Warning: I am not an expert gardener. That being said, it's important to listen to other more experienced members over what I write here. I hope this helps anyone just starting out with onions - especially in Oklahoma and especially if they're poor, like me, and buying sets in January is not likely to occur (though it's recommended).

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*If you're a newb to gardening, buy onion sets in January.
If you start onions from seed in fall, be ready to buy sets in January.
Don't expect huge success, if at all.
Check our forum for common varieties that do well before buying seed. Keyword: "Oklahoma Gardenweb, how to onions"
If you're like me and cannot afford to buy starts in January, read on.

Onions need at least 5 months to grow, depending on the variety. The timing of that 5 months is important, because they need a certain length of daylight before they will begin to bulb up in size. For example a "long day" type onion bulb will remain healthy but stalled in size until the sun rises and sets over a fourteen hour period of time. The fourteen hour day is what triggers the bulb to begin enlarging itself. In my part of Oklahoma the fourteen hour days usually begins in mid or late May. This explains why most are harvesting in late June or early July. Getting this timing right means you'll have nice big healthy onion bulbs around that time. Otherwise, they'll be small. Figuring all this out can seem daunting. The daylight lengths requirements are attached to the variety of onion (short, intermediate or long day) and the timing of the sun geographically and, if you're picky, the positioning of your onion bed in the garden related to the sun. You must make these match. Otherwise, onions are pretty hardy. Confused, yet? Unfortunately, most packages don't mention any of this information at all. The fact that onions won't survive deep cold winters complicates matters. If an onion requires 5 months of growth � or 4 months of growth prior to induction of bulb size � we're talking cold winter months. Onions just won't do that.

Onions respond to cold in one of 2 ways: They die or they bolt (attempt to go to seed) rendering them useless. Even more frustrating: some varieties are very sensitive and bolt from the slightest touch of freezing. So, if you have a specific onion flavor in mind, you might check up on forums and, also, here to decide whether it will be worth the effort in the case it's very sensitive to cold. To avoid reactions to cold, onion growth must be interrupted before it becomes too cold and restarted when temperatures are more ideal. It's confusing because onions can actually tolerate cold. They just cannot toleratetoo much of it. So, after all your troubles or starting from seed and pulling for dormancy, you'll discover the onions end up transplanting when it's likely to freeze. Now, you are completely puzzled to this process of growing onions and why you even need to interrupt the growing process to begin with! Fortunately, onions are pretty tough and can adequately handle ONE interruption without hindering harvest. But we want maximum bulb growth, don't we? Big juicy onions bulbs. The bigger the better. Right?

To provide maximum growth, Oklahomans have two options: start seeds in fall and pull into dormancy. (You just made your own starts.) Then, replant the starts in February or March. Or you can begin onion seeds a few weeks prior to last spring frost. For that, you start them indoors in controlled temperatures and gradually harden them off before planting them in the garden (at the right time). I don't have good indoor control, so my best option is to plant in fall, pull and replant at the appropriate time(s). Onions grown from seed are tougher, stronger and healthier. Some would argue the flavor is different, but I don't know any better so I go with the tougher onions. Tough sustainable plants is my personal garden goal. Your goals might be different! You might be hankering for that perfect sweet Candy onion. If so, stop reading and be ready to order starts in January. That's not to say you cannot have perfect sweet Candy onions if you grow from seed. I don't even know if "Candy" variety comes in seed, but the point is: Time and experience is required before nailing that perfectly home-grown onion from seed. If you're as stubborn and persistent as me, then read on �.

But when to start the seed?
When to pull the onion starts?
How to store them properly?
And when to transplant in my area in Oklahoma?

When to start fall onion seeds in Oklahoma?

According to OSUengineer, the best time to start seeds is on or about the fall equinox. Easy to look up and remember! I'm in Central Oklahoma and this is perfect for my micro climate and the variety I've tried so far. Okiedawn prefers to order starts, but has written of experience of growing onions from seed and she plants (some varieties) in October. But, remember, she's in a different world than mine. And she plants a different variety. It's colder and wetter in Central Oklahoma opposed to Southern Oklahoma where she's growing. I must pull mine into dormancy earlier than Okiedawn. And that's when the weather is consistent. Gosh! So, do your homework with respect to your location. Pay attention to your own garden, watch the sun in the summer and look up what variety you're planting. You can do it! Once your new onion seeds are growing, it's important to note the neck size. The neck at ground level should reach 'pencil' thickness. No more.

When to pull the onion starts for dormancy?

Pencil thickness is when you pull them for dormancy. Tecnically, the indicator is bulb size. Plant extra. The bulbs need to be just beginning to develop well before you pull into dormancy. But, if you allow the bulbs to grow too large, in the spring they might flower before the bulbs have a chance to develop in the summer.

Here's the really tricky part: Some variety of onions pulled into dormancy will not last longer than three weeks. What those varieties are, depends on experience. Each onion bulb contains energy, just like flower bulbs. The longer they are in dormancy the more "dead" they become. If you start seed too early, you'll need pull them into dormancy early extending the dormancy time and end up planting dead onion bulbs. Not a lot of information is available! I did find a bit of informationhere. So, in some cases, you may need to wait until October or November to start seed (November is way too iffy for Oklahoma weather, pick a different variety or start indoors) to start your seed. And that's under an ideal environment for maximum growth potential before you pull them into dormancy. If you're a newb, like me, it's impossible. Even if you're an experienced gardener, if you have any problems, you're out of luck. In that case, you're better off fashioning an indoor environment and starting seed 8-12 weeks prior to your last frost date. A lot of work!

Now, we can see why most gardeners buy their starts from Dixondaleor elsewhere!

How to store onion sets for dormancy?

It's not unlike regular harvesting. I gently pulled my onion seedlings out of the ground of my cold frame and layed them flat on an old window screen. Then, I placed them inside the house in a room that was not temperature controlled, but where they would not freeze and not be too warm. This worked okay for me. Onions are like garlic. They're pretty tough and can handle, at least, one interruption in growth. Oh, I did trim the roots back to about two inches before transplant. Some recommended cutting the green tops back. I did not, because I didn't know better.

When to transplant your own onion starts?

This depends on where you are and what your weather is doing. Don't hesitate to ask on this forum. Generally, Oklahoma gardeners place their onion starts in February providing mulch for when the weather freezes, again. It most likely will before mid April even though all the work you've done so far is to avoid freezing. Remember, a good variety in Oklahoma will withstand cold temps with your help, but not for long. This is important to remember when deciding when the transplant. You need to be very familiar with your own micro-climate (local weather). Usually, having some good mulch on hand will save you a headache if the weather disagrees and it usually does in Oklahoma. Nice, huh?

When to harvest?

After all this, harvesting seems pretty simple, doesn't it? Not really, but it's not as hard as all the work you just went through if you started seeds in fall. Thisthread should help.

If you made it all the way to harvest and your bulbs are small, pat yourself on the back. This is a tough one for newbies and if you received a harvest at all, you are stupendous. And like all of us, next year is always going to be better !!

You can read up more on this awesome thread.

This post was edited by ChickenCoupe on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 15:34