Vegetable / Cool season
Scallions
Also called spring onions
Pencil thin onions you can pull all season
Plant out byMay 18zone 6
- Family
- Onion (Amaryllidaceae)
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ h)
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Days to harvest
- 50-70 days
- Spacing
- 2 in apart, rows 12 in
- Pot size
- 3 gal pot (great in pots)
- Frost
- Hardy
- Start
- Either
- Water
When to plant
Showing .
Averages for a typical garden in the region. Your local frost dates may differ by 2-3 weeks, check a local source.Wait until Feb 9
In zone 6, start seeds indoors Feb 9 to Mar 9; plant out Mar 23 to May 18; sow again for fall Aug 11 to Sep 8. Average last frost Apr 20, first fall frost Oct 20.
Units
Scallions are the least dramatic crop I grow, and I mean that as praise. They want sun, steady water and loose soil, and they ask for little else. Bunching types never form a big bulb, so you get green tops and a slim white base that go into almost every dinner.
The slow part is the start. Seed takes a week or two to sprout, and the seedlings look like grass for a while, so weeds can swamp them. Weed by hand early and often. The roots are shallow, and a hoe pulls scallions out along with the weeds. Shallow roots also mean the soil should not dry out, and a long run of days over about 85 degrees F can push plants to flower.
Sow outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked. You can also start seeds inside 6 to 10 weeks before your last frost and set them out a few weeks early. They handle cold well. Most bunches are ready 50 to 70 days from seed, when stems are about pencil thick and at least 6 inches tall. Sow a short row every few weeks and you rarely run out. A pot 12 inches across and 8 inches deep holds a dense clump by the kitchen door, which is where ours lives. Keep them away from your beans and peas, since companion charts often say onion family crops hold those back.
Things to consider
- Onion thrips leave silvery streaks on the leaves, mostly in hot, dry weather. A hard spray from the hose knocks them back, and insecticidal soap or neem oil helps in bad years.
- Onion maggots tunnel into the roots, and the plants wilt and pull out easily. Remove affected plants and throw them out instead of composting them, and plant your next row in a different spot.
- Hardy bunching varieties such as 'Evergreen Long White' can sit through winter under a layer of straw in many areas. Sown in late summer, they give you the first green onions of spring.
Good neighbours
Keep apart
Pests to watch for
Onion thripsOnion maggots
Questions about growing scallions
Can I regrow scallions from the grocery store?
Yes. Stand the white root ends in a little water or plant them in a pot, and new green tops appear within days. Each round comes back thinner and weaker, so seed is better for a steady supply. Planting the ends in soil usually gives sturdier regrowth than a glass of water.
Are scallions and green onions the same?
In most stores and recipes, yes. Gardeners sometimes use scallion for bunching types that never bulb, and green onion for young bulb onions pulled early. You grow and pick both the same way. Seed packets labeled bunching onion are the ones that stay slim. Bulb onion seed works too, as long as you pull the plants young.
How close can I plant scallions?
Closer than most crops. About 1 to 2 inches apart works, in rows 6 to 12 inches apart, or you can sow small clusters. Thin by eating the extras as they size up. Crowded plants stay thinner, which many cooks prefer anyway. For thicker stems, give each one a little more room and an extra couple of weeks.
Save this crop
Pin it to a garden board so it is there when planting time comes round.
Similar crops
Sources
General guidance for home gardens. Frost dates are averages for a zone or region; check a local source (in the US your county extension office) for local timing.