Onion transplants sold commercially are bare-root plants sold in bundles of about 60. Avoid planting the largest sets, as they are more likely to bolt (go to flower instead of producing a bulb). Just plant these sets with the pointy side up so that they are just below the surface of the soil. This is a very easy way to start your onions, especially if they are a minor crop for you and you don’t plan to store them long. You Can Plant Onions from Sets or Transplants There are also a few day-neutral varieties available, such as Candy or Stockton Red, which can be grown anywhere. The better seed catalogs will tell you where each variety will grow well.
These are Copra, an excellent storage onion that grows well in many areas. Most good storage varieties have strong, pungent bulbs.Ĭhoose the right variety of onions for your location and needs. I’ve had good luck with Copra and Pontiac – both excellent storage varieties. It’s too cold here to overwinter onions outdoors, so I have to look for long-day varieties that will grow well in the upper south. Some gardeners, including myself, are located between these two areas. These plants will bulb up during the long 14-16 hour summer days, and produce best north of the 38 degree latitude – which is roughly from the northern half of Virginia west through southern Utah. The best storage varieties are often long-day types. Long-day varieties are best grown in the northern states. These plants start bulbing when the day length reaches 10-12 hours in early spring, so it’s best to plant these varieties in the fall. Many sweet onions are short-day types, and they aren’t usually good keepers. Short-day varieties, such as Vidalia, are best grown in the South below 35 degrees latitude, which runs roughly along the northern borders of Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. It’s important to select the right variety of onions for your climate and latitude. If your soil is still poor, you might want to wait a year or two to improve your soil before you start growing bulb onions.Ĭhoose the Right Variety for Your Location
They grow best in loose, friable, fertile soil with a healthy amount of organic matter. If you follow a few simple steps, you can harvest a large amount of high-quality onions from a small garden.īulb onions are a bit pickier about the quality of the soil than some other crops. We eat a lot of them, and we usually plant over 200 onions each year. Onions are a wonderful staple crop in our household, and we like to store some of our onion bulbs for 6-8 months over the winter.
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