Onion Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Curing | Pests | Companions | Varieties | Preservation | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Onions:

• Use long-day varieties – critical for Michigan!
• Plant sets or hardened-off transplants outdoors as soon as the soil is workable and has reached 40-45°F—typically between late April and early May in SE Michigan.
• For best results, plant onions between April 20 and May 10.
• Space onion plants 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart for optimal bulb development.
• Sunlight: Full sun (6-8 hours) essential for bulbing.
• Soil Type: Well-drained, fertile soil with pH 6.0-6.8.
• Soil Amendment: Rich soil needed but avoid fresh manure

Timing is everything with onions – they bulb based on day length, not plant size!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Plant onions when soil temperature reaches 40-45°F. Onions tolerate light frost and can be planted in SE Michigan from late April to early May as soon as soil can be worked.

• Cool season crop: Plant as early as soil can be worked.
• Frost tolerant: Young plants survive light freezes.
• Bulbing triggered by day length, not temperature.
• Michigan’s long summer days perfect for bulbing.

In Michigan, onions start bulbing around June 21st no matter when you planted!

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical during bulb formation.
• Watering: 1 inch weekly until tops start falling.
• Mulch: Light mulch to suppress weeds – onions hate competition.
• Fertilizer: Side-dress with nitrogen until bulbing begins.
• Weeding: Essential – onions can’t compete with weeds.

📏 Harvest Signs:

Tops falling naturally. Half yellowed. August-September. Leave 1-2 weeks after fall.

• Don’t rush – let onions mature naturally!
• Tops fall over when bulbs are mature.
• 50% of tops down means harvest time approaching.
• Leave in ground 1-2 weeks after tops fall for field curing.

Forcing tops down doesn’t help – let nature take its course!

🧺 Harvesting:

Pull on dry day. Leave in field to dry. Handle gently.

• Always harvest on sunny, dry day.
• Pull carefully – bruising reduces storage.
• Leave in field 2-3 days if weather permits.
• Protect from sunscald – cover bulbs with tops.
• Handle like eggs – damaged onions rot quickly.

🌡️ Curing:

Cure 3-7 days. Warm, dry, ventilated area. Necks must dry completely.

• Proper curing essential for long storage.
• Ideal conditions: 80-85°F with good airflow.
• Spread in single layer on screens or hang in braids.
• Necks must be completely dry before storage.
• Rain during curing dramatically reduces storage life.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Onion maggots (biggest threat), thrips, downy mildew.

• Onion maggots – devastate young plants. Use row covers.
• Thrips – silver streaks on leaves. Spray with water.
• Downy mildew – fungal disease in wet weather.
• Rotate crops – never follow onions with onions.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Companions:

Brassicas, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries. Avoid beans, peas.

• Brassicas benefit from onion’s pest-repelling properties.
• Carrots grow well between onion rows.
• Lettuce uses space while onions mature.
• Avoid beans and peas – onions inhibit their growth.
• Strawberries surprisingly good companions.

🧅 Varieties:

‘Music’, ‘German White’, yellow globe types for storage.

• Storage onions: ‘Copra’, ‘Patterson’ – store 6+ months.
• Sweet onions: ‘Walla Walla’, ‘Ailsa Craig’ – use fresh.
• Red onions: ‘Red Wing’, ‘Red Zeppelin’ – medium storage.
• Sets vs. Plants: Plants produce larger bulbs.
• Critical: Must be long-day varieties for Michigan!

🫙 Preservation:

Store 1-8 months at 35-55°F. Freeze diced. Dehydrate.

• Storage onions: Keep 6-8 months properly cured.
• Sweet onions: Only 1-2 months storage.
• Ideal storage: 35-45°F with 65-70% humidity.
• Freeze diced: No blanching needed.
• Dehydrate: Makes onion powder or flakes.
• Caramelized: Cook down and freeze in portions.

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Plant onions between April 20 and May 10 in SE Michigan to ensure bulbs size up properly.
• Long-day varieties only – critical!
• Sets easier but plants produce bigger bulbs.
• Michigan’s day length perfect for storage onions.
• Fall storage can last until April.
• Plant as early as possible for largest bulbs.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Used as medieval rent payment.
• Michigan’s climate ideal for storage onions.
• Ancient Egyptians worshipped onions – symbol of eternity.
• Onions have been cultivated for 7,000+ years.
• World War II soldiers used onion juice as antiseptic.
• Americans eat 20 pounds of onions per person yearly.
• Cutting onions releases sulfur compounds that make you cry.
• Libya has the highest onion consumption per capita!