We had a really successful onion harvest this year.
The photograph above is of half of our crop curing after we had harvested them.
In total, we had approximately 90 onion bulbs. Most of them are 11 to 12 inches in diameter -- the size of a softball.
I planted seeds in October of 2011, and those onions were ready to harvest in June. However, despite our mild winter, the bulbs were fairly small and the germination rate was very low.
I also planted a 5' x 16' bed in January with onion starts from the nursery. These starts did great and were the source of our harvest of oversized onions.
This was my most successful year, yet. Last year was also very good, but my onions were significantly larger this year. I am not certain what to attribute this success too, but I will venture a guess anyway. If I had to bet, I would attribute the success to the fact that: I continue to build the fertility of our soil, I provided ample moisture as the plants matured, the plants had lots of sunlight, and there were no really hard freezes during the spring.
Here is a photograph of the onion bed in late March:
I harvested the onions in early May and let them cure on my covered patio for 2 or 3 weeks. I could not let them cure in the beds because we were having a lot of rain.
Here is nice article on growing onions in Texas: Softball Sized Onions.
On another note, my garlic bed was a total failure this year. I did not get the bed planted until January, and it was just too late . . . a complete failure. I should have gotten the beds prepared and planted in October or November.
