The Onions Have Sprouted

I planted my first round of onion seeds only a couple of weeks ago, and already I am seeing tiny sprouts.  The yellow onions were the first to appear, followed about a week later by the red.  I only planted about 30 of each type to start, and plan on starting a second round in a few days.  If these seedlings aren't enough to fill the bed that I plan on putting them in, I will probably buy some onion sets from the co-op this spring.  I like having a variety of each type of crop just in case one doesn't work out well.  It never hurts to have a back up plan.  Hopefully, these seedlings will grow big and strong so they have a better chance for lasting longer after I harvest them.

The yellow onions are a variety called Juane Paille Des Vertus.  I ordered them from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds online.  Their good keeping qualities are what I am looking for in the onions that I grow.  I also wanted these because they are a very old variety that have been grown in Europe since the late 1700's, and they are becoming rare.  I hope they do well in my semi-arid climate.  If they do, I will try to save some seeds from them if I can.

The red onions are a variety called Southport Red Globe.  These also came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, but they aren't as old a variety as the Juane Paille Des Vertus.  Still, they had excellent reviews, and one of the most commonly mentioned attributes was their good keeping quality and flavor.  I have never had much luck with red onions keeping for very long, but I hope this variety stands up to it's reputation.