Onion (Allium cepa)

I purchased Yellow of Parma seed from Seed Savers for 2009, as well as two good-storing hybrids from High Mowing Seeds: Red Wing F1 and Mustang F1. Onions need a fairly long growing season prior to the summer solstice, when the bulbs begin to mature, so I start them indoors. Square Foot Gardening suggests planting 16 onions per square foot, which works great for growing green onions, but that only gives room for 3" bulbs to develop, so I'm going to plant nine per square foot.

February 6 (12 weeks prior to last freeze): I started the seeds in Jiffy Strips with a popular potting soil, one seed per square. I planted 20 seeds of each variety. Approximately 60% of Yellow of Parma germinated , but the two hybrids were disappointing. I only got two of the Mustang to germinate, and five or six of the Red Wing. I also planted an additional twenty or so of each in cups of Vermiculite. Again, Yellow of Parma germinated much better than the hybrids.

March 26 (5 weeks prior to last freeze): According to my schedule, I am supposed to transplant into the garden tomorrow, but my boxes are covered with snow, and only one has soil in it anyway, so I'll hold off awhile longer.

Yellow of Parma: A top-quality, late-maturing onion with handsome, golden, upright globe-shaped bulbs. Average size is 1 pound. One of the best for storage. Imported from Italy. 110 days from transplant.

Red Wing F1: The ultimate red storage onion! Blackish, purple-maroon, glossy skin and interior ring color that continues to develop during storage. Deeper red than Red Bull F1, with a rounder shape. Uniform, large, round globes average 3-4”. Very hard bulbs indicate its exceptional storage ability, similar to Copra. Long day. Days to maturity: 118 days

Mustang F1: Slightly larger and slightly later than Cortland, this yellow storage onion has equivalent storage capacity. Mustang was a real beauty in our trials. We were impressed with its size for a long storage type, and the foliage held up to overall disease pressure better than most any other onion in the trial. Long day. Days to maturity: 108 days