Last Updated on September 13, 2026
How Many Green Onions per Square Foot?
16 green onions per square foot. Scallions and bunching onions never form a big bulb, so they are happy at 3-inch spacing. That is one of the densest plantings in the square foot method.
The spacing pattern
| Square foot method | 16 per square: a 4 x 4 grid, about 3 inches apart each way |
|---|---|
| Per square foot | 16 |
| 4 x 4 bed (16 squares) | 256 green onions |
| 4 x 8 bed (32 squares) | 512 green onions |
You harvest green onions young and whole, so the plant never needs room to swell. Sixteen per square gives you a bunch per square, and you can sow a new square every few weeks for a steady supply.
Planting the square
- Mark the square into a 4 x 4 grid, 3 inches apart.
- Sow 2 or 3 seeds at each point about a quarter inch deep and thin to one, or plant a small clump at each point and harvest the clump.
- Sow a new square every few weeks for a continuous supply.
Tim’s growing notes
Not sure whether you are growing green onions, scallions or spring onions? They are mostly the same plant at different ages, and I sorted it out in Spring Onion vs Green Onion.
Soil temperature for germination
From my Seed Germination Temperature Chart: green onions germinate from 32°F, do best at 65-85°F, and stop above 95°F.
Days for seedlings to emerge at different soil temperatures, from the same chart:
| Soil temperature | Days to emerge |
|---|---|
| 50°F | 13 days |
| 59°F | 7 days |
| 68°F | 5 days |
| 77°F | 4 days |
When to plant green onions
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses, counted from your average last spring frost. Enter your frost date on the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates.
| Start indoors | 10 weeks before to 8 weeks before your last frost |
|---|---|
| Transplant out | 4 weeks before to 2 weeks before your last frost |
| Days to maturity | about 60 days |
How I grow them, in brief
Scallions, green onions and spring onions are mostly the same plant at different ages, and any onion pulled young is a green onion. I sow a square at a time, thick, and start harvesting whole as soon as the stalks are pencil-thick; cut an inch above the soil and most stalks push a second cutting. Because they never need to bulb, day length does not matter the way it does for storage onions, so you can keep sowing squares from early spring into late summer. Store them in the fridge wrapped in a damp paper towel, or chop and freeze. The differences between the three, and how I use each in the kitchen, are in Spring Onion vs Green Onion.
Where I get seed
For scallion seed I use Wood Prairie’s organic scallions, Parade and White Spear. Code PMG5 takes 5 percent off.
Quick questions
How many green onions in a 4 x 8 bed?
512 at 16 per square, which is far more than anyone needs at once. Plant two or three squares and stagger them.
Can I regrow green onions?
Cut them an inch above the soil and most will push new leaves for a second cutting.
Let the planner place them
Plan My Garden is free to start: draw your beds, pick green onions and everything else you want to grow, and it places each plant at the right spacing and gives you a planting schedule for your zip code.
Related: Square Foot Gardening Chart · How Many Onions per Square Foot · Seed Germination Temperature Chart
