A Good Onion Crop This Year

[jerryinfla]

I planted two 4' X 8' beds of Texas Early Grano 502 Onions grown from seeds and transplanted to the garden -- the first bed in early October and the second early November 2012. We started harvesting onions from the first bed on February 4 and I've been pulling them as we needed them since. Now they're starting to go to seed and die back so I'll be harvesting all the onions in the first bed soon. Here's a photo of the second bed from which I've pulled no onions yet and some photos of onions I pulled from the first bed today.

[Dak]

Great looking onions! Does that variety store well?

[jerryinfla]

Originally Posted by Dak

Great looking onions! Does that variety store well?

Unfortunately the answer is no, they don't store well. We eat a lot of cooked onions in various dishes so I'll store them for a while then chop up and freeze what's left before they go bad. They're a short day variety -- the only varieties that do well in Florida.

[Alpinejs]

jerryinfla......I need your expertise!! I have tried growing onions many times from the onion
sets. The first two years, I got great stalks and about the same onion size as the set at the end
of the season. Finally, this year, I have decent sized onions, but the stalk is just as wide as
the onion. What is your secret for those beauties???

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Alpinejs

jerryinfla......I need your expertise!! I have tried growing onions many times from the onion
sets. The first two years, I got great stalks and about the same onion size as the set at the end
of the season. Finally, this year, I have decent sized onions, but the stalk is just as wide as
the onion. What is your secret for those beauties???

The secret to onions is NOT to plant them very deep and DON'T hill them.

[jerryinfla]

Originally Posted by Alpinejs

jerryinfla......I need your expertise!! I have tried growing onions many times from the onion
sets. The first two years, I got great stalks and about the same onion size as the set at the end
of the season. Finally, this year, I have decent sized onions, but the stalk is just as wide as
the onion. What is your secret for those beauties???

I never had decent size onions when I grew them from sets. Growing them from seeds and choosing a variety (short day vs long day) suitable for my growing zone made a huge difference IMO. Plus, as Scott said, don't plant them too deep and don't hill them. I mulch mine heavily with shredded leaves when they're several inches high then never cover the bulbs as they grow -- frequent watering help too. Here's what they look like in the ground.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by Alpinejs

jerryinfla......I need your expertise!! I have tried growing onions many times from the onion
sets. The first two years, I got great stalks and about the same onion size as the set at the end
of the season. Finally, this year, I have decent sized onions, but the stalk is just as wide as
the onion. What is your secret for those beauties???

the secret IS don't use sets! sets are crap. start from seeds or buy plants.

tom

[lakelady]

Jerry I am so jealous. those look fabulous!

Last year I grew Cippolini from sets I bought. Did okay but pretty expensive for such small onions. This year I grew some from seed, but they are so very tiny I doubt they will make it through the season. My chives are bigger lol.

Do you grow from seed, and overwinter them?

[Deborah]

I stuck a mature Cippolini in a pot over a month ago to see if I could get green tops to use. So far nothing came up.

[jerryinfla]

Antoniette - They taste even better than they look -- sweet and mild. Yes, I grow them from seeds sewed in little pots of coir then transplant them to the garden September to November and overwinter them in our mild Central Florida climate. One $1.85 packet of seeds produces more than enough plants for a 4' X 8' bed spaced at 3" or so and rows 10" to 12" apart.

[linzelu100]

Hi Jerry, your onions look great. When do you start the seeds to transplant in September? I'd like to give onions a go.

[GnomeGrown]

Awesome onions, jerry

[jerryinfla]

Originally Posted by linzelu100

Hi Jerry, your onions look great. When do you start the seeds to transplant in September? I'd like to give onions a go.

Started in coir, it takes them about a month to get to transplant size. So, for a mid September plant out, I would sew the seeds in mid August. Here's a photo of some onion seedlings that I started seeds of in a little pot of coir a couple weeks before I took this pic. They were ready in a couple more weeks for transplanting to the garden.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by jerryinfla

Antoniette - They taste even better than they look -- sweet and mild. Yes, I grow them from seeds sewed in little pots of coir then transplant them to the garden September to November and overwinter them in our mild Central Florida climate. One $1.85 packet of seeds produces more than enough plants for a 4' X 8' bed spaced at 3" or so and rows 10" to 12" apart.

They do look great! And yes, I agree with all who said growing them from seed is the best way to go, and up here in the northeast you want long day onions. I usually start mine in mid-to-late January in seed starting mix and keep them under shop lights in the basement, feeding them with fish/seaweed fertilizer from time to time. They get a haircut whenever they get too tall and floppy, and I pant them out in mid April. This year I'm growing the Tropea onions again, along with Red Wing and Copra. Next year I think I'm going to try Ailsa Craig, and if the Copras do well, probably more of them since they're supposed to be long keepers.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

and if the Copras do well, probably more of them since they're supposed to be long keepers.

as they say "all your other onions will have turned to dust and copra will still be in great shape"!

tom