Growing Onions

I always have a hard time growing large onions in my garden, any suggestions?

• Onions need direct sunlight. Place them in a full sun area of your garden.
• Make sure to amend your soil before planting with Back to Nature cotton burr compost. Use 1 bag per 100 sq. ft.
• Cultivate a bag of coarse sand into the area. Rake the soil even then apply
• 4lbs. of Espoma blood meal per 100 sq. ft. to the surface of the onion bed.
• Work the blood meal into the top 3 inches of the bed.
• In 3 weeks repeat application. Stop fertilizing 3 weeks before harvest.
• Plant onions 4 inches deep, 2 to 3 inches apart for use as green onions or scallions.
• Now comes the trick for large onions. Plant them only 1 inch deep, 4 inches apart. This may look strange as the onion continues to grow. Resist the temptation to push the onions deeper. As the onions grow larger they will appear to be almost sitting on top of the soil. This is okay!
• Water your onion patch after planting. Onions have shallow root systems
• So they require frequent furrow irrigation. Water only the soil, not the foliage. Keep the soil evenly moist. If the onion’s foliage has an unhealthy, yellowish tint, the soil is over watered. Cracked soil is a sign of under watering. Onions require at least 30 inches of irrigation per growing season.
• Without proper watering onions will not grow large!
• Keep the soil cultivated so the bulbs can easily expand in size. Use caution not to damage the bulbs.
• Severe insect problems can be controlled with Neem Oil.
• When the onion tops turn yellow and fall over, it’s time to stop watering. They’re ready for harvest.
• Do not try to speed this process up by bending them over since this will decrease the bulb size.
• Pull up your onions and spread them across the soil to dry in the sun for 2 days. Trim off the roots and cut the tops off to one inch.
• Place in an onion mesh bag or nylon stocking and hang them up in a cool, dry place.
• In general, the sweeter the onion, the higher the water content.
• Walla Walla and Vildalia onions will have a shorter shelf life.
• Candy, White Sweet Spanish, and Red Burgundy are good for longer storage.