I ordered two pounds of yellow potato onions today which should arrive December 9th. Can these bulbs be planted now? Any guesses as to how many bulbs are in a pound? I have never grown these so any advice you can give is welcome. I’m in central Alabama zone 8a. Thanks Bill
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they are winter hardy so you can plant when received. 10 to 15 per pound is normal. Plant in good quality soil for best results.
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A couple of years ago I planted onion sets in May. They produced but would have done better if planted much earlier. If I was doing it again, I would plant as soon as the soil is ready in February.
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Fall / winter planting makes sense for you guys down south, but Ive learned from trying that they tend to rot if fall planted here. Dutch shallots, which are also cepa proliferum and similar in many respects do fine here when fall planted, but potato onions are better planted very early in spring.
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How do you plan to store the onions after they produce?
I remember tying the onions by their tops in bundles and hanging them from a ceiling in a cool enclosed back porch from a ceiling. If my memory is correct, it was in September when I dug them up.
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theyre ready about mid-August here, so sooner for you guys down south. i dry and cure them in seedling flats and then stick them in cardboard boxes in the (finished-ish and dry) basement where they keep fine for as much as a year.
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I have the same issue with French shallots, sort of. They don’t rot per se, so much as start growing too early and either get stressed or waste energy failing to grow through the mulch. I’ve switched to spring planting, with the twist of stratifying my seed stock in the fridge for a month or two. This seems to get them going faster and more evenly in the spring.
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Darn it, now I want potato onions…
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Does anyone have experience getting good sized bulbs from the yellow ones? I’ve grown them for a few years and will probably get rid of them. I have Green Mountain too. Those are much bigger in size.
I know our climates are different, but I plant mine in early November before the ground freezes.
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How many potato onions are in 1 pound when they are ordered by weight. There is no way to be exact due to size differences and the tendency of the seller to include a few extra. In my case I ordered 2 pounds and I received 55 onions ranging from large to small. According to Skillcult the big ones will yield a cluster of small onions and the smaller ones will give more larger sizes. After this upcoming year I should have plenty for future planting.
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Tying the tops together is my plans also, and hang them in my basement.
Go for it. I purchased the ones I have off Etsy. They are a bit pricey.
Good to know that they keep well. I typically don’t need a large store bought onion when I cook something. The larger yellow potato onions appear to be a good size for me.
Hey Bill, I have been growing potato onions since 2020 and I love them! My best advice: if you grow garlic, plant them the same time as you do the garlic. I have a lot of information about my potato onion journey here if you’re interested: [Preformatted text](https://www.potatoonionguy.com)
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I ordered some off Etsy and they just arrived today at my PO Box and need to be picked up.
How did the potato onions do for you?
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I don’t think I let them mature enough before harvesting. They didn’t survive until the next planting time. I think I was the problem not the onions. Hope yours do better.
I am sorry to hear that. I will let you know how it goes.
Did you get to taste any? If so, what did you think?
Was the variety you tried the yellow ones?
Thanks!
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I had some of both. I never tasted any.
got mine from a member on here in idaho. i got about 15 bulbs which i planted out in mid apr. they have been growing since early may. so far so good. they got about a ft. of growth on them. looking forward to spreading them around. also grew out perpetual everbearing onions from seed. they were about 6in. when i planted them out with the potato onions. between these guys and my big patch of walking onions, i shouldnt need to buy store bought again unless i need a big onion for onion rings or something. walking onions have the typical flavor of yellow store bought onions.
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How big were your bulbs?
Just asking because mine were tiny and I wondered if that was normal.