Onions????

[spyfferoni]

I want to try growing my own onions this year. I was looking at a few places and realized I haven't a clue.
What would I grow in the Intermountain region of Utah?
Am I long day or short day, or would neutral day be better?
Also, which onions would I plant in the fall and what would be better for Spring planting?
I can get a 25lb bag of Spanish onions in the Fall for $3, so I am mostly interested in growing sweet onions, shallots,
scallions, and leeks. I know if I start them from seed for planting in the spring, I need to start them soon.
Any advice you can give me?

Thanks,
Tyffanie

[JerryL]

I’m not an onion grower by any means. I’ve tried them a few times but never had a whole lot of luck. I don’t think my soil was prepared correctly. Plus I didn’t give them the attention they needed.

Here is a site that can answer your questions. The times I did try onions I got my plants from them. I got good looking plants and good service.

http://www.dixondalefarms.com/

Good Luck.

[spyfferoni]

Okay, so I should get plants for sweet onions and leeks, and sets for scallions and shallots. My next door neighbor has had good luck with scallions/bunching onions from seeds that she starts indoors and then transplants.

The area I live is along the Wasatch mountains, about 50 miles south of SLC. Although we get up into the 100s in the summer, because we are at a higher elevation, we can have late and early frosts. It can get pretty annoying!

It would also be neat to try and grow my own garlic, but I might see how I do with onions first. My Mom has some multiplier onions that have been in our family for years. She brought them from Idaho and just has them planted in the flower bed at her apartment. Could I just dig up some of those and plant them in my garden?

Thanks for all of your advice Kieth and Jerry.

Tyffanie

[pooklette]

Originally Posted by spyfferoni

It would also be neat to try and grow my own garlic, but I might see how I do with onions first.

I tried growing garlic for the first time last year and was bowled over by how easy it was. I've never had much luck growing onions (recently found out I was going about it all wrong) but the garlic pretty much took care of itself here.

I'm going to try onions yet again this year but since none of the nurseries in my area sell them as plants, I'll be trying seeds...again. At least this time around, I know to look for long day varieties, so maybe I'll have more success. Good luck to us both, I guess! :wink:

[pooklette]

Originally Posted by kctomato

thegarlicstore.com is a decent site for learning and ordering.

That's exactly where I learned and ordered from last year. I was very happy with them.

[Dr_Redwine]

Did somebody mention onions?



I'm not sure if you would be a short or long day in Utah, but I can tell you that it makes a drastic difference. I read it somewhere what constitutes the difference, but I don't remember where. The number of hours of sunshine is the general difference; I can't remember what is what. I tried to grow a long day variety here in Alabama in my younger, dumber days and it didn't work at all (hello Walla-Walla).

These are a short-day Yellow Granex Hybrids (we used to be able to call them Vidalia onions, but not anymore). I can tell you what I have tried and what does and doesn't work. Onions are pretty hardy; a 'frost' doesn't bother them, but really cold temps could be a problem if the ground physically freezes. Typically, it really doesn't get cold enough here to affect them when I set my plants out in late January to early February, which is about 2 months prior to our last frost date.

Onions like a somewhat loose soil that doesn't bind around the bulb. I used old grass clippings mixed in with my soil to 'fluff' it up some (you can see it between the rows in the photo) and then pulled it around the bulbs after they started to grow, but really only the roots need to be covered once they get established. I use a two pronged garden fork (I cut the outside two prongs off with a hacksaw) to keep the soil loose and keep the weeds down. Its easier to maneuver around the plants that are 8-10 inches apart. Try not to disturb the roots too much after they have started to grow.

Keep the weeds pulled and keep the soil evenly moist. I think I fertilized these twice with a regular miracle-grow solution and a watering pail. When the new growth stops coming up in the center of the tops, they are close to maturing. Don't water them for a few days and then pull them up. These were just pulled and then allowed to dry in the sun for a half of a day or so. I rotate them so that the clinging dirt dries out during the day. I then rub all of the remaining dirt off with my hands and spread them out inside our house on plastic trash bags. Our weather dictates that by that time (May) that our central AC unit is operating, so this helps keep them cool and dries them out. These sweet onions do not keep for a long time, but we usually use them before they start to fade. Hope this has been some use to you. Onions are really a treat to grow.

Gimme3 also grows onions, so I hope he chimes in with some other insight.

DrR

[Ruth_10]

The other thing you want to be careful of is compacting the soil too close to the plants. Onions have some shallow roots that don't like to be trampled on, so give them room away from the pathways. I'm still not sure what's best for this region--we're at 38 deg. north latitude--neither here nor there with respect to long day/short day.

It wasn't clear to me from the above discussion if the intent was to plant garlic in the spring or the fall. I have always started garlic in the fall. The leaves die back over winter but they start up again in the spring.

[spyfferoni]

I looked at the map they had at Dixondale farms and it seems I can plant long day and intermediate varieties.

What are the Cippolini type onions, long day or short day?
I have heard they are delicious, and they look it too!
Gourmet Seed International
has many different varieties. They have them listed as Spring onions and Winter onions, and then the Cippolini's are in their own category.
http://www.gourmetseed.com/cippolini_onion_seed.0.html

Can onions overwinter then? I guess they must if my Mom's multiplier onions are still around.

Thanks again for all of the responses!

Tyffanie

[montanamato]

Cippolini onions have done outstanding for me the last 4 years.....I keep moving them into the poorer parts of my garden and they still perform great....They are great eating and store well....I have longer days than you, but I think they will do well for you too, as they don't mind heat, clay soil or poor drainage....I have grown them from seed for my use, but noticed they were selling seedlings in local nurseries last year. Walla Walla sweets do well too....I often don't start mine as early as I should, but I am drying them by mid August for storage...The sweet onions don't store as well, but I am just now using the last of my sweet onions. I grew another italian Rosso di Milano. It is a medium sized red with good storage and great taste...
I am able to get "regular yellow" onions at good prices, but the above mentioned are very expensive and well worh my time to grow....
Last year I grew leeks from seed for the first time. I will start them earlier this year, but I got a fair yield of cigar sized leeks that I pulled in late Oct and early November. I grew them from seed, but most nurseries here offer them too...

Jeanne

I do keep them completely weed free and water nightly in the heat, but that is all the coddling they get.

[spyfferoni]

Jeanne,
When do you start your onion seeds? I will be going out of town for two weeks this January, so I'm thinking I will have to look for plants at a local nursery, which is what others have suggested anyway. Maybe I'll call around to a few places and see what they are planning to sell in the Spring.

Thanks again everyone for your input!

Tyff

[montanamato]

I start my onions mid to late March and plant out late May....They are very small seedlings and I have lost a few if the weather is near 90....Otherwise they have been pretty hardy....Year before last I had a cat destroy part of a tray of seedlings so I quick seeded some additional seeds in mid May....There was a difference in Sept. when I pulled all the Cippolinis to dry, the later seeded did not get the size of the other tray, but were still decent and mature enough....
I am definately starting my leeks the end of Jan., but will still start my onions early March....

Jeanne

[gardengalrn]

I also order from Dixondale. I couldn't grow a decent onion until I got plants from them with instructions, which I followed to a T. Before that, I had buried my plants too deep, didn't weed meticulously, etc. Onions are one crop that doesn't tolerate weeds at all. Their roots are shallow so you have to water if there is no rain and fertilize a couple of times, to include when you are planting. I am really impressed by Dr. Redwine's harvest, those are some great looking onions!! Onions are very hardy and do well if you have a decent bed set up for them.

[Dr_Redwine]

Thanks, gardengalrn. I have to say that last year was about the best for my onion crop that I've ever had.

DrR

[michael johnson]

Has any of you ever tried the terrific onion from the UK.

Not a very good keeper, but giant and sweet.

Its called (Kelsae ) won all the european giant onion championships -sweeping accross the board against all other varieties.

The current weight record of it stands at around 12lbs to 14lbs- what an onion
Traditionaly sown on xmas day, or very early january.

Some of the onion Pro's grow them under polycovers in a hoophouse, and 24 hr lighting system for the first month.

I have grown them personaly-in my garden for several years, until about four years ago when I turned to other things like pot leeks etc.

In a normal garden they reach an average of 5lbs to 6lbs easily- with heavy nitro chalk feeding, so mild and sweet they beat a spanish onion for flavour any day, you could almost eat them like an apple, -great pity they dont keep very well- only about eight weeks after harvest-maximum.

The bis problem for the Pro's is -what to do with a 12lb onion afterwards-other than put it down for seed.

[tjg911]

Here's some basics. I've grown onions for years via plants, sets and seed. I have good results so I think I have some advice for you.

day neutral onions grow at any latitude. Iirc, 28 degrees north is the cutoff. South of that is short day and north of that is long day. You need full sun all day. Less than that will result in smaller bulbs. Bulb formation is triggered by the longest days in June, this is why they are called day long/short. Space large onions 6" on center and others 4" on center. You need fertile, well drained soil rich in organic matter, sandy loam is excellent, clay is a problem, rocks are not too much of a problem as only the roots are below the ground. Onions do not compete well with weeds. Onions require 1" of water per week. Onions should be fertilized only 2 or 3 times max.

If you can buy plants locally - they will be correct for your area but you are limited by what is being sold.

Imho you should NEVER use sets, been there and they are not reliable, plants are a better choice. The best option is to start onions from seed. You can pick what you want to grow not what they want to sell you locally. I start my seeds about the 3rd-4th week in February in the basement under shop lights and I put them out about April 20th. It is important to get the most green growth as possible prior to mid June when bulbing begins.

Sweet onions have thick necks and do not store very long, perhaps 60-90 days max. hotter onions have thin necks and store longer. For any storage you need to cure them properly. When the tops stop to lose their green color turning pale and a bit yellow and 20% of the tops are falling over it is time to finish them off. At this point no water is allowed if it will rain pull them as sucking up water at this point diminishes storage life. Using a rake or hoe gently push the tops over at the top of the bulb. 5-7 days later pull them and let them sit for another week in the garden, rain is not an issue unless they will be sitting in puddles of water. After a week move them to a dry shed or garage where they are out of the sun and get air circulation. I have rakes made from lumber and 2" X 4" welded wire fence covered with chicken wire. I let mine cure for 5-6 weeks. At that point when the tops are dry and the necks thinner cut the tops 1" above the top of the bulb - no moisture should be present. Store them at 37 degrees, an extra fridge is handy but I leave mine in the shed until temps get into the lower 20's then move them to the garage. Store in mesh bags, you need air circulation - plastic bags are not appropriate.

I like a sweet onion, a red onion and a long storage onion. The sweet onion will store just 60-90 days so I eat those 1st. For years I have grown ailsa craig exhibition but this year I am going to try candy. Like ACE, Candy is real sweet, 6"+ and supposedly stores well, much longer than most sweet onions. My red onion choice will store 5-6 months and my yellow long storage onion is copra. Copra stores a full year if cured properly. I pulled my copra around 8/15/05 (yes 2005) and I had a good 5-10 pounds left in early October 2006. yes, 13-14 months later! I like red wing for a red, they store a good 6+ months. Avoid mars, I grew them for years and they tend to rot when growing, when curing and in storage. Red wing is an excellent choice, unfortunately Johnny's does not have them and I have to chose something else. Red bull sounds like a good choice. If all you want id fresh eating w/o storage in mind you can grow anything (per day type) and just pull and eat.

When planting your plants, whether purchased or grown from seeds, plant them shallow. I poke a hole into the soil, swirl the roots into it and put the top of the mini bulb at ground level and fill the hole. As your plants grow the onion grows out of the soil. Do not mulch or push soil around them. At maturity, 95% of the bulb will be above the ground.

Onions are fun the grow and actually pretty easy as long as you follow these directions.

Tom