Vidalia onion season officially underway

VIDALIA, Ga. (WTOC) - Some people have had this week circled on their culinary calendar for months. Vidalia onions show up in stores everywhere as farmers start to harvest and ship their famous crop.

Onions from Toombs and surrounding counties started their journey this week to stores and hungry buyers everywhere.

Crews clipped onions from the field as Aries Haygood picked up a few to make sure they didn’t go to waste. He says a last-minute cold snap has kept some early harvest from adding the usual size.

“Quality is awesome. We couldn’t ask for any better. So, we’re excited about that,” Haygood said.

Georgia Department of Agriculture set Monday as the date farmers could start packing and shipping this year’s crop. It is an effort to make sure onions are ripe and nobody ships poor quality for the sake of getting a jump on others.

Haygood says that matters when farmers collectively market their product under the Vidalia name. He says they sell to everyone from large retail chains to clubs and schools who use the world famous vegetable for fundraisers.

“We ship from Miami, Florida up into Canada, across the Western Canada, all over the country,” Haygood said.

He says mild weather from here on could help add bulk to the onions they’ll harvest over the weeks ahead.

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