LATIN NAME: Allium cepa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: So many types of onions are available that choosing one to grow can be a pleasantly complicated decision. Onion bulbs can be white, red, or yellow and round or flattened. They can be strong-flavored storage onions, which have thick, darkish skins and keep well; mild-flavored fresh onions, also called sweet onions, which keep for only a few weeks in a cool, dark place; or pearl onions, fresh onions about 1 inch in diameter. Another choice is to grow green onions, or scallions, for their edible, strappy leaves. Scallions can be grown from nonbulbing or bulbing onions.
GERM. DATE: July 5, 2009
GERM. TIME: 10-12 days
TRANSPLANT DATE:
TYPE OF PLANT: Vegetable
BLOOM CYCLE:
pH LEVEL: 6.5 to 7.5 (more acidic soil causes more pungent flavor)
SEED DEPTH: ½ inch
HEIGHT OF PLANT:
WIDTH OF PLANT:
PLANT SPACING: 3 inches
ROW SPACING: 18 inches
DAYS TO HARVEST: 115 days
ZONE REQUIREMENTS: There are onions suited to all climates; scallions prefer cool, moist conditions.
FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS:
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS: Full sun
WATER REQUIREMENTS:
SOIL REQUIREMENTS: Well-drained, phosphorus-rich soil, high in organic matter
DISEASE PROBLEMS: Pink root (usually disease-free)
PEST/INSECT PROBLEMS: Onion maggots, Thrips (usually pest-free)
SOLUTIONS: To prevent onion maggots, cover with floating row covers in spring. To control thrips, use insecticidal soap. To prevent pink root, grow resistant cultivars.
HOW TO GROW: Grow onions from seed, transplants, or “sets” (small dormant bulbs). Plant 4 weeks before average date of last frost in the North and in fall in the South.
▪SETS: Plant bulbs 2 to 3 inches deep and ½ inch apart. For continuous harvest, plant seeds weekly. Sweet onions cannot be grown from sets. Sets are sold as “white” or “yellow,” not by variety name.
▪SEED: All types can be seeded. Sow indoors 4 to 8 weeks before you plan to transplant outside or direct-seed outdoors. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep, 1 to 3 seeds per inch, in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin to 2 inches apart when seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall. Thin again to 4 inches apart when 6 inches tall. Eat thinnings.
▪TRANSPLANTS: Set transplants about 1 inch deep and 2 to 3 inches apart with main crown partially covered.
HARVEST NOTES: Harvest scallions 6 to 10 weeks after planting when tops are about 1 foot tall. Harvest bulbs in late summer or fall when 2 to 4 inches in diameter and tops have fallen over. Harvest when soil is dry.
SPECIAL CARE/NOTES: When transplanting, clip green growth to 3 inches and plant 2 inches deep. Blanch scallions to tenderize them by hilling soil around the growing stems. If bulb onions begin to bolt, harvest immediately and eat soon.
STORE BY: For sweet onions, cut leaves to within 1 inch of bulb and refrigerate unwrapped for a few weeks.
PRESERVE BY: To cure for storage, dry entire plant outdoors on flat surface with good air circulation. In the North, dry in full sun; in the South, dry in shade. Dry sweet onions for 2 to 4 days, and storage onions for 10 to 14 days. For storage onions, cut off leaves as for fresh onions or braid dried tops together, and store at 33° to 45°F for 6 months or more.
USES FOR PLANT: Can be eaten fresh or cooked.
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