Seeds, Onions Walla Walla (West Coast Seeds)

A very large, juicy onion with a mild sweet flavour. It can be planted in the spring if given a really early start indoors, or in August to overwinter.

Spring planted Walla Walla sweet onion seeds result in bulbs that are not quite as mild as the overwintered ones. And spring sown Walla Walla onions may not size up as well. We recommend that home gardeners should wait and plant for overwintering onions. This variety is hardy to -23°C (-10°F). It is most definitely a long day onion, suitable for planting between the 35th and 55th parallels. It might not have good storage ability, but man, it makes beautiful caramelized onions!

Matures in 150 days, spring sown - 300 days fall sown. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Timing
Start shallots and storage onions indoors in late winter and early spring, and transplant 2-4 weeks after the last frost date. Overwintering onions need to be started in early summer, and transplanted by the middle of August. Scallions can be direct sown every 3 weeks from two weeks after the last frost date to late summer. Optimal soil temperature for germination: 21-25°C (70-75°F). Seeds will emerge in 6-12 days, depending on conditions.

Starting
Transplants are preferred for home gardeners. Sow 3 seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep in each cell of a 72-cell tray. Transplant as a clump, spacing each 15cm (6″) apart in rows 45-75cm (18-30″) apart. Scallions can be spaced at 2-5cm (1-2″) apart in rows 15cm (6″) apart.

Companion Planting
The pungent odour of onions repels many pests and also protects nearby garden vegetables. Plant chamomile and summer savory near onions to improve their flavour. Onions also work well alongside beets, Brassicas, carrots, dill, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes. Don’t plant onions near asparagus, or peas of any kind.