An experiment in growing onion sets!

Yes, each onion is numbered!

As a part of my desire to grow bigger and better onions from sets, I've decided to see if I couldn't quantify the results of me trying to grow 36 yellow onion sets that came in three basic sizes; large medium and small. I wanted to get a feel for how the starting size of a set could possibly affect the end result at harvest time.

So saying, I selected 36 onions that sorted out as follows:

Diameter is in cm & the weight is in grams

Other information that is pertinent to this effort was the purchase price of these sets at a local grocery store which came to .17 cents each (or 61 cents for all 36 sets). Also, note that the diameter of each onion was expressed in centimeters and the weight was in grams. 

I am planning on setting these guys out in about a week or so, or after the weather warms enough for me to work the soil in one of my raised beds. Just prior to planting I will amend the soil with a bag of composted manure and sand. With onions, I want a loose soil, but not one that has an overabundance of nitrogen, a situation that would grow large tops and small bulbs! So, no fertilizer, just well aerated and manured soil to start.

The spacing for these sets will be a rectangular area that is three feet by two feet. This will allow me enough space to plant six columns of set spaced four inches apart with each column set 6 inches wide. In other words, each little developing onion will have plenty of room to reach its full potential, whatever that may be.

To complete the start of this growing process, I plan to much the area to help preserve moisture and will cover it with a grow cloth to help keep the birds from plucking out the starts (something I'm told they enjoy doing). I'll also make sure to monitor how much rain falls, so that they get at least an inch of water a week. and, that will be about that with the exception of occasional weeding as the need calls for.

In order to track how large each onion gets (or doesn't get), I've made a data file that will contain information pertaining to starting weight and size and then what each set achieved at harvest time. To that end, each onion is numbered and will go into a known location in the bed when planted. 

In future installments that will follow this experiment (designated YS3213), I will be reporting on the progress of this little group of yellow onions. Later in the spring, I plan to do a similar setup for white and red varieties. So, stay tuned! To track this series, just do a search using YS3213 as a search term!