When to plant · 10 cities · zones 6a–7a
When to plant onions in Kansas
Start Spanish Onion seeds indoors around Jan 23 and transplant around Mar 20 — the Kansas statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 17 across 692 ZIP codes and 179 NOAA stations.
The rule: Twelve weeks indoors, the earliest sowing on the calendar, then transplant about four weeks before the last frost.
Kansas onions, by step
Statewide median last frost Apr 17, first fall frost Oct 22, 2027 season. Each cultivar's own indoor lead time and days to maturity, same engine as the Plan Builder.
| Cultivar | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish OnionYellow Sweet Spanish (long-day) | Jan 23 | Mar 20 | Jul 8 | 110 from transplant |
Tight means first harvest lands within two weeks of the median first fall frost. Statewide dates are the ZIP-weighted median of every NOAA 1991–2020 station Kansas's ZIP codes resolve to.
Onions in Kansas, city by city
Spanish Onion, scheduled from each city's nearest NOAA station — the same dates as its frost page.
| City | Last frost | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichitazone 7a | Apr 11 | Jan 17 | Mar 14 | Jul 2 |
| Overland Parkzone 6b | Apr 10 | Jan 16 | Mar 13 | Jul 1 |
| Kansas Cityzone 6b | Apr 16 | Jan 22 | Mar 19 | Jul 7 |
| Olathezone 6b | Apr 13 | Jan 19 | Mar 16 | Jul 4 |
| Topekazone 6b | Apr 12 | Jan 18 | Mar 15 | Jul 3 |
| Lawrencezone 6b | Apr 12 | Jan 18 | Mar 15 | Jul 3 |
| Shawneezone 6b | Apr 16 | Jan 22 | Mar 19 | Jul 7 |
| Lenexazone 6b | Apr 10 | Jan 16 | Mar 13 | Jul 1 |
| Manhattanzone 6a | Apr 16 | Jan 22 | Mar 19 | Jul 7 |
| Salinazone 6b | Apr 18 | Jan 24 | Mar 21 | Jul 9 |
What these onions become
What Kansas onions need
Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion Seed
A long-day storage onion with enough sugar to sweat down without scorching. The aromatic base under every tomato sauce on this site.
Organic Seed Starter Potting MixMust have
Seed-starting mix is not potting soil with a nicer label — it is finer, lighter, and low in nutrients on purpose, because a seedling's first roots want air and moisture, not fertiliser.
72-Cell Trays with 1020 Bottoms, 5-PackMust have
The cheap black nursery trays crack after one season and flex enough to break roots when you lift them. These do not. Over five seasons the price per use is lower than the throwaways.
T8 Full-Spectrum Grow Lights, 1 ft 4-packMust have
A south window in March delivers a fraction of the light a pepper seedling needs, and the plant tells you by stretching. Two inches of LED above the canopy for 16 hours a day fixes it permanently.
Rapitest Soil Test Kit
In-ground growers are guessing until they test. pH outside 6.0–6.8 locks nutrients out no matter how much fertiliser you add, and no amount of feeding fixes that.
Pure Organic Worm Castings, 15 lb
Not a fertiliser so much as a soil-biology inoculant with a mild nutrient charge. A cup in each planting hole is a cheap, unglamorous improvement you can measure by August.
Garden Harvest Basket with Tool Caddy
A harvest basket that doubles as a colander means the hose rinse happens in the garden, and the dirt stays outside. On a 20-pound tomato day that is a genuine time saving.
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Onions in Kansas: questions
When should I plant onions in Kansas?
Transplant around Mar 20 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 11 in the warmest tenth of Kansas's ZIP codes to Mar 31 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 1 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.
When do I start onions seeds indoors in Kansas?
Around Jan 23 for Spanish Onion: 12 weeks before the statewide median last frost, on soil held at 65–75 °F.
When is the last frost in Kansas?
The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 17. In the warmest tenth of Kansas's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 8; in the coldest tenth, on or after Apr 28.
When will Kansas onions be ready to harvest?
Spanish Onion planted on the statewide date is ready around Jul 8: 110 days from transplant.
Which onions grow in Kansas?
Spanish Onion is a long-day onion, correct above roughly 36° N. Every Kansas city listed here is north of that line.
More for Kansas
- When to plant tomatoes
- When to plant peppers
- When to plant tomatillos
- When to plant basil
- When to plant cilantro
- When to plant carrots
- When to plant mustard greens
Onions in every state → · Kansas frost dates → · How frost-date math works →