Ailsa Craig produces very large, white, globe-shaped onions with a light yellow till straw-coloured peel. This variety has a very mild and sweet flavour. This onion can be stored very well. This onion variety can be sown in spring and in autumn. Use this onion in all dishes with onion. Like soups, sauces, stews, stir-fries, with pasta, in salads and baked in rings with hamburgers or other meat, with an omelette and on a pizza. Can be harvested after about 120 days.
Indoor sowing: march - april
Outdoor sowing: june - august
Germination temp.: 9-15 °C
Germination: 10-12 days
Sowing depth: 1-1½ cm
Plant distance: 12 cm
Row distance: 30-45 cm
Plant position: sunny
Harvest period: september - october
Sow indoors from march on in trays with good sowing soil. Transplant the seedlings from april on (avoid frosts). Clip the seedlings to 8 cm and plant them about 6 cm deep. Keep moist and weed free.
Sow outdoors from june (avoid frosts), when the soil is warmed up, in rows 30-45 cm apart. Thin to 12 cm apart when the seedlings are about 15 cm tall. Keep moist and weed free.
Harvest when the tops are brown and dry by pulling up the bulbs. Onions need fertile, moist soil enriched with compost. Don't sow or plant onions on a plot where onions have grown in the preceding year. These onions can be stored in a dry, cool and dark place. Some people say that growing plants with a strong odour should be grown in the proximity of onions to disturb the onionfly. Think plants like chamomile, carrots and summer savory.
