Only made in Georgia: It's Vidalia onion season again and the crops are plentiful
My readers probably know that I love Vidalia onions. Allium apples. The State Vegetable of Georgia. The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee set the official pack day for Vidalia onions, which began last week on April 12. That means you can now officially eat some of this year’s delicious crop.
The crop reports from my buddy and Vidalia onion expert, Aubrey Shirley (who is also the UGA Agricultural Agent for Tattnall County) is that the overall growing season went well. With about 10,000 acres planted in the only 20 Georgia counties allowed to grow the official Vidalia onion, Mr. Shirley, or as I call him, Aubrey, said that the early crop did suffer some cold damage from that nasty weather we had right before the Ides of March, but the overall condition of this year’s harvest is good.
Making early estimates, 10,000 acres planted probably produces over 220 million pounds of product. The Vidalia Onion Committee estimates this specialty commodity has an economic value near $150 million annually.
But why do we love these onions? Because they are delicious. Sweet, not hot. Juicy, with very little burn.
And why is the Vidalia onion so sweet? It is not so much for what is in the ground, but what isn’t in ground. Sulfur is naturally occurring in most soils, but in Toombs County and surrounding counties sulfur levels are low. Low levels of sulfur result in a milder taste with less heat. This elemental soil deficiency was used as a marketing strategy to keep the Vidalia onion a Georgia-only commodity.
The State of Georgia passed legislation in 1986 giving Vidalia onions legal status defining a 20-county-only production area. Only these 20 counties can produce and market the official Vidalia onion.
For many years, shelf life for Vidalias was challenging to growers. As a kid, I remember Mom storing these precious onions in panty hose knotted to separate the bulbs and hanging them in the basement to keep them dry. But beginning in 1990 with a technology borrowed from the apple industry, new storage methods were adapted to control the temperature, humidity and air flow of harvested Vidalia onions. With production typically lasting from April to June, 125 million pounds of Vidalia onions can be put into controlled storage for up to seven months. These climate-controlled facilities allow for extended Vidalia onion sales into the fall holiday season.
There is a bunch of hoopla that follows the popularity of the start of Vidalia onion season and some of the stuff I found was pretty incredible. The Vidalia Onion Festival is this weekend at the Vidalia Regional Airport. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will do a show on Saturday, April 23rd. That is bigtime. Check out the other events happening down that way at vidaliaonionfestival.com. I bet you can get a fried onion ring that will knock your socks off.
Throughout the state, kids in UGA’s 4-H program sell Vidalia onions to raise money for scholarships, projects and other activities. Our office in Richmond County uses the onion fundraiser to help send kids to one of our five statewide summer camps. The camps are amazing and give opportunities to let some of our local youth do and see some things that they may never have had an opportunity to do.
If you would like to purchase some Vidalia onions from the Richmond County 4-H fundraiser, we are taking orders at the UGA Extension office until April 29th. We have 5-, 10-, 25- and 50-pound bags available for this great cause. If you would like an order form, we will be glad to email you one. Contact us at uge3245@uga.edu. Pickup will be from 1-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, at the Georgia State Farmers Market off Laney Walker Blvd.
Reach Campbell Vaughn, the UGA Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for Richmond County, by e-mailing augusta@uga.edu.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Vidalia onion season is here again and the Georgia crop is plentiful
