Onion Seeds

Grow your year's piyaz from these Onion seeds (Allium cepa). Firm, well-cured bulbs for the kitchen and tender green onions along the way, sown in autumn and harvested before the June heat, the patient backbone crop of Pakistani gardens.

Growing Guide for Pakistan

• Sowing time: September to October in trays or seedbeds in the plains and Islamabad; October in Karachi.
• Method: Sow thickly, 1 cm deep, in a tray or nursery bed.
• Germination: 8–12 days at 15–24°C. Onion seed is short-lived, always sow fresh, our seed storage guide explains why last year's packet disappoints.
• Transplanting: In November, when seedlings are pencil-lead thick, set them 10 cm apart with tops trimmed by a third.
• Harvest: Green onions anytime; mature bulbs in April–May when tops fall over. Dry in shade for a week before storing.
• Sun and water: Full sun; regular water until bulbing, then taper off.

Plan the nursery with what to sow in September.

Germination-tested in Lahore since 1932. Browse the full winter vegetable seeds collection.