When to plant Onion in Viana
Luanda, Angola
Known here as cebola
Onion is a cool-season vegetable you grow for its bulb — the swollen base of the leaves — but across sub-Saharan Africa it is most often grown as an irrigated hot dry-season crop, and it stands real heat (up to about 42 °C) as long as the water never stops.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 11 Dec 2026 – 11 Mar 2027 opens in 10 weeks | 11 Apr 2027 – 29 Aug 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 22.5 t/ha | about 45.0 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 11 Mar 2027 to 9 Jul 2027, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 90–120 days after planting | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 10 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Viana is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.
Planting after 11 Mar 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Viana
| Rain and temperature | 88% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 88% |
For onion in Viana, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 88%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.
The 2026/27 season in Viana
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | October 2026 to June 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 801 mm |
| This season's rain | Rain close to usual — plan around about 801 mm falling roughly when it always does |
| What that supports | enough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 93% of this area. |
| 93% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 221 growing days · about 800 mm · October to June |
|---|---|
| 7% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 223 growing days · about 740 mm · October to June |
last updated 16 September 2026
Temperature holds back about 25% of yield here.
What onion needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam or loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.0 and 7.0 |
| Spacing | 20 cm between rows, 7 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen, potassium and sulphur |
What it takes to grow onion in Viana
| Planting material | About 500,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 40 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 8 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 45 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
These are the nutrients a onion crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Onion with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Viana as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Or check your field firstWhere to sell Onion nearby
Onion in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will onion grow well in Viana?
Viana rates as favourable for onion.
When should I plant onion in Viana?
Typically 11 Dec 2026 to 11 Mar 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Viana, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.