Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
culation until the outer scales are well dried. Remove the vegetation that sits atop the bulbs, or leave
on and braid several together. To prevent early sprouting of bulbs, store either at high temperatures
(77-95°F [25-35°C]) or low temperatures (32-45°F [0-7°C]). Root cellars are less suited to onion
storage than are attics or garages. Wherever they are stored, the room should be frost-free (stored
onions exposed to freezing conditions quickly rot). Check bulbs regularly; remove rotting onions.
Onions go through a dormancy period and will not sprout even under ideal conditions when they are
still dormant. The length of the dormancy period varies from variety to variety. After dormancy,
onions sprout as soon as humidity and temperatures (54-59°F [12-15°C]) fall into the onion's comfort
zone.
Various shapes of onions
Plant out onions in the spring deeper than they were the previous autumn, all the way up to the tip
(make sure bulbs are vertical in the ground). Plant in 10 in. (25 cm) rows, 6 in. (15 cm) between bulbs
within the row.
Flower stalks can grow to be over 3 ft. (1 m) tall and need support (poles or trellis). As day length
increases, each onion sends up one to three flower stalks; plants bloom in mid to late summer. Plants
slowly dry as seeds ripen.
Onions can also be propagated vegetatively: harvest bulbils from mother plants after flowering is
completed. When these are planted in the spring, they normally go to seed the same year.
HARVEST
Onions produce small pods as fruits, with seeds encased therein. Seeds typically become
ripe in late summer and are colored black. Pods break easily; wind or rain can cause seed to fall to the
ground. Harvest seed stalks as soon as pods become dry and brown. Place seedheads in a paper bag
when harvesting, then break off stalks
Dry seedheads in a loosely packed cloth bag for several days in a warm place with good air circula-
tion. Seeds will now easily fall out; thresh the rest. Freeze seedheads for several hours when seeds do
not thresh easily, then try again. Winnowing: use sieves to separate seeds from dried pods by swinging,
shaking, and blowing. It is not uncommon for onions to produce many infertile seeds. To separate
these out, place all seeds in a bucket of cold water. Fertile (viable) seeds sink to the bottom, infertile
