Having issues growing spring onions...

[4evermaat]

They are also called green onion, table onion, scallion, shallot, or "dhot-hom" in thai. The ones I have are common in the thai markets: the small white bulb and roots with green stem.

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I saw a thai friend of mine growing some of his own and he commented how easy it was to do it; takes about two weeks for them to mature and you can just cut it off and they will keep growing. So we got some soil and I started to grow them in either a raised wooden garden or small flower pots. After buying some in the market, I will cut off the green stem right as it turns white near the bulb/root and plant the root in the soil. My 'raised' garden of spring onions are about 1.5-2 meters off of the ground level; not sure if that makes a difference.

After over 6 weeks of daily watering and lots of sun (about 6-10 hours of direct sunlight on any given day), I was very frustrated at my performance. The spring onions are growing, but they are very thin and do not grow tall like I see in the market; some of the bulbs did not grow at all. I went to my neighbor and saw his (same soil) looking thick and long, similar to what they sell in the market. He insist he did not add anything extra other than morning/evening watering. I even see a couple of small weeds in his batch and the spring onions are still growing long, thick, and healthy. I cut the spring onions to eat anyway and I see that they are growing back. So there is some growth and repeated growth. just far from optimal.

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My wife is saying maybe I need to add some chicken, pig, or cow manure. I do live near a beach, so I could also grab some seaweed or something if needed to help out my garden. Are they planted too close together? My friend's onions were close together and he didn't seem to have a problem. I wanted some feedback to see what exactly needs to be changed or any suggestions on anything extra to buy or add to the mix.

Also, there were a couple of mornings where I noticed the soil had a large hole in it. Wife says that it was a frog. I wasn't sure until I last night, I did see a frog (no hole) in the big bed as I was watering. I woke up this morning and it wasn't there and there were no new holes. We don't have much standing water in the area, so I don't know where the frogs are coming from. Any way to stop them from coming around? Don't need them upsetting an already delicate situation. Plus there are several other flower pots with other non-edible plants....why haven't they dug up those?

Anyway, thanks for helping. edit: Located in Pathio, Chumphon province. (about 20km from Chumphon Town).

Edited March 1, 2014 by 4evermaat

[krisb]

Ours flourish in a shady spot, or just part sun a day.

We just water once a day.

Maybe your soil is salty from living near the beach?.....just guessing.

[loong]

Are you sure that your fiend has not planted chives? I don't understand "and you can just cut it off and they will keep growing", sounds more like chives to me.

There are different types of bunching onions and they take quite some time to grow from seed.

​I often dig up a bunch and separate them and replant a bit deeper as this encourages longer white oniony bit. You should cut the green leafy part before replanting, but leave at least 2 or 3 inches. You are cutting too short.

They seem to like plenty of organic matter in the soil.

Maturity takes a lot longer than 2 weeks.

Buying from the market, you have no idea what preservatives etc they have been treated with to keep them looking fresher for longer. I don't know if the chemicals that they may have used would affect the re-growth.

[cooked]

Onions won't make bulbs if they get to much nitrogen (cow poo / compost) towards the end of the growing cycle, they prefer potash. I also, very reluctantly, let the weeds grow at the stage as they absorb nitrogen also.

While on the subject I discovered that European onions won't make bulbs here, something to do with day length. The ones I sowed make very nice spring onions though.

[4evermaat]

Ours flourish in a shady spot, or just part sun a day.

We just water once a day.

Maybe your soil is salty from living near the beach?.....just guessing.

His would also be even saltier, as he lives near the boat dock. We're about 2-3km or so from the beach, with lots of green I would think other plants would be affected. I don't think the soil we used is made locally. I could try to get a photo of the soil bag we used. it's about 35-40 baht per

Are you sure that your fiend has not planted chives? I don't understand "and you can just cut it off and they will keep growing", sounds more like chives to me.

There are different types of bunching onions and they take quite some time to grow from seed.

​I often dig up a bunch and separate them and replant a bit deeper as this encourages longer white oniony bit. You should cut the green leafy part before replanting, but leave at least 2 or 3 inches. You are cutting too short.

They seem to like plenty of organic matter in the soil.

Maturity takes a lot longer than 2 weeks.

Buying from the market, you have no idea what preservatives etc they have been treated with to keep them looking fresher for longer. I don't know if the chemicals that they may have used would affect the re-growth.

The table onion as in the 2nd photo above. It usually looks like this:

. It may be called chives in a different culture.

I usually leave about 2-3 inches. I'll consider using seeds or see if they are acquiring the fresh ones locally or are reselling them from makro or other bulk supplier, but the neighbor's onions are from the market as far as I know. Just cut the green part and in 2-3 weeks they come back.

Maybe I can take a few of my neighbors and see if I can replant them successfully.

Is there a minimum spacing between bunches to consider?

I'm thinking about using some wormcasting

[SundayAfternoon]

Mine have struggled too, think they're too hot in their pots and a few hours of full sun. I've had a few, but no where near a many seeds as I've planted!

Them and bell peppers just don't seem to work for me.

[4evermaat]

Mine have struggled too, think they're too hot in their pots and a few hours of full sun. I've had a few, but no where near a many seeds as I've planted!

Them and bell peppers just don't seem to work for me.

I was able to get them to grow larger with some urine therapy. (Take your own fresh urine or only a couple of hours old and dilute 1 cup to about 20 cups water; water the garden). I was applying it daily for a couple of days, and it took about 10 days or so to see some positive effects; now the growth is much taller, but only slightly thicker; wish I could take a photo.

I am also preparing some seaweed juice which I may try later this week or next week.

I did want to also try wormcast. Maybe sometime next month. That and a small amount of tiny coconut husk (moist) was supposed to be the single best thing you could do to naturally vitalize the soil before you begin planting. You could also add the broken down (and rinsed) seaweed at this time. The seaweed juice is also more of a revitalizing/maintenance thing.

The spring onions are still not as thick as I desire. I suspect the soil was either 'dead' in that there were insufficient nutrients, or the topsoil was too packed (happens after a day or two of watering), so there was little ability for the plants to aerate. The urine therapy would be something you do every once in a while for maintenance, although stronger plants like trees you could pee directly on it. There was another plant that we used the same soil with that quadrupled in growth after adding the diluted urine . The cost of the urine and seaweed from the beach was very minimal . We'll see what happens.

[cooked]

I just saw the words 'soil bag' above. I read elsewhere that these are often spent mushroom compost. I tried planting tomatoes in bags and nothing happened apart from them turning yellow. After 4 weeks I in desperation stuck them out in the garden and the difference is amazing. I guess your soil is at fault.

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[Charlest1971]

I am in exactly the same situation and I don’t live anywhere near the sea. 
I planted about 100 Spring Onion seeds, both red & white. 
After about 2 months, they look like blades of very thin, wispy grass. 
It is very disappointing.

I am thinking about digging them up and planting potatoes instead. 
On the other side of my raised bed, I am growing Broccoli, which is looking great. I have full large stems & leaves. 

I have attached an image of my broccoli. On the other side of the wooden divider, are my spring onions. To be honest, I am so ashamed of them, I don’t even want to include an image of them. 
You wouldn’t be able to see them anyway. ????‍♀️

Edited June 14, 2023 by Charlest1971