The season has officially kicked off around here, with the first seeds of the year making their way into trays. Today we’re working on red, white, and yellow Spanish onions!

The seeding process is quite intricate, with many steps required:

Trays are filled with potting soil.
Next, they are wetted down with water, by running them through a line with overhead nozzles.
The filled and wetted trays are then transferred to our seeders, who carefully place one seed at a time (by hand!) into the individual cells in the trays.
The seeded trays are then topped with more soil and marked with a popsicle stick with a number that corresponds with the planting. That number is recorded in our seeding binder with a reference to the date and seeds sowed.

This system is carefully supervised by arguably everyone’s favourite team member, Pumpkin Spice Latte, or Pumpkin for short.

The seeded trays are then transferred to our heated greenhouse (pictured below!) where they will hang out for the next 12 weeks. Onions take quite some time to grow from seed, which is why we’re starting them so early.

Throughout the next 3 months they will be watered daily, and will receive a couple of “haircuts” while they grow, also known as trims. Trimming is required because as the onions start to shoot up they get too tall and top-heavy, and can topple over if left unattended.

By Week 10 or 11 we will begin to let the seedlings spend some time outside, to get them used to the elements before being formally transplanted into the field. This process is called “hardening off” and it’s something we do with all of our greenhouse-started seedlings. It ensures a better chance of survival!

Blog post written and photographed by Alex Chesney, RD