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Onionology™ - Urban Farmer's Guide

Home > Gardener's Guide > Onionology

There are two important factors to consider when choosing an onion (Allium cepa) variety; flavor and location. Onions are very particular about how much sunlight they get, forming bulbs in response to the number of daylight hours. Therefore, onion varieties are classified by day length - long or short day. Often nurseries will list long day onions as L and short day onions as S. Onions are also classified by taste either being sweet (immediate use) or pungent (good for storing). In general , long day onions do well in northern United States, short day in southern United States and intermediate in the inbetween regions.

Long Day Onions: Also referred to as sweet onions. Long day onions are more appropriate for northern states because they are adapted to longer days. Long day onions form bulbs with more sun, around 15-16 hours of daylight. An exceptional long day onion is the 'White Sweet Spanish' a standard large sweet onion which matures in 128 days.

Short Day Onions: Southern states should use short-day varieties of onions. Short day onions develop bulbs with an average of about 12 hours of daylight. If looking for a tasty short day onion try the 'Texas Early Grano', a softball sized, straw colored onion that stores for months and matures in 168 days.