dug onions 14-17 days early

[tjg911]

i'd expect nothing less from your garden!

tom

[raindrops27]

Originally Posted by tjg911

what yopper said! he knows onions.

nice pictures. they appear to be small relative to what i grow - copra and red wing (larger than copra) but i don't know how large granex get. i'd bet they are large cuz they have fat necks and short storage. maybe someone from down south that grows granex can tell us what the typical size is. whether small or normal sized you have some. now the big question - how do they taste? s/b sweet.

tom

Tom,

I saw a picture of how granax should look and mine were small comparatively. However, I am proud I got something, the taste for me is very sweet. I normally only buy sweet vidalia/wala wala onions from the stores, so the freshness and the sweetness was very impressive. So yes, now I'm hooked on growing onions. I cannot wait to try more varieties next growing season!

I have a question about pinetree seed store.. Do they ever carry candy onion seeds since I love the sweet varieties? Also what is a red and white onion you would recommend to me besides candy onions..TIA

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by raindrops27

Tom,

I saw a picture of how granax should look and mine were small comparatively. However, I am proud I got something, the taste for me is very sweet. I normally only buy sweet vidalia/wala wala onions from the stores, so the freshness and the sweetness was very impressive. So yes, now I'm hooked on growing onions. I cannot wait to try more varieties next growing season!

I have a question about pinetree seed store.. Do they ever carry candy onion seeds since I love the sweet varieties? Also what is a red and white onion you would recommend to me besides candy onions..TIA

sounds like you did well, congrats.

many onions are sweet not just those that are short storage or are know for sweetness. for example, because copra stores so long i never ate one before all the non red varieties were eaten. last summer i had just copra and red wing so i was eating copra just a few weeks after digging them. i was very surprised at how sweet they are!

pinetree onions https://www.superseeds.com/products.php?cat=75

i thought they sold candy because i bought it before but they don't list it. johnny's probably has candy.

i never grew any white onions.

i grow onions for storage. copra is the longest storage onion, it is yellow and stores 12-15 months. i also grow red wing and they store very well, about 11-12 months. this year i grew red bull cuz pinetree didn't have red wing and then i got red wing from park. i'm curious to see how it performs vs red wing. now i only grow just copra and red wing so having red bull will be interesting.

i grew candy but it does not store as long so it's out. i grew alisa craig exhibition and they store well for a sweet large thick necked onion but produce too many doubles and too many rot in curing or storage. i grew mars, a red onion, but they had problems being soft and rotting in the ground, in curing and storage. would not recommend them. i grew plants before i got into seeds so i remember yellow sweet spanish (very large) and red burgermiester iirc both ok but not long storage.

tom

[raindrops27]

Thanks Tom! I guess I will buy seeds for copra, red wing, and candy for next season.. You have truly been very helpful to me I do so appreciate the wealth of information and knowledge I've gained.

Melissa

[Riceloft]

Question...

Following a pretty good storm last week, about 3/4 of my onions have fallen over. We've had rain since and they haven't picked themselves up. They aren't really damaged from what I can see and most only have 1 drying out/dead leaf. Since they've fallen over should I consider pulling them, or should I wait until the more normal time (about 2-4 weeks from now) ?

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by tjg911

copra is the longest storage onion, it is yellow and stores 12-15 months. i also grow red wing and they store very well, about 11-12 months.
tom

I'm growing these two this year from seeds I believe came from you -- older, left over seeds I believe. Germination was good, not great, but I ended up with enough of each to see if they are ones I want to grow in the future. They are bulbing up nicely. The tops are still a healthy green and just now starting to droop a bit. Thanks again for the opportunity to try them!

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by Riceloft

Question...

Following a pretty good storm last week, about 3/4 of my onions have fallen over. We've had rain since and they haven't picked themselves up. They aren't really damaged from what I can see and most only have 1 drying out/dead leaf. Since they've fallen over should I consider pulling them, or should I wait until the more normal time (about 2-4 weeks from now) ?

what date did you plant them, ie are you near the days to maturity?

also how large are the bulbs, do they look to be full sized?

if the answer to both is yes then maybe. i'd leave them (especially if the answer is no to both) until the leaves start to lose their bright green color and get whitish mottling on the leaves. that is what i see when they are starting to tip over and are ready to be have the greens pushed over at the neck then dug about 10 days later.

tom

[Riceloft]

Originally Posted by tjg911

what date did you plant them, ie are you near the days to maturity?

also how large are the bulbs, do they look to be full sized?

if the answer to both is yes then maybe. i'd leave them (especially if the answer is no to both) until the leaves start to lose their bright green color and get whitish mottling on the leaves. that is what i see when they are starting to tip over and are ready to be have the greens pushed over at the neck then dug about 10 days later.

tom

Yeah, we are pretty close to the DTM. They're pretty close to full sized too. And yes, they do have the whitish mottling. So it sounds like I should push them over at the neck?

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by Riceloft

Yeah, we are pretty close to the DTM. They're pretty close to full sized too. And yes, they do have the whitish mottling. So it sounds like I should push them over at the neck?

i push them over when 25% are starting to fall. since yours aren't standing it's kinda hard to tell but based upon your replies i would, this sends energy into the bulb.

tom

[raindrops27]

Well, low and behold I did find one lone red onion..

Thanks again Tom!

[Riceloft]

Thanks for the advice Tom. I bent the rest over after my last post and now, about 9-10 days later, they look ready to pull. I'm going to give them another couple of days since we had rain Monday and Tuesday. Looks like Rain again Saturday, so I'll actually be pulling tomorrow.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by raindrops27

Tom,

I saw a picture of how granax should look and mine were small comparatively. However, I am proud I got something, the taste for me is very sweet. I normally only buy sweet vidalia/wala wala onions from the stores, so the freshness and the sweetness was very impressive. So yes, now I'm hooked on growing onions. I cannot wait to try more varieties next growing season!

I have a question about pinetree seed store.. Do they ever carry candy onion seeds since I love the sweet varieties? Also what is a red and white onion you would recommend to me besides candy onions..TIA

Your Granex onions did OK considering they are a SHORT DAY onion more suitable for Southern growers. You need to grow LONG DAY onion varieties in the North if you want bigger onions. Vidalia are SHORT DAY onions. Wala Wala are LONG DAY onions.
Candy onion is a good Day-Neutral hybrid that will do well in the North.