Ailsa Craig

Season Overview

Description

Rapid-growing onion that forms large, high-rounded, yellow bulbs. Among the largest, earliest vegetable onions and was introduced in 1887 by Davis Murray, gardener to the Marquis of Ailsa at Culzean Castle (South Ayrshire). In the still popular British giant onion competitions, the historic variety reaches diameters of up to 20 cm and weights of up to 2.5 kg! However, the real treasure of the onion 'Ailsa Craig' lies in its inner values. The straw-white to golden, firm globe-shaped onions with a small neck in the sweet, Spanish type are finely textured and of excellent mild flavor. The variety is more cold-tolerant and also better adapted to our latitudes than the Mediterranean varieties in terms of daylight length (long-day type) Use for fresh consumption, storage life is limited.

Growing tips

Germination temperature min. 5° C (optimum germination temperature 16-18° C), germination period 15-20 days; if necessary, mark seed with spinach or radish. Cover seed only lightly with (about 1 cm). No fresh organic fertilizer. Keep evenly moist & weed-free; known as a particularly cold-tolerant variety; as a long-day type, very suitable for cultivation in the north. Culture time: approx. 100-150 days .

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Seeding distance

10 cm

Row spacing

25 cm

Seeding depth

1 cm