Talk:Sweet onion

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 Sweet onion is within the scope of WikiProject Plants, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to plants and botany. For more information, visit the project page.
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I have to run for now, but I'll be here to help expand this article daily. --Measure 01:01, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

To-do list for Sweet onion: edit · history · watch · refresh
  • Incorporate information about more types of sweet onions into this article.
  • Find a way to spread the word, get some help developing article.
  • Create some more redirects. Perhaps add a redirect for each sweet onion name to be catalouged here.

[edit] Notes

I'm going to keep some notes here to help develop this article.

My latest research seems to show Vidalia sweets were transplanted from Texas, not Walla Walla. and it's better sourced. see: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/onions/onionhis.html

Could there be a note explaining the differentiation and distinction between the yellow onion and the sweet onion if you find it appropriate? thanks

[edit] Timeline

  • Yellow Bermuda, White Bermuda, Wax Bermuda - Sweet onions grown in Texas since... 1898??? Walla Walla may not be telling the whole truth...
  • Walla Walla Sweets, first American Sweet onions, first harvested around 1900
  • Maui Sweets, Grown in Hawaii since at least 1943
  • Hermiston Sweets... pretty close to Walla Walla Geographically. Sold by curry and co since 1960's. Need to find more on this.
  • Sweet Imperials, grown in Southern California since ???. need to find more.
  • Texas Sweets - 1015's developed in early 80's, there are also "Springsweets" what are Springsweets?
  • OSO Sweets - Developed in Chile in 1989.

all of the above by: --Measure 03:33, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

I fail to see why this needs a separate article. Surely it makes more sense to expand the onion page by merging this content with it. -- WormRunner 02:33, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

I've only scratched the surface so far in examining the different varieties of sweet onions. Certainly the research I've done so far will lead this article to be much larger than would be desireable to include in the main Onion article alone. Would you also suggest killing the Vidalia onion article? --Measure 03:46, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
Actually, I would be more in favor of killing Vidalia onion, which is a thinly veiled advertisement, than this one. I think the main onion article should be enhanced, not split up (my personal preference), and much larger than it is, but at least sweet onion has some potential encyclopedic value. -- WormRunner 06:18, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why Sweet Onions Have Low Sulfur Content

Good day,

Just my 2 cents. I remember watching Alton Brown from Good Eats discussing the sweet onion. The reason why it has low sulfur content and hence sweet is because of the soil it grows from. Vidalla sweet onions in particular are said to taste just as bitter as ordinary onions if planted in soils with high sulfur content. Apparently, the soil in Vidalla is low on sulfur making the onions sweet. Responsiblebum 07:18, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

I've heard that as anecdotal evidence before... but have been unable to find a written source to confirm it. I wouldn't be surprised if low-sulfer soil has something to do with it, but most of the research I've done seems to indicate it is the variety of onion, not where it is planted, that is key. --Measure 21:57, 4 January 2007 (UTC)