Onions – Small Bulbs

Q: I bought sweet onion starts from a big box store last October and planted them in my garden. The tops seem to do really well but all I get are skinny green onions that do not become big. What am I doing wrong?

A: It’s very possible they are not a variety adapted to Georgia. Onions are stimulated to make bulbs in response to the length of daylight. Some are “short day”, some are “long day” and some are “intermediate day”. Our summers are too hot for long day onions. They will succumb to heat and diseases long before they size up. If they are planted in the winter, they will only form lots of green leaves (scallions). Good bulbing onions for Georgia include ‘Walla Walla’, ‘Yellow Globe Danvers’, ‘Grano’, ‘Granex’ and ‘Juno’.

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