Growing green onions at home is a fantastic way to round out your home grown vegetables with some flavor. As opposed to regular onions, green onions are fast growing, easier to care for, and can be harvested and used as needed. Since green onions are one of the easier to grow plants out there, they’re great for first time gardeners and new homesteads.
About Green Onions
Green onions are not an individual plant. Green onions are just young onions. That being said, there are varieties that are better for growing as green onions and produce smaller sweeter bulbs. The Evergreen Hardy White, a common scallion, is great for green onions as it produces virtually no bulb. Onion types that are ideal for being harvested as green onions are often referred to as bunching onions as they are tolerant of being grown in small clusters or bunches.
What’s the Difference Between Green Onions and Scallions?
Green onions and scallions are the same thing in that green onions refer to the young fresh picked onions. However, not all green onions are scallions as scallions are a regional name for particular varieties of onions that form little to no bulb, but the same could be said of the term bunching onion which is just a collection of onion types that are grown for green onions. The naming trouble comes from people using common names outside of regional context with little to no care. This little quirk of language has gotten so bad that there are actually people out their claiming they are different plants instead of common names that refer to varieties of onions! Even well known seed purveyors like Burpee can’t keep the names straight.
No matter what you call them, if you want to grow green onions in your garden you’ll want to pick a variety that is ideal for being grown that way. Often the easiest thing to do is to look for onion seeds (or starters) sold as bunching onions.
The Basic Planting Conditions for Green Onions
Green onions, like any other variety of onion, like an area with full sunlight and well drained soil. Soil conditions for growing green onions can be a little more lax than with full bulb onions as green onions wont be forming said bulb. This means the soil doesn’t need to be worked as much and you won’t be spacing your onions nearly as far apart.
With green onions, since they are picked so young, you can get away with starting them from seed. They are a cool weather plant still, but heat really is mostly an issue in that it can delay bulb growth, which we don’t care about, so you get to raise green onions all year. They’re not as great in the height of summer but you can usually get your late spring plants through into fall when you can plant young ones again.
Soil Conditions for Growing Green Onions
Green onions like a well drained soil. They’re also very easy when it comes to fertilizing as they like a rich soil. Before planting you’ll want to work in 3.0 pounds of 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer for every 100 square feet of garden bed you plan on using for green onions.
Green onions, like most plants, also like a slightly acid soil. They’re not very picky, but thrive best between a 6.0 and 7.0 pH range. Be sure to pH test your soil before planting.
Growing Temperatures and Climates for Green Onions
Green onions, like all other onions, are fine with cool weather. They can survive being planted outdoors as soon as the ground it workable and so long as the soil is above 40F (4C). This goes both seeds and starters, but the seeds will take longer to germinate outdoors and should be started inside to get your plants grown as quickly as possible.
You can continue planting green onions through most of year and seeds should stop being planted by late summer, and starters should stop being planted by early to mid fall. Any later than that and you’ll end up with your onions getting wintered over. The nice thing is though, those onions may well survive the winter and sprout again in the spring, but we wouldn’t advise it be part of your planting strategy.
How to Plant Green Onions
Green onions can be planted from seeds or starters (sets). If you plant your green onions from seed, you’ll want to plant them indoors in starter trays to maximize your season. You can plant them as early as 8 weeks before the last frost. Seeds started indoors should be starting in seed starting mix, not potting soil, and can be planted 1/4 inch deep. Once the seeds are in the mix you can keep them moist with a spray bottle, but the soil should never be wet.
Seedlings sprout in 7-14 days. Once they sprout you should give them 16 hours of light from a window or grow light and they should also get 8 hours of darkness. Like most plants, they are not tolerant of 24 hours of light. Spouts should be thinned to one plant per cell or every few inches depending on your starter tray type.
If you plant from seed outside you can plant as soon as the ground is workable. Seeds may take an additional 2-3 weeks to sprout outdoors, but you can be patient with them. Starters can be moved outside once the temperature is consistently above 40F (4C)
In raised beds seeds and starters should be spaced 2 inches apart in a grid. If planting in a ground bed space them 2 inches apart in rows spaced 8 inches apart.
If you are familiar with the type of onion you are using, green onions can also be grown without thinning, but this is more advanced and requires some fine tuning. Not all varieties can be crowded as densely. If you are unsure, it is best to do some testing and not crowd your whole crop.
Growing and Caring for Green Onions
Green onions require virtually no intensive care. Simply ensure they are watered properly and harvest as needed.
How to Water Green Onions
Onions should be well watered once weekly. You should provide them with about 1 inch of water each week and keep the soil moist, but not wet. Since onions do best in soil that is well drained and contain a high amount of organic matter, you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping the soil moist. If you are ever in doubt check the soil with your hands to unsure it is properly moist.
How Long Does it Take for Green Onions to Grow?
Green onions grow quickly. They can take anywhere from 60-90 days to grow to their optimal size as green onions when started from seed, but if you plant from starters you can get a harvest of green onions in as little as 30 days. Roughly half their growing time is invested in getting the seeds to sprout and establish themselves in the soil, from their as long as they get enough light and water they will grow at a very fast pace.
Depending on the variety of onion you are using you can “miss” your harvest of green onions. If this happens, don’t worry, you just end up growing bulb onions instead or have an overly mature variety of bunching onion. In either case they are still fine to use and still taste great.
Harvesting Green Onions
Green onions are ready to harvest as soon as the stalks are about as wide as a pencil or once they reach about 10 inches tall. This varies slightly by variety, so be sure to check the specifics with your plant provider.
There are two ways to harvest green onions. First you can just pluck them right out of the ground. This is the easiest method and best for people who want the white parts of the stem. The second method is to cut the top a few inches from the base and let it regrow. Green onions are a type of plant that can be harvested again and again throughout the season. As you continue to do this the plant might get weird and grow more spindly or look less green, but that’s a natural part of this continual harvest process.
No matter which way you harvest your green onions you’ll have a good crop to pull from in even the most modest of garden beds.
Storing Green Onions
Once harvested green onions should be stored in the fridge in a crisper draw or other high humidity container. On average they keep for about a week, but can sometimes store for a bit longer. If you have a lot of green onions and plan on using them for cooking, you can cut them into small pieces and move to freezer safe container and store in the freezer for a very long time.
The best way to keep your green onions fresh is to harvest them as you need them. As long as they are planted in the ground they’re not going to go bad. If they start getting a bit too old and the tops of the leaves are drying out, you can pick them and freeze them just to make sure you get most out of your plants.
Green Onions Are Easy
If you’re new to gardening green onions are a perfect crop for you. The hardest part about growing them is getting through the sea of unintelligible regional names and varieties. Once you understand that scallions, green onions, and bunching onions are all onions you can choose a variety that is best for your needs and your region without any trouble at all. A perfect addition to your garden and a great boon for your kitchen, green onions are a must have for any homestead.