How I Grow Onions In Totes

One of the most unique gardening strategies that I use is growing my onions in totes.  Some people grow them right in their garden soil, but I have been growing onions in totes for many years and has always produced an abundant harvest.  It actually works and you too can use it in your own garden as well once you read this article on how I do it.

Let's first discuss the type of totes that I use.  They are just normal totes that you can purchase in most stores that carry them.  They might be a little bit more durable than your average totes because they were purchased years ago, but any plastic tote should do the trick.  My totes measure 27"x21" with a depth of about a foot.  This will be plenty of room for your onion roots to thrive.  Onion roots probably only go down about a max of 8-10 inches max. 

These are the exact totes that I have used for planting onions for over 15 years.

Once you select the number of totes that you are going to use it is then time to decide what soil you want to place in them.  I just use a mixture of organic humus and top soil.  This will give your onion bulbs a boost in the beginning to get growing as fast as possible.

The bags on the side are what I fill the totes up with.  It takes only four bags to fill them up to the top and will give your onions the space and nutrients they need.  Adding some bone meal is another element that I add to the soil because this will give the roots of your onions an even bigger boost which is great especially in the beginning of them growing.

Now it is time to place the onions into the soil.  I place them down with the large area first and the stem part sticking out of the ground.  Do not cover the stem otherwise your plant may fail to sprout.  You just want to cover the base of the onion which will grow larger to become the onion that you consume during mid summer when they are ready to pick.

You can fit about 20 to 30 onions per tote if you space them out correctly.

If you are worried about birds or other pests eating your onions or somehow disturbing them, then you can place some old screens on them which will provide them protection from birds and water and air can still get through to your plants.