Onions are always a great crop to plant in your backyard garden. They taste much better when they are homegrown and are essential in countless recipes. Despite this however, growing onions is not without its obstacles. Too often, the green stems of the onion plants will collapse under their own weight and cause the onion plants to droop.
So why are your onions falling over and drooping? Onions that droop are a signal that they are ready to be harvested. When onions are ready for harvest, the leaves will become flaccid as they are no longer taking in nutrients. The onion is done growing and should be harvested.
Often times however, onion plants will droop when the onion bulb is still relatively small in size. It can be pretty disappointing to see your onions ready for harvesting when they are only around the size of a golf ball, so here are some tips for growing larger onions in your garden.
Long day vs. Short day Onions
Onions can be divided into two different categories: long day onions and short day onions. When it comes to growing larger onions, choosing the right onion for your zone is crucial.
Long day onions require 14-16 hours of sunlight everyday and can grow anywhere above the 32° latitude line. Short day onions require 10-12 hours of sunlight and can be grown anywhere below the 32° latitude line. Planting a long day onion in a short day zone or vice versa will prevent the onion bulb from forming.
Therefore, you must determine whether your onion seeds or sets are long day or short day onions prior to planting if you expect to harvest a large onion bulb from your garden.
There is also a third category of onions called “intermediate day onions” Intermediate day onions typically grow between the 32° and 42° latitude lines. While these onions will grow within that zone, it is recommended that you grow a long day or a short day onion instead. While intermediate day onions do bulb, they don’t get as large as a long or short day onion would if grown in the right zone.
Onion Seeds vs. Onion Sets
When it comes to growing onions, the two main ways of starting them are from onions seeds or from onions sets. Both have their pros and cons, but if your goal is to grow larger onions, seeds are the way to go.
Starting your onions from seeds will almost always produce larger onions. This is because onions are biannual plants. When you plant an onion set, it is in its second year of growing. This means that it will spend a significant portion of energy in growing a flower to produce seeds rather than focusing on growing a larger bulb. In fact, an onion plant that goes to flower can reduce that size of its onion bulb by up to 25%.
Since onions started from seeds are only in their first year of growing, they can focus much more energy into developing a larger bulb rather than producing a flower that has seeds for next generation. Therefore onions seeds are a better option for growing larger onions. Just be sure to plant them at the appropriate time as seeds take much longer to grow compared to onion sets.
Using a Tomato Cage for Support:
As onions grow, their leaves often become top heavy and fall over. The weight of these leaves dragging down the plant can eventually cause the entire onion plant to droop. As stated earlier, when the onion plant drops it is done growing and it’s time to harvest. However, preventing the leaves from falling over will extend its growing life and thus allow the onion more time to grow even larger.
