Onion farming in Kenya is widely done in small-scale in either open gardens or green houses. Onions are always at a sought-after in Kenya for spicing as well as giving food a sweet flavor. The common types of onions grown in Kenya are the red, white, and yellow onions. In this article, we are going to share with you more about red creole onions grown in Kenya and we hope that it will be helpful to all the potential farmers.

The problem in Kenya is that many shun away from farming. Farming will forever be profitable as food like onions will forever be a sough-after on either low or high seasons. Journey with us and you will definitely have a story to tell.

Red Creole Onion Farming In Kenya

Red creole onions have 4 major qualities that makes them to be outstanding among the other red onions.

Red creole onions are known to be medium maturing onion, they have a dark red color, and they have awesome yield potential. The red creole onions have tight rings. For you to be able to different the red creole from the other onions, you should check its outer scale, you will definitely see very light red lines that runs to the center of the bulb; they have a pungent taste that makes them not to be as sweet as other onions though excellent in cooking and making salads.

Are you interested in growing the very firm and granex shape onions? Well, here is all that you need to know from how to plant them to a successful story from one of the onions farmer to give you inspirations.

Favorable climate for the red creole onions in Kenya

The best time to plant red creole onions in Kenya is during mild temperatures seasons.

In simple words, they grow well in a location that has full sun as well as medium rain; in fact, the best time to plant onions in Kenya is during hot months like January. The red creole onions are very hard and therefore they require water moderately.

The good thing is that they can also grow well in places that have intense cold temperatures; favoring the farmers. Which is the best soil to grow red creole onions? Well, the red creole onions can do well in clay, loamy, or sandy soils.

The P.H should at least range between 6.0 to about 7.0. This range P.H logically tells the potential farmers that they should grow this type of onions in places that have weak acidic or neural areas. How do you determine the P.H of the soil? Well, the soil kits are available in agricultural stores in Kenya. Another alternative of checking the P.H of your soil is taking a cup of soil to your nearest extension office for checking/ testing.

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How to Plant Red Creole Onion in Kenya

Red creole onions are very easy to grow as long us you grow them in their perfect temperature with the right type of soil. These type of onions require mild temperatures. In simple words, they grow in a location that has full sun as well as medium rain; in fact, the best time to grow onions in Kenya is on hot months like January. The red creole onions are very hard and therefore they require water moderately.

The good thing is that they can also grow well in places that have intense cold temperatures; favoring the farmers. Which is the best soil to grow red creole onions? Well, the red creole onions can do well in clay, loamy, or sandy soils. The P.H should at least range between 6.0 to about 7.0. This range P.H logically tells the potential farmers that they should grow this type of onions in places that have weak acidic or neural areas. How do you determine the P.H of the soil? Well, the soil kits are available in agricultural stores in Kenya. Another alternative of checking the P.H of your soil is taking a cup of soil to your nearest extension office for checking/ testing.

Red creole onion plant life circle is 3 or more years. It usually grows to a height of around 45.0cm; it is stem less. If you want to commence on the onion farming business, it is best if you start with the red creole onions because it requires very little work.

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Read on the step-by-step ways on how to plant onions in Kenya.

  • Step 1: Purchasing of the red creole onion seeds: Where do you purchase the seeds? In Kenya, there so many seed stores that you can do the purchasing. Some even order them online or buy locally from the onion farmers near them. Now that you know the perfect climate for growing the red creole onions, we hope that you considered that before you commenced on the buying of the seeds to avoid lose.

Red Creole Onion

  • Step 2: Start with indoor planting If your start with the indoor planting for about 8 to weeks, you will definitely be giving the onions time to grow, time to leaf, as well as make them grow in big bulb sizes. The good thing is that if you prefer to grow them outdoor, you can purchase the outdoor onion plants.
  • Step 3: Plant the onions In each cell, you can place at least 4 to 5 seeds; that is if you have the individual cells starter. The appropriate depth should not be more than a half-inch and a quarter inch apart. What is a cell? Well, the cup of soil that you place the plants is what is referred to as a cell. In most cases, onion farmers prefer to plant their onions on raised beds, which have a bed-like structure at the middle. You should also try them and boarder them with wood bricks, wood, or the concrete.
  • Step 4: Water your onions The red creole onions require good amounts of water and therefore if you want a huge harvest, you should water them properly. Most onion successful farmers in Kenya identify when the onions need water by checking the moist of the soil. Have in mind that you commence to half watering the onions regularly once you notice the bulbs getting larger.
  • Step 5: Mulch your onions To suppress comings up weeds, mulching helps. What is mulching? Mulching is basically the act of placing a layer of plant materials like grass clippings, inorganic materials such as plastics, bricks chips as well as stones, bark pieces, and the straw. Apart from suppressing the weeds that may come up, mulching also act as water retainer for the plant. If you go for the inorganic materials to mulch your onions, you will definitely be improving your soil. When the bulb starts to enlarge, then you will have to remove the mulch to avoid the bulbs from retaining a lot of water. Once they start growing, it is best if you keep trimming them when required to avoid them getting too tall. This is because tall onion plants will start drooping off; a 3 inch height is fine.
  • Step 6: Harvest your onions The red creole onions are usually very hard compared to other onions and they are also flat. In 100 to 175 days your onions will be ready for harvest. The good thing is that the green onions are also good and they can be harvested in not more than 3 weeks. The best time to harvest your onions is during October and January; this is because most Kenyans depend on Tanzania imports.
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The Red creole onion plant life circle is 3 or more years. It usually grows to a height of around 45.0cm; it is stem less. The good thing is that it requires little labor and that is the reason why it is considered to be the best for a starter farmer. If you watch after them they will definitely earn you huge profits.

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