![]() ![]() Do I need to transplant green onion seedlings? If you see an onion struggling due to overwatering, move it to a warm and sunny spot, monitor it, and hold off watering until the soil has dried out fully. Signs of too much water will be yellow foliage and, in extreme cases, potential rotting off of seedlings at soil level. On the other hand, overwatering onion seedlings can also cause them to topple. It should be easy to spot if the soil is too dry and water as required. A young onion seedling will very quickly start to wilt when its water resource dries out. It can be a particular problem in transplant trays where there is not a lot of soil and what is there can dry out quickly on hot days, or under artificial lights. Young seedlings can suffer quickly from a lack of water or too much water. It is a bigger problem if the small onion seedlings are collapsing due to water issues. I have planted seedlings that have flopped under the weight like this and it has been no issue – they have developed into great bulbs. When this becomes an issue, you can either trim the top of the seedlings or just hold off and wait to transplant them. Onion seedlings grow more leaves as they develop and get taller, and that can result in them flopping. They either get too large and struggle to cope with their own weight, or there is an issue with watering. In my experience, there are generally two main reasons for why onion seedlings fall over and it is not always an issue to fret about. (Image credit: Getty/Martin Harvey) Why are my onion seedlings falling over? To transplant onion seedlings into containers, follow the same spacings and steps outlined above, whether the young plants are in trays or modules. ![]() A suitable container for onions needs to be at least 10 inches deep and 24 inches wide to allow onions to develop to their full size. Growing onions in containers is a fantastic way to get a good onion harvest and seedlings can be transplanted into their final position in a pot or container. Water well and place somewhere light to grow bigger ahead of planting outside. Squeeze the seedlings out of its module and place into a 1 inch hole in a pot filled with soil. If the seedlings start to look yellow and unnourished, or lots of roots protrude out the bottom of the tray, it may be time to pot them up into a larger container to grow on. Smaller modules can result in onions quickly using all the nutrients up in the soil available. Any seedlings grown too large for their module can need potting up into a larger pot to grow on. Onions can be transplanted into pots and containers, whether for temporary purposes or as their final position. (Image credit: Alamy/Laurie MacBride ) Transplanting onion seedlings into containers The onions can be planted in rows 12-15 inches apart. Either way, seedlings should be transplanted 1 to 1.5 inches deep and each transplant needs to be 3 inches apart. The method of transplanting will differ depending on if your onion seedlings are in trays or modules. As they acclimatize, you’ll eventually reach the milestone of leaving them out overnight. She explains: ‘Introduce them to outdoor temperatures a little bit each day, adding time as you progress, for about 2-4 weeks. She hardens them off over an extended period. Jen McDonald, certified organic garden specialist and co-founder of Garden Girls, normally starts her onions indoors 12-14 weeks before the last frost date for where she is based in Houston. This attunes the seedlings to colder temperatures in preparation for the big day when they are transplanted outdoors. Once the small onions are ready for transplant, they do need to be hardened off first. My onions were typically sown during January in a heated polytunnel and then would be planted out in the vegetable garden around three months later. Onion seeds can be sown in either trays or modules – I tend to prefer using modules as it makes the process of transplanting the seedlings simpler. (Image credit: Alamy/ Juan Jose Alvarado) How to transplant onion seedlings outside
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