Green onions, also known as scallions or bunching onions, are a popular crop to cultivate in a home garden. These members of the Allium family offer a mild, slightly pungent flavor, and their entire structure—from the white base to the green stalks—is edible. They are fast-growing and take up little space, making them ideal for both in-ground beds and containers. However, the climatically diverse landscape of Texas requires a strategic planting calendar to ensure a successful harvest.
Regional Planting Calendars Across Texas
The optimal time for planting green onions varies depending on the specific climate zone in Texas. Planting should target the cooler months, as intense summer heat can cause the plants to prematurely flower (bolting), which reduces quality. As a cool-season crop, green onions tolerate temperatures well below freezing, extending planting windows in milder areas.
In the cooler regions of North Texas and the Panhandle, the best time to plant is late January through mid-February. This timing allows the plants to develop maximum foliage before lengthening days trigger bulbing later in the spring. This early start should be scheduled about four to six weeks before the final spring freeze is expected.
For Central Texas, including areas like Austin and Dallas, the planting window is more flexible but still centers on the cooler season. You can plant bulbing onion varieties for green onion harvesting from October through February. Short-day varieties thrive here, needing fewer daylight hours to develop, which makes fall and winter planting preferred.
Gardeners in the mild South Texas and Gulf Coast regions enjoy the longest growing season, allowing planting from mid-November through March 1st. This extended winter period provides the necessary cool temperatures for growth, and successful harvests are often achieved using transplants. Across all regions, monitoring local frost dates and soil temperature is more reliable than following a fixed calendar.
Choosing Planting Material and Soil Preparation
Planting Material Options
Gardeners choose between planting green onions from seeds, sets (small, immature bulbs), or transplants (slips). Planting from seeds is the most cost-effective method and allows for greater variety selection. Seeds can be started indoors eight to ten weeks before the last frost date, requiring consistent moisture for germination.
Sets offer a much faster path to harvest, often reducing the time to maturity by several weeks. Larger sets are preferable for green onion production. Transplants, or slips, are small bundles of seedlings often preferred in Texas for their reliability and quick establishment.
Soil Requirements
Green onions thrive in loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter, such as a sandy loam. The planting area should receive full sun, meaning at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Before planting, the soil should be worked to a depth of eight to ten inches. All large rocks or debris should be removed to prevent root obstruction.
Succession Planting for Year-Round Yield
Succession planting ensures a continuous yield of green onions rather than one large, seasonal harvest. This strategy involves staggering small plantings every few weeks throughout the cool growing season. Sowing a new batch of seeds or sets every three to four weeks maintains a steady supply of fresh green stalks ready for harvest.
Green onions are well-suited for this technique because they regrow after cutting. Instead of pulling the entire plant, snip the green leaves off near the soil line, leaving the white base and roots intact. The plant will sprout new greens, often allowing for three to five separate harvests before the vigor declines. This continuous cutting method maximizes productivity, especially during the long Texas growing season.