Area gardens are starting to be worked on and some plants are in the ground. Now is the time to plant onion plants about one to 1.5 inches down in rows about a foot apart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach horticulturists recommend planting them two to three inches apart to produce large, dry onions. Onion seeds can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked, or early April in southeast Iowa.

Suggested onion cultivars for Iowa include ‘Candy’, ‘Copra’, ‘Red Burgermaster’, ‘Red Zeppelin’, ‘Stuttgarter’, ‘Walla Walla Sweet’, and ‘White Sweet Spanish’. Onions can easily be grown from plants.

For more onion planting tips click here.