Commercial growers tend to put shelf-life and portability above all else. That’s why store-bought tomatoes, unless locally sourced, taste like cardboard for the most part. ;)
My favorite red onion (in my Zone 5a) variety is ‘Redwing.’ Nice size, great flavor and stores/keeps wonderfully.
“(105-120 Day) The longest-keeping red storage onion. Bulbs store nearly as well as Patterson Hybrid. The glossy, dark red, 3-4” globe-shaped onions are moderately pungent, very firm and have good skin retention. Tops grow upright and strong. Long-day.”
You also need to know which onions grow best in your zone:
Long-Day, Intermediate and Short-Day Onions Explained
https://www.tinygardenhabit.com/long-day-intermediate-and-short-day-onions-explained/
Who knew that growing a simple ONION could be so complicated! ;)
Thanks. Sounds like short-day onions are the way to go around here.
Ping to posts 89 & 90.
You’re getting to be our Onion Expert here. :)
As I’ve said, I don’t grow them very often as Wisconsin is a huge onion producer and they’re cheap for me all year round. Same with other root crops like carrots and potatoes.
The whole center of our state is Sandy Loam soil, thanks to the Glaciers and they grow root crops for the rest of America and export.
On, Wisconsin! :)
My favorites for open pollinated so you can save the seeds and they’ll breed true, are Stuttgarter and Milano D’Rossa.
I’ve watched some you tubers on growing onions. These three guys cover three completely different growing zones. Migardener is Michigan, the Millennial Gardener is SC, and Epic Gardening is S. California. They all have made several videos each on growing onions.
My favorites are:
Migardener -
Most Gardeners Want BIG Onions, But Don’t Do THIS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFH36F9r18
Millennial Gardener: 6 Tips To Grow The BIGGEST Onions EVER!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f3lUsvIFn0&t=2s
Epic Gardening: My New Favorite Way To Grow BIG Onions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbuwWCpTXDY&t=3s
We were in your situation in NY. NYS has a tremendous agriculture and onions are a big crop in Central NY, so they were cheap and plentiful. NOT worth the garden space.
Here in NH, it’s another story so since they are more expensive and I have a MUCH bigger garden, it’s worth it to grow them.