row feet of garden area.

If you eat around two onions a week, try planting around 100 seedlings or sets.  Since onions do well even when grown in smaller spaces, you can grow approximately 40 onions to a square foot. 

Be careful to place the onions four inches apart to give them room to grow into good sized onions and allow for weeding.  However you space your onions will contribute to determining its size. 

How To Plant Your Onion Bulbs

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There are a few factors you should consider when you decide to plant onion bulbs, not only from spacing about how far down in the soil to plant them, but also what kind of soil you should plant them in and the best locations to plant them considering sunlight, drainage, soil aeration and soil composition. 

You should also know when to plant your onion bulbs (in spring and fall months).

When planting your onion, try to plant at least 1-1 ½ inches down into the soil and in rows that are spaced at approximately 12-15 inches apart.  To get large onions that are also dry, place the plants three inches apart.  You should begin planting your onion bulbs as soon as the ground can be turned in the springtime.  

1. Fertilizing Your Onion Bulbs

For best results, you should choose a type of well-rotted manure to apply.  These plants prefer fertile soil, and its longevity can be increased when you apply it. 

Onions require a lot of fertilizer in their soil in order to grow big, healthy onions in the future.  You should be careful not to over fertilize these plants, and apply manure at the start of the growing season.

Applying too much fertilizer can result in too many leaves/an increase in vegetation in your onion plant and not as much energy and nutrition going into the newly growing onion bulb.  Onions are heavy feeders and need to be fed at the very beginning of their growth because of how slowly they take to grow.   

2. Temperatures For Growing Onion Bulbs

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Onions are hardy plants that can tolerate temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. These plants enjoy temperatures around 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit and do not enjoy hot, humid or overly-moist conditions, which can be the cause of mold and rot on the onion bulbs. 

Onion seeds will germinate temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. You should opt for planting your garlic in a location that has a soil temperature of approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 

If you plant too early in the season you may risk failure of the germination of its seeds being delayed and eventually a stressed sprout forming for that experience.  

3. Choosing The Right Location For Growing Onion Bulbs

Onions tend to love ample, bright sunlight to be grown successfully. They also require well-draining soil.  This plant can do well in full or partial sun. If these plants don’t receive enough sunlight, they will begin to lose their leaves and get prolific leaf growth. Too much sun will also cause. 

You should aim to give this plant 10-12 hours of direct sunlight or partial indirect sunlight.  Without enough sunlight, your garlic plants will be exposed to threats such as fungal diseases (referred to as “damping-off” in seedings. 

You can check your onions for damping symptoms to avoid this from nullifying all your hard work in cultivating it.  

You should also be careful of leaving your onion plant unwatered for long periods of time to ensure fertilizer is able to reach the roots of your onion bulbs, especially if you choose to grow your onions in a location that receives a lot of direct sunlight. 

You should be cognizant of not planting your onions by other plants larger than it that will shade it from the sun.

Also read: Do Onions Grow Underground?

Summary

Onion bulbs are relatively easy to grow once you understand their heavy eating habits, fertilizer preferences, locations it thrives the best in (and worst), how often and how to water them, keeping temperatures between 20-60 degrees Fahrenheit,  etc. 

You now know that these plants are not fussy but do require unique care in order to produce the tastiest, biggest bulbs.

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