How and When to Plant Onion Sets in Tennessee

Onion sets are small onion bulbs that make growing onions easier and quicker. When you plant from seed, this pungent vegetable takes many months to mature. However, planting onion sets gives you a harvest sooner.

Best Time to Plant

• The National Gardening Association recommends planting onion sets in early spring in colder areas of Tennessee. For more southerly regions, you can plant onion sets in fall and winter and harvest them in spring.

How to Plant

• Choose an area that receives full sun all day and that has well-drained soil. Your onions will thrive and produce larger bulbs if you dig in a 2-to-4-inch layer of organic compost to a depth of at least 1 foot before you plant. Allow 14 to 36 inches between rows. Plant plump onion sets 3 to 6 inches apart, with the roots pointing downward. Barely cover the sets with soil.

Onion Varieties

• You'll find more onion varieties available as seeds than as sets if you search through seed catalogs and online sources. Onions that have strong flavor store longer than onions with a milder, sweeter flavor.