Help me with onions

[Greensage45]

long-day for the North, short-day for the South

Long-day onions require long hours of daylight to prompt them to form bulbs. Short-day onions don't require so many hours of daylight.

I have grown Granex onions (the type grown in Vidalia Georgia) in my far north garden. They were fine but made bulbs when they were quite small. The few hours that they required came too early here near 49 North.

Growing long-day onions in the South may not work well since the day-length may not be adequate to prompt bulb formation.

I used to plant Walla Walla onion seed in the garden in late August. However, 2 years out of 3 ( ) nearly all the plants would bolt to seed in the spring. I believe that the severity of the winter caused this. One year out of 3, they would behave themselves and form a bulb in July.

I gave up direct-seeding in August and just start the plants indoors in late winter. Then I transplant to the open garden in April. I think sowing seed outdoors in August should work fine for folks that don't have to contend with sub-zero winter weather.

Steve

Wow,

That's a ton of good information Steve!

So are we all at the mercy of our Walmarts and Home Improvement stores if we don't know better? What a shame.

I guess I need to study a bit more and ask a few more questions from my Farmer Landlord!

I have never ordered from a magazine and have always just picked up a bag of onion sets from the Depot. We are probably getting the wrong onion for this region.

Thanks again for the eye opener!

Ron

 

[simple life]

Thanks Steve,
I asked someone at a seed company once and she explained about the longitude and this and that and I hung up and said well that really clears things up for me
The next time someone said to me well you can order any onions that are long day or neutral.
Sometimes if I still am unsure or cannot decide on a type I call a company if I am interested in their onions and ask which ones will do well in my area or if they just have a personal opinon on them and they make recommendations.
I usually stick to Johnny's seeds from Maine or other companies around New England because I know their seeds will do well in my area.

 

[Southern Gardener]

long-day for the North, short-day for the South

Long-day onions require long hours of daylight to prompt them to form bulbs. Short-day onions don't require so many hours of daylight.

I have grown Granex onions (the type grown in Vidalia Georgia) in my far north garden. They were fine but made bulbs when they were quite small. The few hours that they required came too early here near 49 North.

Growing long-day onions in the South may not work well since the day-length may not be adequate to prompt bulb formation.

I used to plant Walla Walla onion seed in the garden in late August. However, 2 years out of 3 ( ) nearly all the plants would bolt to seed in the spring. I believe that the severity of the winter caused this. One year out of 3, they would behave themselves and form a bulb in July.

I gave up direct-seeding in August and just start the plants indoors in late winter. Then I transplant to the open garden in April. I think sowing seed outdoors in August should work fine for folks that don't have to contend with sub-zero winter weather.

Steve

Wow,

That's a ton of good information Steve!

So are we all at the mercy of our Walmarts and Home Improvement stores if we don't know better? What a shame.

I guess I need to study a bit more and ask a few more questions from my Farmer Landlord!

I have never ordered from a magazine and have always just picked up a bag of onion sets from the Depot. We are probably getting the wrong onion for this region.

Thanks again for the eye opener!

Ron

Hmmm, not sure what these onions are, they're grown by Bonnie Plant farm in Alabama. I'll plant them today, although I'm skeptical. I have more reading to do on onions!

 

[journey11]

The multiplier onions I have were starts my grandma gave me from my great-grandmother's home after she passed. Who knows how long she had them before. Boy, they just go and go!

Like Broke Down Ranch said, they just fall over and sprout themselves (also known as travelling onions). You can use the fresh green tops as you would scallions, and the baby onion bulbs can be used in canning as pearl onions or in sautes, etc. They are mild flavored.

You can make them go where you want them to if you pull them off and just set them barely in the dirt (don't bury them). They are extremely hardy and dependable (which is why I have good luck with them...ha).

 

[digitS']

You can make them go where you want them to if you pull them off and just set them barely in the dirt (don't bury them).

I'm not trying to come off as an onion expert - that would be far from the truth.

Journey11, I believe what you are describing are "walking" or "Egypian" onions. They have top-sets, right?

Egyptian Onion

They are what some call multiplier onions.

Then there are also "potato" onions. They form bulbs like shallots and are also called multiplier onions.

Potato Onion

I've grown shallots and walking onions but never potato onions . . .

Territorial Seed sells all of these. Here's their potato onion:

http://www.territorialseed.com/product/1326/259

Steve

 

[journey11]

You can make them go where you want them to if you pull them off and just set them barely in the dirt (don't bury them).

I'm not trying to come off as an onion expert - that would be far from the truth.

Journey11, I believe what you are describing are "walking" or "Egypian" onions. They have top-sets, right?

Egyptian Onion

They are what some call multiplier onions.

Yep, that was what I was talking about (in response to simple life's question about my multiplier onions). Sorry for the confusion...I was off the main topic.

 

[vfem]

I just want to know how deep to plant your basic yellow or white onion?! I'm getting sets and I got answers to my garlic question, but not my onion question.

Still trying to get to lowe's to pick up a bag of both.

Also, can they be planted together in the same bed? (onions and garlic that is.)

 

[digitS']

Well, here I am again - pretending to know what I'm talking about . . .

Onions for scallions are often planted in furrows, so that soil may be gathered around them as they grow so as to blanch the lower parts of the plants.

I know that some gardeners have more-or-less permanent beds for their onion varieties. I'm not sure how wll this works since these plants do get things like root maggots in the soil. But, these gardeners appear to be successful with planting their onions together, in the same place, each year.

The onion fly gets around fairly well so maybe it doesn't matter much whether you've got onions in the ground thru the winter, or not. If the flies are around, you may soon have the darn pests, anyway. My garden has a few, most years.

Steve