I usually start planting these about the first of February. (Augusta) If you are in South Georgia, you should be ok in middle January. Onions from seed need to be short day varieties planted in September- October. Summers are too hot for long day varieties.

Thanks for info farmerdill! I'm in Middle Georgia (Cochran), so not to far away. I was probably gonna wait until middle January just to play it safe. You mention planting onion seeds in the fall. Is this the same rule of thumb for onion sets? I get the two confused. If I understand correctly sets are further along than seeds and short versions can be planted in the Jan-Feb time frame??

There are no short day onion sets. All of these ( small dry bulblets) are long day storage onions. Usually restricted to 4 varieties. In our area, only suitable as spring green onions. Short day plants can be transplanted in the January February time frame and do fairly well. You are very close to the Vidalia growing region which while centered in Tombs county extends into parts of Dodge and Laurens counties. May be worth your while to visit a farm.

farmerdill - great info! thanks again for sharing. You really helped me develope a better understanding for onion planting. I found a source online that sells short day transplants in bunches of 5 dozens plants (1015Y Texas Super Sweet,Contessa, Yellow Granex, Hybrid Southern Belle Red, White Bermuda)

Yellow Granex is the original variety used by Vidalia growers. There are are some 20 approved varieties used now, but all have the same appearance. Contessa is the successor to the White Granex. I can't compete with the Vidalia growers so I rarely grow yellow onions. Not many folks in this area grow whites and reds, so I do those. The 1015Y is a big yellow short day onion, but is not on the approved Vidalia list. White Bermuda has been around for over a 100 years, tastes good but growth is irratic. Often promoted as a pickling onion.

Excellent onion information Farmerdill! Thank-you!
I have grown yellow granex (from Botanical Interest seeds) for several years and I have always seeded them in the winter.
I wish we were able to better grow keeping onions here, I grow perennial onions but I'd love some storage onions.
Last year was a pretty good onion year for me. I grew starts for the first time and had hundreds of nice, small to medium white onions. I cooked most of them and froze them for the rest of the year. Has worked out OK, and fills me in when I need more onions than I can currently pick of perennial onions...

There seems to be a misconception by all but a few onion "experts" that there is no such thing as a Short Day onion "SET".
To set the record straight you can sow seed, transplant plants or set "Sets" to grow large bulbing onions. A "SET" being defined as a small dime to nickle size dry firm mature dormant onion bulb. A minature of a big dry onion.
As mentioned above onion sets of the white,yellow and red long day onion sets are very available. You really have to search to find any Short Day Sets but they are out there.
The set growers I am familiar with who grow and ship their "Granex Super Sweet Short Day Sets" to commercial growers in the South and CA are the Dutch Valley Growers Bourbonnais, Illinois. The Sweet Sets are actually grown by Dave Rietveld on his set farm near Kouts, Indiana. Below are a couple of websites to prove what we are talking about here.

http:www.columbiapublications.com/onionworld/julyaugust2005/growingonionsets.htm
www.dutchvalleygrowers.com

onionworld.net

Bunch Wholesale BWI lists them in their wholesale catalog as Sets-Super Sweet. Available mid September thru October only. www.bwicompanies.com
Kenny A in Texas