The intricacies of growing onions

Bill Kerr writes about the complexities of growing onions and the many factors one needs to consider in order to achieve success with this crop.

- Bill Kerr

O f course, if you follow the advice of someone who has been successful with growing onions, you are likely to also produce a good crop.

But woe betide anyone who deviates from a successful formula without a good understanding of the intricacies of the crop and doesn't follow proven practices.

One of the complexities is that some onion varieties are adapted to only initiate bulbing at certain day lengths.

For instance, if you try to grow a variety adapted to perform in either the far northern or southern regions of the globe and plant these in short-day areas like those near the equator, the onions won't even attempt to make bulbs and will only grow like spring onions.