Why Can't I Grow a Sweet Onion?

The following is an exerpt from a newspaper column written by Jan Phipps, Master Gardener Extraordinaire. She writes in behalf of the Edgar County Master Gardeners. This appeared in the Paris Beacon in January of 2001. I think Jan wonders where on earth I come up with some of these gardening ideas (such as strawberries making onions sweeter)...well, in this case it was on the internet-- and you know that if its on the internet, then it must be true! LOL! We are both waiting on pins and needles to see how my 'strawberry' onions turn out this year.

WHY CAN’T I GROW A SWEET ONION? You buy onion seed or onion sets advertised as “sweet”, or advertised as the same seed used to produce Vidalia onions. You plant them, grow them, harvest them, and dry them according to the directions. The big moment arrives. You take a bite of your expertly grilled hamburger with a deliciously thick slice of onion expecting that sweet Vidalia taste but get the same hot zing of every other onion you have ever grown. Why? Two reasons: the growing conditions and the soil in Edgar County. Vidalia onions are a yellow granex type F hybrid grown in many areas of the country, but only in a 20 county region of southeast Georgia are the weather and soil conditions just right to produce the mild, sweet flavor. In Georgia onions are grown in the winter, in sandy soil that doesn’t hold sulfur, and are affected by the amount of sunlight, heat and water of that region. In Illinois we grow our onions in the summer in heavier soil. Sulfur is trapped in the soil and is what gives an onion its heat. Therefore, gardeners living in the southern part of Edgar County with sandier soil probably have the best chance of growing an onion that has the least amount of burn. Everyone else will have to be content with hot onions.