Winter Crops for the South -- Onions

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Posted by @farmerdill on
There are many vegetables that thrive in a winter garden in the south. One of the best is the onion. It is grown in the winter and harvested in mid-spring.

Thumb of 2015-08-19/farmerdill/52d638One usually thinks of "Vidalia" when southern onions are mentioned. These are heavily promoted throughout North America. Vidalia is a trademark for onions grown in a 20-county area of Georgia. Their common denominator is that they are all hybrid varieties of Yellow Granex, approved by the University of Georgia. Currently there are 28 approved varieties, and growers are held to stringent conditions for production and marketing.

Any of us in the southeast can grow these varieties, we just can't use the term "Vidalia." We can also grow other varieties, which may suit our purpose better than a big, sweet, yellow onion. Personally, I like reds, and there are a number of varieties that do well under the same conditions. Whites are more limited, but there are a few good varieties for winter growing. All of these varieties are specifically winter onions (short-day varieties). We can grow intermediate and long-day onions, with a few exceptions, but these extend into summer. The beauty of short-day onions, besides their great taste, is that planting and harvesting take place in moderate to cool weather, leaving lots of growing space for summer and early fall crops.

Winter onions need to be started (from seed) around the first of September. I use flats with Pro-Mix or its equivalent in semi-shade, plant the seeds about a half-inch deep, keep them well watered, and otherwise just let them be until the time to transplant. They need to be transplanted in late November or early December. Remember that these are short-day onions. Nature calls for them to begin bulbing up when they get 10-12 hours of daylight. That means March. Onions are leafy vegetables. Each ring is the base of a leaf. More leaves mean more rings, and thick rings mean big leaves. If the plant is not big and strong when nature calls, it will try with what it has, resulting in small onions, suitable at best for green onions.

Transplant just deep enough to cover the roots. Large fields are planted in 14 inch rows with 6-inch spacing. In a small bed, a 6 x 6 inch spacing is appropriate. If you are not concerned with growing Jumbos, a 4 inch x 4 inch spacing will work. Onions grow half out of the ground. A buried onion will not bulb. Onions prefer light soil. Sand or loam soils are ideal, but the bottom line is loose soil. They are very heavy users of nitrates, so the soil needs to be amended with a high nitrogen source. This needs to be repeated in March when they start bulbing. Onions also have a high water requirement, which usually is not a serious problem with winter growing, but a dry spell in April can be disastrous unless you have a system for supplementing water. Keep the area weeded until the leaves began to die, the neck constricts, and the plant falls over.

When the leaves are almost dead, pull the onions. In heavier soils, you may need to loosen the soil. I use a potato hook, but a spading fork works well. Let the onions dry for about a week and then prepare them for storage. I simply tie the tops together in bunches of 12 or so and hang them from shed rafters. They will keep there until early November, when the remainder will be transferred to the refrigerator.

Many varieties are not readily available to small growers. Yellow Granex plants are available from Dixondale, Brown's Omaha, and Bonnie's. They have several varieties of short-day plants, but that is the only Vidalia approved variety. Seeds are available from Twilley and New England Seed.

Sapelo Sweet
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Miss Megan
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Desert Sunrise
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Pinot Rouge
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White Granex
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Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Wow, great info! by awesomeblossom Oct 22, 2015 1:22 AM 0
Northern climes by Oberon46 Oct 13, 2015 8:23 AM 4

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