i agree about the number of leaves = the number of rings in the onion.

large onions are large by nature/variety as in an tuna is larger than a bass. large onions (6"+) are sweet but typically do not store very long usually around 90 days. i have store alisha craig exhibition very long - pulled 8/12 to 8/15 and stored until very late january even into february. this year i am trying candy which is even larger (8"+ possible) and i've heard they store 6+ months, for a sweet onion that's amazingly long.

tom

Do you think 8 leaves is enough to get a good sized onion, or do I need 13? How many leaves do your largest ones have?

Jim

not sure, i never counted the leaves on any onions.

onions grow only 5-10% underground (probably closer to 5%) - most of the bulb is visable. you should see the size of the bulb just by looking at the plants by now. did you cover the bulb as it formed? you are not supposed to do that but i am not sure if that'd cause it to rot, slow down bulb size or just grow without any effect. i have always read that you shouldn't do it. so look at the onion plants, how large is the bulb?

tom