It’s a breeze to grow
onions in Boundary County. There are two main requirements for bulb development:
temperatures above 60 degrees but below 104 degrees; and day length. We
have the cool summer temperatures, so the trick is to purchase varieties
that are suited to our latitude (48 degrees). In other words, onions that
do well here require 14 1/2 to 15 hours of daylight to initiate bulb growth.
These are referred to as “long-day” onions. Long-day, storage varieties
for our area include: Sassy Brassy (Parks); Sweet Spanish (Burpee); Yellow
Globe (Burpee); First Edition (Territorial); Copra (Stokes); Torque (Pinetree);
Mars (Stokes); Red Burgermaster (Territorial) and Duration (Stokes). Walla
Walla is probably the most commonly grown onion in the Northwest. It is
a jumbo, sweet Spanish type onion, wonderful for fresh eating, but does
not keep.
Short-day onions that
do well in the South, but will not perform here include: Bermuda
and Vadalia. Short-day onions, when planted in the North, will go to seed
before bulbs have time to fully develop.
Day-neutral onions are
not affected by day length. They will grow in the North or in the South.
Red, early, spindle shaped onions like Red Torpedo (Pinetree) are included
in this group as is Buffalo, a sweet Spanish type storage onion.
What is the best way to start onions: sets, seeds
or transplants? Seeds offer the greatest selection. Catalogs list hundreds
of varieties. A limited number of cultivars are available as sets. If you
want onions for storage, the best way to start them is from seeds sown
inside in mid-January. Onions started from seed store better than onions
grown from sets.Use sterile potting soil, cover seeds lightly and water
in well. The onions will sprout quickly. There is no need for bottom heat.
Place the seedlings in a cool sunny window and clip back with a scissors
when several inches tall. Onions are frost tolerant, so it’s possible to
move them to the garden as soon as the soil can be worked. Plant seedlings
in a shallow trench, covering the white part of the plant. Sprinide wood
ashes along the row to discourage root maggots. As the bulbs expand, push
soil over them. To direct plant energy to the root, clip off flowers.
I planted my onion transplants
yesterday. They were around four inches high and one eighth inch wide.
Onion seeds planted directly in the garden takes
around two weeks to germinate and are difficult to weed. Most varieties
when direct seeded, won’t have time to mature, however, Buffalo (Territorial)
is worth a try for direct seeding in our area.
Because onions need five months to mature, it’s
too late to start your own transplants from seed. You may, however, purchase
transplants locally or through the mail. These transplants will be larger
than home grown seedlings, look like scallions and come bundled in multiples
of 25.
This year mom and I
planted Sassy Brassy , seed left over from last year (great keeper), Early
Yellow Globe (102 days, large, yellow, keeper), Ailsa Craig ( huge sweet
Spanish type onion), Blanco Duro (an open pollinated, 3” white globe, keeper),
and Torque (Pinetree, 95days- early yellow keeper).
Onion varieties seem
to come and go. Mom has been looking for Sassy Brassy since she grew it
three years ago. Parks don't have these seeds this year. Deanna Lauber
grew Ringmaker (Stokes) last year. It was a huge white Spanish type onion
and an incredible keeper. She gave me some in December and they were in
perfect shape three months later. This year Stokes doesn’t list it.
Borettana is an
interesting gourmet Italian heirloom onion from Shepherd’s seeds. This
is a “cipollini “type onion-flat button shaped with rosy bronze skins.
They are around two inches in diameter, with firm flesh, perfect for kebobs.
Onions come in
all shapes and sizes. Long-day and day-neutral onions will perform well
in our area.
Happy gardening.