• Approximate seeds quantity: @840
• Sow from: February - March and harvest July - August
• Horticultural name: Allium cepa
• Heritage Variety.
• Endangered - on the Slow Food 'Ark of Taste' (by using you are supporting Biodiversity).

S6 - The Red Genovese onion is a sweet,  spherical onion that's, lightly flattened at the poles. It can be used raw in salads and cooked. Harvest it as a young, fresh onion, or in a more mature form.

It is also known by the name of Zerli onion, from the name of a town in the area. It is mainly cultivated in Val Graveglia, in the inland areas of Chiavari, Lavagna and Sestri Levante in eastern Liguria.

It is eaten mainly raw or as an ingredient in the savory tarts, traditional to this area of Liguria, like the Bicocca, made with potatoes and lard. 

The harvest is usually done in two phases: cipollotto (young, fresh onion) and in its mature form. In April and May, it is possible to eat the greens of the onion, leaving the bulb to mature in the soil to be collected in June or July, at which point it can be harvested for cooking. 

The onion was considered an excessively nutrient-draining crop, so much so that in some land lease contracts it was listed as a prohibited crop. This was because of the use of fertilizers that did not include nitrogen, and for this reason, it should be preceded in fields by a legume crop. Today, while it is appreciated in its production zone, it is little known in neighbouring areas. Therefore, many are unaware of its unique culinary properties and do not seek the variety out compared to other types of red onions, or give any economic reason to encourage farmers to cultivate this variety.