Hi guys, I live in zone 10b and I'd like to share my experience. I've been experimenting with onion growing for several years now and last year's crop turned out really good. I have been starting my short-day onions by sewing the seeds in 4" pots around September 1st. I have been planting garlic into the ground around this time as well. By mid October the seeds have sprouted and I plant them out into the garden that has been given some compost and rock phosphate. This year I spaced them 8" apart, last year I did 6"with nice results. I'll spread some compost over them this winter and again in early spring if I have enough. I've been harvesting them in June and onward.
I'm having a hard time with some of them getting black mold while being stored, both tied on an onion string and stored in a reusable potato bag. This year I'm really going to focus on the drying and curing process.
Does anyone have a good method of harvesting and drying onions for storage without them developing rot?