I bought a bag of Snowball onion sets and separated out the largest thinking that these would likely bolt instead of making big onions. Then I thought I didn’t have anything to lose so I put the bulbs in a large pot with old once used potting soil. Temps got down to 29F and they still look healthy. How can I best utilize these assuming that they survive?
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You’ll find they can take quite a bit colder than 29F
(depends on the cultivar to some extent tho).
I’d have no problem planting onions here in February in Kentucky if I had the place prepared. Sometimes I take a rotting onion and put it in a pot outdoors and it produces a fresh onion for me.
I suspect some onions not harvested can sprout out and do just fine in the coming spring and summer. Here in zone 6. (I’ve not personally tested this.)
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Onions are cold tolerant to about 20F, I think they still survive usualy also, but get set back. Some starter bulbs are also sold with a ?heat treatment? to prevent them from bolting. I have onions that overwintered and did not bolt still. (onions, not shallots.)
Starting from seed is more of a challenge, Sprouting in dec/jan in trays and planting them out with more risk of bolting.
I will plant them out in April here in Germany.
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Hi Bill,
Onions like garlic grow very well in late winter to early spring, just replant with only the tops exposed to sunlight and sidedness with 3-15 and they will produce large bulbs.
Dennis
Kent, wa
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I have onions that easily survive high teens.
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