If you want to skip the hassle of grow lights, heating mats, and other seed-starting equipment, growing Onion seeds by winter sowing is the way to go. It works like a charm and is very easy. All you need is a packet of seeds, a plastic lidded container, and some potting soil formulated for seed starting. Start planting Onion seeds by winter sowing anytime between early December and mid-February.
Here are the steps use to winter sow Onion seeds;
– Poke three or four ½ inches wide drainage holes in the bottom of the plastic container. Also, make two ½ inches wide ventilation holes in the top of the lid.
– Open the container and fill it with 3 inches of potting soil.
– Sprinkle the Onion seeds on top of the soil, casually spacing them about 1/4 to ½ inches apart.
– Cover the Onion seeds with a sprinkling of potting soil and water them in well.
– Put the lid on the container and then label it with a piece of tape and a permanent marker.
– Once the Onion seeds are planted, put the container in a protected, shady spot outdoors.
The seed treatment of Onions
Seed treatment with Thiram by 2 gm/kg of seed + Benomyl 50WP by 1 gm/liter water effectively controls damping-off and smut diseases. After chemical treatment, seed treatment with bioagent Trichoderma viride by 2 gm/kg of seed is recommended, it helps in reducing early seedling diseases and soil-borne inoculums.
Treating Onion seed with a fungicide like Apron Star is recommended to avoid fungal diseases like damping off.
