When to plant onions?

[Gary350]

I was thinking about planting onions for a winter crop in Arizona but not sure that will work.

We have 65 to 70 degree weather and 8 hours sun all winter.

We have 110 degree weather and 15 hours of full sun in the summer.

I planted my garden March 1st last this year. I'm getting ready to plant a fall crop.

[tomc]

For you its fall planting or nothing. Thats my story an I'm sticking to it.

[jal_ut]

Onions are cool weather plants. They even have some frost resistance. You should be able to grow onions very well there all winter. Try planting some seed in flats for planting out in about a month. You will probably need short day onions if you want them to bulb up good during the short days of Winter.

Onions from seed quickly make some nice scallions. They will later make bulbs. You may also have luck with some bunching types that are grown for scallions and don't bulb.

[jal_ut]

Have you got any of those Egyptian Walking onions? I quite like those for scallions. I keep a Mother clump to just grow the little bulbs, then harvest and separate them and plant for nice scallions quickly.

[Gary350]

I don't have any of those Egyptian Walking onions. I am pretty sure my Grandparents had those they came up every year for 20 years. I never did know what my grandparents used those onions for they never would let anyone pick them. They made 100s of onion sets.

I ordered 50 yellow onion seeds yesterday that was all I could find for sale.

I see there seem to be 2 kinds of Egyptian Walking onions RED and WHITE. Wow $1 per white onion set is expensive. Red is cheaper. Which one is best Red or White?

[jal_ut]

Red/white??? I don't know.

I would ask around locally. If you can find someone who has a clump, you can likely get a few for asking.

Garden stores? Any gardening groups or clubs locally?

[Gary350]

I ordered 50 onion seeds on Ebay but I can not find any onion sets any where.

Does anyone have a suggestion where to buy onion sets this time of the year?

There are NO garden stores in Arizona just Lowe's and Home Depot. Very few people plant a garden here.

[imafan26]

Sets are usually grown in the spring, onions in the fall. Make sure you get the right kind for your area. If your cooperative extension sells seeds, they may have onions. The Arizona MG manual did not list onion varieties but New Mexico did. Arizona produces a lot of onions commercially so it looks like they should do well. Seeds should be sown October-November.

I can only grow short day onions, so I grow mostly Texas grainex, green bunching, Maui onions and red onions. Onion success really depends on the soil and weather conditions as well as on variety.

https://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/ve ... nions.html
https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/Circ567.html
https://www.almanac.com/plant/onions