Paano Magtanim ng Dahon ng Sibuyas: How to Plant Spring Onion the Traditional Way
Paano magtanim ng dahon ng sibuyas? Here is how traditional Filipino farmers usually plant sibuyas na mura (spring onion), step by step from getting the field ready to the harvest, with the day of each step and what to change for a higher yield.
This guide shows how traditional farmers usually plant sibuyas na mura. Use it as a starting point. For a higher yield, update it: plant certified seed or clean planting material, test your soil, and follow the right spacing and fertilizer.
How Filipino growers raise spring onion for its green leaves, from small bulbs or from seed, on beds near markets and on highland farms. Whole plants are pulled in about seven weeks, or the leaves are cut so they grow back.
Before you plant, get the field ready with our land preparation guide for onion and garlic. Then choose your seed or planting material with the sibuyas na mura nutrient deficiency guide.
When to plant sibuyas na mura
Grown all year where there is water. It is easier in the dry months, since long heavy rain rots the plants. Highland farms grow it the year round.
What you plant
Small bulbs of the native sibuyas tagalog type, split into single bulbs with the tops trimmed off, or seed of bunching onion sown in a seedbed and transplanted after about a month.
Paano magtanim ng dahon ng sibuyas, step by step
The crop is ready about 50 days after planting.
Before planting (Bago magtanim)
7 days before planting: Make the beds
Dig or plow the plot and make raised beds about a meter wide. Mix in plenty of dried manure or compost.
1 day before planting: Prepare the bulbs
Split the clumps into single bulbs and cut off the top part of each bulb so it sprouts faster.
Planting day (Pagtatanim)
Planting day: Plant the bulbs
Push the bulbs into the bed about 10 to 15 cm apart each way, with the cut top just at the surface. Water the bed.
Care while it grows (Pag aalaga)
Day 1: Water daily at first
Water every morning in the first week, then every one to two days if there is no rain.
Day 14: Weed
Hand pull the weeds on the beds.
Day 15: Feed
Side dress urea (46 0 0) or complete fertilizer (14 14 14) between the plants and water it in. Some growers dissolve the fertilizer in the watering can.
Day 20: Watch for armyworm and thrips
Check the leaves for small caterpillars, egg masses and silvery streaks from thrips.
Day 30: Second feeding
Give another light side dressing of urea and water it in.
Harvest (Anihan)
Day 50: Pull or cut
Pull whole plants at about 45 to 50 days when the leaves are full and green, or cut the leaves above the base so they grow back for another cutting.
Day 50: Wash and bundle
Wash off the soil, trim the roots and old leaves, tie in bundles and sell fresh the same day.
Watering sibuyas na mura, stage by stage
Spring onion is watered often because its roots are short. Growers water by hand with a can or a hose, or let water from a canal into the beds, every morning in the first week and every one to two days after that in dry weather. Hand watering with a can or a hose, or letting canal water into the furrows between beds. Water in the early morning.
The first week: the bulbs must not dry out while they root. All through leaf growth: dry beds give tough, yellow tipped leaves.
| Stage | When | How often | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planting and rooting | Planting day to day 7 | Water every morning | Enough to wet the bed through, gently so the bulbs are not washed out |
| Leaf growth | Day 7 to 45 | Every one to two days in dry weather, and right after each feeding | Wet the bed to a finger deep or more, with no water left standing |
| Before harvest | Day 45 to 50 | Keep watering as before, and water the day before pulling | The same |
Without irrigation. In the rainy months the rain does most of the watering, but plant on raised beds and water in any dry spell. It is not grown on rain alone in the dry months.
In the dry season. Water every one to two days, and every day in the hottest weeks or on sandy soil. Water when the top of the bed is dry or the leaf tips turn yellow.
In the rainy season. Long heavy rain rots the plants, so keep the beds raised and the paths open for drainage, and skip watering on rainy days.
- Too little water: Leaf tips turn yellow and dry, leaves stay short and tough, and the plants bend over.
- Too much water: Leaves yellow and go soft, and the bulbs and roots rot.
To water better for a higher yield: A thin rice straw mulch on the beds keeps the soil moist and the leaves clean. A sprinkler or drip line on bigger beds gives even water with less work.
Spacing, water and fertilizer for sibuyas na mura
Spacing
Raised beds about a meter wide, bulbs about 10 to 15 cm apart each way.
Water
Watered by hand or from a canal every morning in the first week, then every one to two days in dry weather. Beds must drain well in the rains.
Fertilizer
Plenty of dried manure or compost in the beds, then urea (46 0 0) or complete fertilizer (14 14 14) side dressed twice, often dissolved in water. To read what a bag really gives, see our guide to fertilizer for this crop.
Care and harvest
Care while it grows
Frequent hand weeding, steady watering, and watching for armyworm, thrips and leaf rot in wet weather.
When and how to harvest
Whole plants are pulled at about 45 to 50 days, or leaves are cut for regrowth. They are washed, bundled and sold fresh.
Common mistakes when planting sibuyas na mura
- Planting in beds that hold water, so the bulbs rot in the rains.
- Letting the beds dry out, which gives thin, tough leaves.
- Using bulbs from a diseased crop, which carries the disease along.
How to get a higher yield of sibuyas na mura
The traditional way gets a crop, but small changes add up. These are the first things to change, one season at a time.
- Use clean, firm bulbs or fresh seed.
- Raise the beds and add compost so they drain and hold moisture.
- Feed little and often, and water in the mornings.
- Plant in batches every couple of weeks for a steady supply.
anee.io helps with each of these. The NPK Plus calculator checks that your fertilizer plan feeds the yield you want, the pest and disease finders tell you what is on the leaves before you spray, and Anee, the smart farm technician answers your questions in Tagalog or English.
Members open this guide in the How to Plant tool and send every step to the Protocol Builder in one tap, each on its own day. There you can change the seed, the spacing and the fertilizer, then turn it into a cropping calendar for your lots.
Start from the traditional way, make it better, and let anee.io date every task from your own planting day. Free to start.
Start freeQuestions about planting sibuyas na mura
Paano magtanim ng dahon ng sibuyas?
When do farmers plant sibuyas na mura in the Philippines?
How far apart do you plant sibuyas na mura?
How long before sibuyas na mura can be harvested?
How often do you water sibuyas na mura?
What do you plant to grow sibuyas na mura?
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