Plant record

Onion

Allium cepa

Onions are quiet workers. They ask for early commitment and clean beds.

Rankspeciesderived
GenusAlliumAmaryllidaceae
Species anchorAllium cepaThis record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
Library score79/100strong garden record

Garden timing

Start indoors 8 to 12 weeks before last frost.

Transplant once beds can be worked.

Plant intelligence

Excellent for tight repeat sowing in small squares.

food

Lifecycle: annual

Habit: garden crop

Record score

79/100strong garden record
Taxonomy confidence94Allium cepa in Amaryllidaceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness949 per square with none support.
Timing and care depth842 planting windows, 35F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down400 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence70Food crop with companion context.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.

Species identity

This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

ScientificAllium cepaFamilyAmaryllidaceaeLookup namesOnion, Allium cepa

Garden decision matrix

Square-foot fit9 per square
94Excellent for tight repeat sowing in small squares. Support: none.
Season behaviorsemi-hardy
84Indoor start. Transplant. One main planting.
Care loadmoderate water
76Day length matters. Keep weeds away while bulbs size up. Soil minimum 35F.
Bed ecosystem rolefood
70Food-first crop with companion context.
Variety depth0 options
40Favor varieties that match your season length and available bed space.

Companions

carrot, beet, lettuce, brassicas

Cautions

Day length matters.

Keep weeds away while bulbs size up.

External enrichment

Cached name: Allium cepa. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.

Open enrichment JSON

Data layers

FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.

API source score

Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.

Michigan State University Extension

Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.

Source reference

Cornell Vegetable Growing Guides

Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.

Source reference

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