Vidalia onion shipments will start the third week of April from Southeastern Georgia.
For the 2021 season, approximately 10,000 acres of Vidalia onions were planted, Vidalia Onion Chairman Aries Haygood said. “We are anticipating a good harvest, and consumers across the country should have ample supply throughout the season.
The date growers can start packing under the Vidalia onion name is April 19. The date is determined each year by an advisory panel comprised of Vidalia industry members, state agriculture scientists and the Department of Agriculture, according to a press release.
Soil and weather conditions in south Georgia are taken into consideration to select the date, to help ensure only the highest-quality onions end up on consumers’ plates.
“It is a special moment every year when we announce the Vidalia onions pack date, but this year we will mark the passage of the 1986 Vidalia Onion Act by our state legislature that played a defining role in making our state’s official vegetable an iconic brand recognized around the world,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said in the release.
First discovered in the 1930s, Vidalia onions quickly grew in popularity over the next few decades. The Vidalia Onion Act established that only sweet onions grown in 20 South Georgia counties from a distinctive Granex seed and packed and sold on or after the official pack date each year could be called Vidalia onions.
Known for its sweet, mild flavor and treasured by cooks nationwide, the vegetable is hand-cultivated by 60 registered growers. They represent about 40 percent of the sweet onion market and are sold in every state.