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Vegetable Gardening

So confused about onions!!!

14 years ago

I'm in Denver, Colorado and for the life of me can't figure out which kinds of onions we can grow up here (new to gardening), long day or intermediate day? Somewhere on the web I saw a map which lists northern Colorado as Long-Day Onion, and Denver as Intermediate-Day Onion. So what kind of onions can I grow here, and will I be able to grow storage onions here, since the only intermediate day onions I found were for fresh eating?

Thanks for the help!

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Comments (9)

farmerdilla
14 years ago
Intermediate day onions are supposed to grow just about anywhere. Just remember that they are a relatively new innovation. If onions were grown in Colorado in the past century they were long day onions. Even the winter grown short day onions were rare before WWII. You are correct in that both the short day and intermediate day onions were developed for the sweet onion market. I would expect that most of the long day onions would do fine. They did ok in Virginia when I grew there. You have get them out early enough to begin bulbing in mid June.
capitalistbaby
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you so much Farmerdilla, I feel much better and less confused ;) When you say early enough, when exactly do you mean?
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Onionology is complicated. Will try to clarify a little: First a little background: "onion" is a huge catch-all imprecise category encompassing a highly diverse clan, allium cepa and other allium species as well. What we are talking about here are bi-annual bulbing onions, grown from seed. All varieties of bulbing onions ultimately derive from the so-called "spanish" onion. They fall into two rough categories, long-day and short-day, based on how much daylight there is around the solstices where the plant is growing. So bulbing onions are highly sensitive to photo period. The first most important thing to know is whether your latitude is "short" day or "long" day. As it happens, Kentucky is kind of in the middle, either might work though long day is probably more likely to do well. There are also a few hybrid varieties called "intermediate" day that might do best of all for you. Short-day varieties are sown in fall and come to full size in late spring. They require more than just low latitude, they also require a mild winter climate, about z7b or warmer, so some regions of KY might work and others not. Long-day are sown soon after the winter solstice and planted out in early spring and are full size in mid to late summer, depending. An exception is the walla-walla which is adapted to the PNW and I think there may be one or two others long-days that can be fall-sown in mild northern climes. So the infamous "sets" are small bulbs grown from seed and then planted to grow for the plant's second season. The plant really wants to bolt and grow seed rather than a bulb. Sets are a scam perpetrated by seed companies. They are mostly a waste of time and space. Buy plants grown from seed in texas next year, they come at just the right time for planting out and the results will be far better.
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Anna All my onions red and white and also shallots were planted at the same time. Now when I pull them out they have different growth patterns, some of them are big trunks others are bulbing up. The ones that have the foliage collapsed are the more rounder and drier. My friends and neighbors loved them all! they said they are to die for and I am starting to believe it, lol. At least I don't cry when I use them they don't have that strong scent like store bought. On the ones that are flowering I cut the buds because I don't need seeds and I also noticed that those are getting a hard trunk on them. I told everybody that I am giving onions the same thing the straight ones use like scallions and the more rounded like regular onions and the white part can be chopped and frozen. This is my first time growing onions in Florida so I am just guessing here. Maybe someone with more experience can clarify the subject. Silvia
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misterbaby
14 years ago
Hi, baby! I recommend going to www.dixondalefarms.com for growing information and fine plants. These people really know what they're doing. I grew monsters this year in my debut effort. They were scrumptous! Misterbaby.
farmerdilla
14 years ago
Agree with Misterbay. Dixondale is good as is Browns' Omaha Plant Farms. Plants are the way to go, and they know better than I the proper planting time for your area. I like to get them in as soon after the spring thaw as the grounds dries out enough to plant. That was in Virginia, Here we grow onions in Winter.
naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan
14 years ago
For small quantities of onion plants at low cost you might check a local farm coop or hardware store. They should have the right varieties for your location at very low cost. I'd expect that would be in very early spring since you want to plant them as soon as the soil is workable. If you mail order plants, see if you can go in with another gardener. Adding extra plants to the order usually costs very little more once the initial shipping rate is paid.
capitalistbaby
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you everyone for the great info!
denninmi
14 years ago
I would like to add a bit to what Naturegirl said about getting onions from local sources.

They definitely can cost less than mail order, unless you end up buying the whole case mail-order as I always go from Dixondale. Can't have enough onions for a house of 3 people, now can you? (LOL!)

But, CAVEAT EMPTOR -- Buyer beware, know what varieties are good for your region before you buy them!

Last spring, I saw a LOT of inappropriate onions for sale at local retail outlets here in Michigan, as well as some appropriate, long-day types. In particular, a lot of Granex (the "Vidalia" onion) and "Bermuda" which are both short day types not good for Michigan's 15 hours of sunlight in June. Among the offenders were Lowes, Home Depot, and K-Mart, and the plants were supplied by Bonnie Plant Farms out of Alabama.

The two local feed stores in my immediate area both were much more on the ball and had appropriate long-day onions, and one of them also had the new Red Candy Apple plants as well, which is an intermediate onion.
moms_helper_2008
14 years ago
capitalistbaby

I posted up some info on onions here.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg1116545016871.html?9

Here is a link that might be useful: Mom's Garden
kathy_nj
14 years ago
Dear Mom's Helper,

What a wonderful weedless garden your Mom has and NO HIGH FENCES TO KEEP OUT DEER AND OTHER ANIMALS !! Where do you live where there are no deer and beautiful countryside around you?

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