Ailsa Craig Onion Seeds (Heirloom) — West Coast Seeds
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Ailsa Craig Onion Seeds (Heirloom) — West Coast Seeds

Ailsa Craig Onion Seeds (Heirloom) | West Coast Seeds

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West Coast SeedsSKU: WCS-ON570AF
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Ailsa Craig Onion Seeds (Heirloom) — West Coast Seeds

Ailsa Craig is a customer-favourite heirloom onion known for producing huge, straw-coloured globe bulbs that can reach up to 20cm (8") in diameter. These onions are firm with mild, sweet, fine-textured flesh—perfect for fresh eating, especially in salads and sandwiches. Ailsa Craig also handles cool weather well, which can help it reach harvest earlier than some Spanish storage onion types. Fun fact: Ailsa Craig is also the name of a stony island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland.

Key Features

  • Huge bulbs up to 20cm (8") across

  • Mild, sweet, fine-textured flesh

  • Excellent for salads and sandwiches

  • Heirloom variety

  • Open-pollinated seeds

  • Matures in about 100 days (from transplant date)

  • Best for fresh use and short storage

Botanical Info

  • Latin name: Allium cepa

  • Family: Amaryllidaceae

Growing Guide (All About Ailsa Craig)

Difficulty

Scallions are easy to grow, but bulbing onions like Ailsa Craig do best when started indoors and transplanted in spring. Proper curing after harvest is important for best storage.

When to Start

  • Start storage onions indoors in late winter to early spring.

  • Transplant outdoors 2–4 weeks after the last frost date.

  • Optimal soil temperature for germination: 21–25°C (70–75°F).

  • Seeds typically emerge in 6–12 days, depending on conditions.

Starting Seeds (Recommended Method)

Transplants are preferred for home gardeners.

  • Sow 3 seeds per cell, 5mm–1cm (¼–½") deep, in a 72-cell tray.

  • Transplant the seedlings as a clump.

  • Space clumps 15cm (6") apart.

  • Space rows 45–75cm (18–30") apart.

Days to Maturity

Approximately 100 days from the transplant date.

Growing Tips for Big Bulbs

  • Ideal soil pH: 5.5–6.5 (scallions prefer 6.0–6.8).

  • Grow in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun.

  • Work well-rotted compost into the soil before planting.

  • Add ½–1 cup of balanced organic fertilizer beneath each 3m (10') of row.

  • Keep moisture consistent in the top 20–30cm (8–12") of soil.

  • Don’t transplant too deeply—most of the bulb should form at the soil surface.

  • Bulb size depends on top growth: bigger tops usually mean bigger bulbs.

Harvest, Cure & Storage

  • Stop watering at the beginning of August to help bulbs mature in dry soil.

  • Once about half the tops have fallen, push over the rest, wait one week, then lift the bulbs.

  • Cure the onions by laying them in a single layer in an airy spot out of direct sunlight.

  • When no green remains and the tops are fully dry and crisp, the onions are cured. If the weather is poor, cure indoors.

  • Store in mesh sacks or braided bunches for good ventilation in a dry, very cool (but not freezing) area. Check regularly and remove any sprouting or soft onions. Well-cured onions can keep until late spring.

Seed Info

  • In optimal conditions, at least 75% of seeds should germinate.

  • Usual seed life: 1 year.

Diseases & Pests

Botrytis blast and downy mildew are common onion leaf diseases. One shows as white spots and streaks, the other as purple-grey areas on leaves. To reduce problems:

  • Avoid overhead watering.

  • Plant in open, sunny locations.

  • Use lots of compost.

  • Practice strict sanitation and crop rotation.

  • Separate overwintered and spring crops, since disease often spreads from older plants to younger ones.

Companion Planting

Onions have a strong scent that helps repel many pests and can protect nearby vegetables. For improved flavour, plant onions near chamomile and summer savory.

Good companions: beets, brassicas, carrots, dill, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes
Avoid planting near: asparagus and peas

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Shipping

Most products ship within 1 to 3 business days. Some items might take longer as they are delivered from our warehouse in Vancouver. As soon as we receive your tracking number, we will send it over to you.

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If you need to cancel your order, we recommend reaching out to us ASAP. We charge a 2.9% (credit card), 3.5% (PayPal), 4.0% (PayPal International), 4.1% (American Express), or 6.5% (Shop Pay Installments or Sezzle) order cancellation fee after the order was received. We can accommodate most requests, but due to the different time zones and schedules that our warehouses ship from, sometimes the cancellation request may not reach the warehouse in time before the product ships. Once the item has been arranged to ship or has shipped, the package will be treated like a 'return' and is subject to ship-back fees and restocking fees. If you purchased 'Route Package Protection', this can not be refunded after the order has shipped.

Returns

In order to make sure you are completely satisfied, we can send you a return label within 14 days of receiving the order. This is to guarantee that you are happy with the product. Some products might require a 10-25% restocking fee. Please visit our full return policy.

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