Question about onion types

9 years ago

Something I've always wondered: The All-Knowing Internet always says "long-day onions need 14-16 hours, blah, blah, blah..."

What I've never been able to find is whether the days have to stay 14-16 hours long for the onions to continue bulbing - do they stop bulbing once the daylength dips below 14 hours? Or is the 14-16 hour thing a trigger and once it starts it doesn't stop?

Anyone know?

Featured Answer

farmerdill

9 years ago

Add a little evening shade and it should work. Many of the long day " storage" onions need 18-20 hours which we don't have. These are the hot onions which are not popular in the south. Some of the short day onions keep well. I pulled Nu-Mex Radience last May hung them from the rafters in a shed. Used the last the first of January ( began sprouting) The grano types seem to hold better than Granex types. Red Creole also has keeping qualities. Timing is of course different we have onions through the summer into the fall. Northerners have onions fall through winter.

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Comments (12)

Dawson North TX (z8a/7b)
9 years ago
The Long day onions need 14-16 hours of daylight for a long enough period to bulb up nicely which is why we down south have to grow Short day onions because the day length does not get to at least 14 hours of daylight for long enough to grow onions that bulb up nicely.
Sloan Quinn 8b
Original Author
9 years ago
In other words, onions aren't Pringles.
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Dawson North TX (z8a/7b)
9 years ago
I don't know what Pringles are soooo.......
Sloan Quinn 8b
Original Author
9 years ago
..."Once you pop, you just can't stop"? Potato chips, they come in a tube? Available at most any gas station or grocery store in the country?
Sloan Quinn 8b
Original Author
9 years ago
C'mon Dawson, you're making me feel old...those commercials used to be on ALL. THE. TIME. It got pretty irritating, actually.
Peter (6b SE NY)
9 years ago
I am sure at some point the bulbing process is irreversable.

Temperatures also play a role in triggering bulbing.
Dawson North TX (z8a/7b)
9 years ago
Well I've always been taught to eat healthy and I've always eaten healthy so if they're potato chips that come in a tube then I've never ever had 'em.
Sloan Quinn 8b
Original Author
9 years ago
@Dawson, I don't eat them either - they're really not that tasty. That said, everything in moderation. :-D I do follow the general rule of avoiding (or attempting to avoid) anything with ingredients my eighth grader can't pronounce.
farmerdill
9 years ago
basicly a triggering event. Short day onions are much easier to grow in the south, because we can grow them in the winter. The plants are large enough around the spring equinox to form large bulbs. We can grow long day onions in zone 8. Do have to avoid those which need more than 16-17 hours to trigger. But Spanish types like Walla Walla need extra care, but usually produce well.The problem is they need to start bulbing around the summer solstice when it is very hot and usually quite dry. adequate water and some protection from the sun is necessary. In direct sun, an onion will literally cook in the soil here in July. Except to prove that it can be done, not worth the extra effort.

Spanish type long day onion Golden Grand as grown in Augusta Georgia.
Peter (6b SE NY)
9 years ago
Pringles aren't real potato chips. It is some kind of mush that gets sliced.
Sloan Quinn 8b
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
@farmerdill, so heavy mulch and a high water bill wouldn't be enough? I've always been bummed because most of the good storage type onions are long day. What did folks do in the deep south, TX, Mexico, etc. before we had over the road trucking??

@Peter, wouldn't surprise me in the least. Texture's all wrong - and a good potato chip should be thin, dangit!