Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →

How to Plant and Care for Texas Supersweet Onions

...
onions image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com

Onions are cool-season vegetables that grow best in moist, cool soils. While they’re forming bulbs, however, onions prefer warmer temperatures and drier conditions. Texas Supersweet onion plants produce large, globe-shaped onions with a sweet flavor. Sweet onions should be planted as early in spring as possible if you live in a colder climate. Texas Supersweet onions are typically grown from purchased transplants.

Select a planting site for your Texas Supersweet onions that’s in full to partial sunlight and has cool, fertile and moist soil. Remove all weeds and grasses from the planting site and loosen the soil using a rototiller or pitchfork.

  • Onions are cool-season vegetables that grow best in moist, cool soils.
  • While they’re forming bulbs, however, onions prefer warmer temperatures and drier conditions.

Plant the Texas Supersweet onions in early spring, while the soil is workable but still cool. Plant the onion transplants 1 to 1 ½ inches deep and spaced 6 to 8 inches apart. If you’re planting the onions in rows, space them about 4 to 5 inches apart in rows that are 12 to 18 inches apart.

Firm down the soil gently around the onion transplants using your hands. Water them deeply and thoroughly, applying 1 cup of dissolved starter fertilizer solution per plant.

Hoe shallowly around the Texas Supersweet onion plants to keep the soil bed free of weeds. Water the onions deeply to soak the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches once each week when rainfall is less than 1 inch.

  • Plant the Texas Supersweet onions in early spring, while the soil is workable but still cool.
  • Water the onions deeply to soak the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches once each week when rainfall is less than 1 inch.

Side-dress the onion transplants about three weeks after planting them with a nitrogen-only fertilizer. Apply 1 cup of ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate per 20 feet of row.

Feed the onion plants every two to three weeks with the nitrogen-only fertilizer until the stem bases, or “necks,” begin to feel soft. Water the onion plants deeply and thoroughly immediately after spreading the fertilizer along the rows.

Harvest your Texas Supersweet onions by pulling them up from the soil in July or August, when the tops fall over. Pull the onions in the morning and set them out to dry in the planting bed until late afternoon.

Tip

Allow the onion bulbs to dry for two to three weeks indoors or in a protected spot outside. Cut off the tops so that they’re about 1 ½ to 2 inches long after the bulbs dry.

Warning

Avoid setting out the onion bulbs to dry in the planting bed when conditions are hot, dry and very sunny, because the bulb may become burned. In these conditions, set the Texas Supersweet onions in a slightly shaded location to dry.

Related Articles

How to Plant Onion Sets
How to Plant Onion Sets
How to Grow Onions in East Texas
How to Grow Onions in East Texas
How to Grow an Onion in a Jar
How to Grow an Onion in a Jar
How to Plant Onions in Colorado
How to Plant Onions in Colorado
How to Transplant Allium
How to Transplant Allium
How and When to Plant Onion Sets in Tennessee
How and When to Plant Onion Sets in Tennessee
How to Grow Onion Bulbs From the Supermarket
How to Grow Onion Bulbs From the Supermarket
How to Plant Buttercups
How to Plant Buttercups
How to Grow Pearl Onions
How to Grow Pearl Onions
How to Grow Red Onions From Bulbs
How to Grow Red Onions From Bulbs
How to Grow Cauliflower & Broccoli
How to Grow Cauliflower & Broccoli
How to Plant Onion Sets in Pennsylvania
How to Plant Onion Sets in Pennsylvania
How to Plant & Grow Walla Walla Onions
How to Plant & Grow Walla Walla Onions
How to Grow Elephant Ear Plants in Texas
How to Grow Elephant Ear Plants in Texas
How to Grow Onions From Bulbs
How to Grow Onions From Bulbs
Growing Pontiac Red Potatoes
Growing Pontiac Red Potatoes
Vegetables That Grow Well in Abilene, Texas
Vegetables That Grow Well in Abilene, Texas
Garden Guides
×