Hi Tris
My Kelsae, the best of them, are fit for local shows but would get nowhere in the NVS classes.
Last year I was experimenting with onion strains and had great success with both Kelsae and Bedfordshire Champion, having done well with Alisa Craig in 2015. The Kelsae crop saw us through until mid December and we are still eating the Bedfordshire Champions with at least a month of stock left. You actually get very uniform Kelsae globes even grown in soil…..
Most serious exhibitors harvest five or six weeks prior to their main events to let the skins age nicely, so early to mid August. They are therefore grown for about 8-9 months. Those guys see a 10lb onion as proving their manhood!