🧅 When to Plant Onions

🥬 Vegetable
Cool Season

Start very early indoors or use sets

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Mar 7 May 2 Apr 18
Zone 3B May 15 Feb 20 Apr 17 Apr 3
Zone 4A May 8 Feb 13 Apr 10 Mar 27
Zone 4B May 1 Feb 6 Apr 3 Mar 20
Zone 5A Apr 25 Jan 31 Mar 28 Mar 14
Zone 5B Apr 18 Jan 24 Mar 21 Mar 7
Zone 6A Apr 21 Jan 27 Mar 24 Mar 10
Zone 6B Apr 10 Jan 16 Mar 13 Feb 27
Zone 7A Apr 5 Jan 11 Mar 8 Feb 22
Zone 7B Mar 28 Jan 3 Feb 28 Feb 14
Zone 8A Mar 20 Dec 26 Feb 20 Feb 6
Zone 8B Mar 12 Dec 18 Feb 12 Jan 29
Zone 9A Feb 28 Dec 6 Jan 31 Jan 17
Zone 9B Feb 15 Nov 23 Jan 18 Jan 4
Zone 10A Feb 1 Nov 9 Jan 4 Dec 21
Zone 10B Jan 15 Oct 23 Dec 18 Dec 4
Zone 11A Jan 1 Oct 9 Dec 4 Nov 20

Onions are a garden staple. Choose the right day-length variety for your latitude for best results.

Top Growing Tips

  • Short-day varieties for zones 7+ (south), long-day for zones 6 and north
  • Start from sets (small bulbs) for easiest results
  • Stop watering when tops start to fall over
  • Cure in a warm, dry spot for 2-3 weeks before storing
  • Day-neutral varieties work in any zone

Companion Planting

Good companions: beets, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, chamomile

Avoid planting near: beans, peas

Harvest Timeline

90-120 days from sets, 100-175 days from seed