Sets
Approx. 100-130 onion sets per pound; 80-100 shallot sets per pound.
Sets ship from our warehouse during our regular potato shipping season in April.
Onions & Shallots
Allium cepa Onions are day-length sensitive—to produce large bulbs, plant in spring as soon as soil is workable. Most of our sets and plants are long-day varieties, suitable for northern growers. Shallow rooted, onion require rich weed-free soil and consistent water. All other factors being equal, onions grown from seedlings will grow bigger and resist disease better than set-grown onions.
Plant onions 3" apart in rows 1' apart and thin to 6" as they grow. (If you don’t want to thin, plant them 4–6" apart.) Mulch when they are 1' tall. During the season, pull any plants that begin to bolt and use them as scallions.
It’s a good idea to sidedress once or twice a season, especially close to summer solstice.
Clean and grade before storage. Eat thick-necked onions first because they won’t keep.
Ideal storage conditions are temperatures at 32° with humidity of 60–70%. If you can’t do that, work to get a total number of 100. For example, at temperatures from 50–55°, humidity should be 45–50%.