Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Preparing for cutting
• Part 2 of 3: Planting the cut onion
• Part 3 of 3: Taking care of the onion
• Tips
• Warnings

Onions are as easy to grow as they are delicious to eat in a variety of dishes. And as long as you have an onion on hand, you don't need a seed to grow it. By cutting the bottom of an onion and planting it in the ground, you can grow your own onions from cuttings. With patience, time and plenty of water, you can grow an onion using another onion in about 90 to 120 days.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Preparing for cutting

1. Cut the onion about an inch from the bottom. Place the onion on a cutting board and with a sharp knife cut the bottom off and remove the outer skin. The piece of onion should be about an inch long for a healthy onion to grow.
   • If you are going to grow the onions outside, start with cuttings in early spring. Any time of the year is fine for onions grown indoors.
   • You can use most onions, including supermarket onions, to grow more onions. This technique works best if you are working with a fresh onion that has not gone bad yet.
2. Let the onion base dry for 12 to 24 hours. After slicing, set the remaining onion to one side and place the onion base on a flat, dry surface, cut side up. Allow the onion base to dry out for up to a day, until it is callused and dry to the touch.
   • You can use the leftover rest of the onion for cooking or compost if you'd rather not throw it away.
3. Stick toothpicks on each side of the onion. Divide the onion base into four sides and insert a toothpick halfway into each side. The toothpicks should be evenly spaced so that they resemble an "X" in spacing.
   • This allows you to hang the onion above water while the roots grow.
4. Hang the onion over a small bowl of water. Fill a bowl to the brim with water and place it on a flat surface. Place the onion so the bottom just touches the top of the water and let it grow for 3 to 4 days. Plant the cutting when small and white roots start to grow from the bottom.
   • The diameter of the bowl should be less wide than the length of the toothpicks.
   • Hang the onion by a sunny window or put it outside to make the cut piece grow faster.

Part 2 of 3: Planting the cut onion

1. Fill a pot with well-draining soil. Buy a well-draining soil mix and a large pot with holes in the bottom from a plant nursery. Fill the pot with soil to about half full - you will continue to fill it up after you plant the onion slice.
   • You can also plant the onion soil outside if your garden has well-drained soil.
   • To test if the soil is permeable, dig a 12 inch deep hole in the ground and fill it with water. If the water runs off within 5 to 15 minutes, the soil is well drained.
2. Place the onion base in the soil and fill the pot with soil. When white roots are growing from the bottom of the onion bottom, place it in the center of the soil. Fill the rest of the pot with soil over the onion to about 1 inch to 2 inch from the top of the pot.
   • Depending on your own preference, you can put the onion indoors or outdoors in sunny weather.
3. Water the onion base immediately after planting. Watering the onion soil will help it adapt to the new environment and grow roots more quickly. Water your onion enough so that the soil feels moist, but not soaking wet.
4. After watering, spray nitrogenous fertilizer into the soil. Onions thrive in soil with a high nitrogen content. Spray nitrogen fertilizer directly into the soil and mix it with your hands to provide the onion with the nutrients it needs to grow.
   • You can purchase nitrogen fertilizer at most garden stores or nurseries.
   • Check the label to determine how much fertilizer to spray into the soil.

Part 3 of 3: Taking care of the onion

1. Water the onion about 1 inch (2.5 cm) per week. Onions need a lot of water to stay healthy and grow more onions. Check the soil every day - if it feels dry, water your onion until it is moist to the touch.
2. Do weed regularly when you are out in your yard. Onions have a hard time competing with invasive plants, and the weeds can steal their water and nutrients. Check your yard often for weeds and if you notice them, pull them out immediately.
   • Avoid spraying weed killers around the onion, as most herbicides can kill weeds as well as garden plants.
   • Also check for small insects or other pests on the onion and if you see one, spray the onion with a non-toxic, plant-friendly insect repellent.
3. Fertilize the onion every two weeks. Fertilizing the onion plant regularly will help grow large and healthy bulbs. Spray the onion plant at least twice a month with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, until the bulb of the onion plant begins to protrude from the ground.
   • When the bulb starts to stick out of the ground, stop fertilizing the onion until you harvest it.
4. Harvest the onion when it forms flowers. When the onion starts to grow flowers, it is ready to be harvested. Loosen the soil around the onion with a shovel and pull the onion at the base of the green foliage to pull it out of the ground.
   • On average, it takes about 90 to 120 days for onions from cuttings to grow a new bulb from an onion base.
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Steve Masley

   
   
   Home and garden specialist Steve Masley has been designing and maintaining organic vegetable gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. In 2007 and 2008 he taught practical lessons in local sustainable agriculture at Stanford University.

   Steve Masley
   Home and garden specialist

   Do you ask yourself if it is okay to remove the green shoots? Pat Browne and Steve Masley of Grow it Organic say, "You can harvest the shoots of onions whenever you want, but if you want bigger bulbs, let them sit. Each leaf feeds a layer of the onion, so if you have 8 or 10 leaves, you have 8 or 10 layers of growth on the onion. "

Tips

• If you initially grow the onion in a pot, you can always transfer it to your garden later.
• As long as you take good care of your plant, the onion cutting should produce more onions, much like an onion growing from a seed.
• Take good care of it and pull out the weeds!
• Store the onions well to keep them fresh for several months.

Warnings

• If the onion is limp, discolored or otherwise looking bad, it could have a plant disease. Move the onion away from other plants and discuss symptoms with a plant nurseryman to determine the best way to treat the disease.