Onion question

[theOEGBman]

I was not aware of this, thanks for the informative post.

 

[jlmann]

When they go dormant really depends on when they are planted. Spring planted onions will quit when they are done growing in late july or august and will start new growth by sept. or oct. Fall planted onions will normally quit around dec-january and start back in early march. I guess a lot of it depends on where you are at , too. I remember reading somewhere about long day vs. short day types of onions depending on how far north or south you were planting. But I don't remember the specifics. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[valmom]

So, I have never grown onions, but our feed store this morning had a bag of sets of red onions- 100 for $4 or so. Sounds like a deal, but will they be able to be harvested this fall? Can I put them in now up here (the risk of snow isn't entirely over and it is frost in the mornings still). I could cover them once they sprout for the nights.

 

[digitS']

Onions can take a lot of cold, Valmom. They may decide to bolt to seed because of it but they are the 1st veggies I put in the garden each Spring and seldom have many bolt with the sets.

100 is quite a few but you can harvest them at any stage. Reds may not be real good keepers but just the fact that they are available as sets and, obviously, kept from last year, suggests that they should do okay.

Harvest as mature bulbs after the tops have dropped over. That indicates that they are finished growing for the year.

Steve

 

[warmfuzzies]

My seeds said 100 days. We easily have a 100 day growing season. Why would they not be ready till next spring?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Jlmann -- My onions are about as far along as yours are in that photo . . . are you fertilizing them at this point? When do you expect to harvest? Thanks.

 

[jlmann]

I give mine a little miracle gro every two or three weeks but not before I plan to pick any ( fertilizer seems to make them "hot") I'll probably mulch them with some grass clippings soon too. I've always planted them really close together to save space and then if we want some green onions I just go through and pull every other one. I'll do this all summer until they are about 6-8" apart and then harvest when the tops fall over. Hope you can make sense of my gibberish.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

OK, thanks! Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[valmom]

Thanks! I will go put them in tonight- it is due to rain this weekend. Probably not the whole 100, though.

 

[vfem]

When they go dormant really depends on when they are planted. Spring planted onions will quit when they are done growing in late july or august and will start new growth by sept. or oct. Fall planted onions will normally quit around dec-january and start back in early march. I guess a lot of it depends on where you are at , too. I remember reading somewhere about long day vs. short day types of onions depending on how far north or south you were planting. But I don't remember the specifics. I'll see if I can find it.

I know long day onions are meant for the north climates, and the short day are meant for the south. We actually have less sun throughout the day then the north does. Its a good 30 minutes difference in light.

I know I was told to try ones like Vidalia and Walla Walla.... I'm doing a spanish yellow onion.