Question
Hello,

I'm on the East Coast and I am trying to grow Yellow Onions for the first time. I started a container indoors about five weeks ago. Unfortunately, the onions just look like small, weak, thin strands of grass. Is this normal, or did they not grow so well? Anything I can do to try to perk them up. My wife thinks the seeds were old..could this be true?

Answer
Jason, what you've described is exactly what onions look like for a few weeks after they germinate.  This is completely normal.

Do not fertilize until the plants are 4"-6" tall.  Then apply a water soluble fertilizer at 1/2 the recommended solution.  Keep the soil damp, not wet.  And be sure to keep the fluorescent lights no higher than 3" from the top of the seedlings.  Transplant into the garden once the last threat of frost has passed.  If you follow these simple steps, you should have onions by the middle of September.

Good luck.

Regards,

Mike