October begins onion planting time, and I just put in some Walla Walla seedlings. Next week I’m going to sow Ringmaster seeds. These are “long-day” varieties, meaning they are said to be best adapted to northern latitudes, places that have long summer days, places like Walla Walla, Washington. In other words, I’m planting the wrong types of onions, on purpose, for the second time.
Last year, in a moment of rebellion or in the spirit of scientific inquiry (I don’t remember which), I decided to deliberately flout expert advice and attempt to grow the long-day variety Ringmaster, and just the other day we cooked up our last giant Ringmaster bulb. They grew very well — perfectly, I’d even say. So this year I’m trying another round to see if it was a fluke.
I will also plant Texas Grano onions, which is a short-day variety and is the recommended type for Southern California. It has produced well for me too, for many years in a row now. Texas Grano is a sure bet; Ringmaster and Walla Walla are somewhat experimental.
UPDATE, July 2016:
Looks like it wasn’t a fluke. Both of the long-day varieties, Ringmaster and Walla Walla, produced excellent bulbs, once again. Their production was just as good as the short-day Texas Granos. The only difference between the long-day varieties and the Texas Granos was that the Texas Granos were ready for harvest earlier, in June, but the long-day varieties weren’t ready until July.
I’m now of the opinion that every variety of onion is worth trying here in Southern California, regardless of whether a seed company, nursery label, or book calls it short, medium, or long day.
You might also like to read my post:
Great article. I live in the San Fernando Valley and you answered my question. Not sure if you’re still writing but awesome job. Thank you.
Hi Sulli,
Thanks. And I am still writing. You might like to see a list of my other Yard Posts here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/list-of-yard-posts/
Hi Greg! Any thoughts on intermediate day onions? My husband has a special place in his heart for Italian torpedo onions. I planted them in October and none of them bulbed.
I read on the SD Master Gardener site that we’re better off planting intermediate day onions seeds in February, any thoughts on that?
Anyhow thank you for the very comprehensive onion guide, I am looking forward to planting some short day varieties in October. I hope your summer garden is going well.
Hi Patty,
I’m unsure why the SD Master Gardener calendar recommends planting intermediate day onions in February. I’ve done that and had decent results, but I’ve also planted them in early fall and had better results. These days I just plant all of my onions at the same time, around October, usually.
This year, I messed up; I sowed late and didn’t get the seedlings into the ground until December 8. The yellow, short-day onions still produced well, but the intermediate types were less successful. Some didn’t bulb much, a couple flowered, and they weren’t ready for harvest until July. The intermediate types I used were these: https://www.reneesgarden.com/products/rainbow-trio