onion problems

Hi Everyone,
My name is Frank and I am new here, my problem is that I planted 2 rows of onion sets, one red and one yellow and followed the directions on the bag, they were fron Gurneys, according to the directions I was to plant them 1/2" deep which I did and now the sets are sitting on top of the ground with the roots just barely in the soil, we have not had a lot of rain to wash the soil away. So did I not plant the sets deep enough?

1/2 inch sounds a bit too shallow to me. Maybe the directions had a typo? If I had your problem I would probably pile more soil on top of the sets.

Onions grow best with the bulbing part out of the ground. As long as the roots as in the ground you are ok. Sets in the south are best used as green onions. They are long day onions and the summers are just too hot.

Yeah it does get very hot hear, it's really hard to get any thing to grow unless it's planted in the shade. Thanks for the replys, I think I will ask Gurneys for a refund.
Frank

I would add some soil as mentioned above, water a little and then feed. I prefer fish fertilizer. They should grow.

I agree with Farmerdill, when the onions are ready, the bulbs will rise to the top & set on top of the ground. They look real pretty when they do this. This must be your first time growning onions.

A picture would be helpful if you can manage it, crazyhorse.

I was concerned about planting depth for my tomato PLANTS, too. Same directions as Crazyhorse, from the Dixondale Onion Company, where I got the plants. So, I'm trying to figure out what I could use to make holes at the same standard depth.

Hmmmmmmm.. Then, I remembered all those tubes of caulking I had in the garage, and the tips on them. hmmmmmmmmm. I wonder....

Well, I used the tip of the caulking tube to dot, dot, dot straight down my row in the Earthboxes. I did 15 plants in two rows, for a total of 30 per box, with the intention of spacing out with thinning them down the line.

Worked like a charm!

Here's a before picture, right after planting on January 8, 2011.

Here's the most recent picture I took around June 8, 2011, 5 months to the day of plantout...

Uh, yeah, I've gotten a little lax with the thinning. Need to pick every other one, although I consider them to be "DONE" on July 8, 2011. Six months to the day of planting out.

Neglected to add -- they're almost the size of a tennis ball...

Hugs!

Linda

This message was edited Jun 22, 2011 1:13 PM

They're looking a little "squished", Gymgirl LOL

Mine should be ready around the end of June.

Hey Bee!
They only look "squished" LOL!!! I'll be pulling some this weekend, and placing my order to Dixondale for the next go round. I'm thinking I could plant them as early as the Winter Solstice here (December 21st). I was surprised to learn the wee plants can withstand our slight freezes with adequate protection. SUH-WEET! And, so are those onions!

Here we can plant the short day onions as early as October and as late December for April harvest. They do best when winter grown which is why they are short day onions.

Farmerdill,
If you can plant that early, I certainly should be able to, too. Hmmmmmmmmm.....

I set "intermediate day" onions around the end of October. Every year I think they'll never "bulb" but, sure enough, come the last two weeks of June, they do!

I'll try to get a photo just before I pull them.

P.S. the tomatoes are starting to color! YAY!

HoneybeeNC,
Where're you getting your onion plants? I've been using Dixondale Farms, and I haven't been disappointed.

Which varieties of "intermediates" have you been growing?

Have you ever started your plants from seeds? I hear it's a tedious, time-consuming process, since you need a good 3 months for the seeds to get to plant size, then you have to replant them in the garden. That adds 3 months to the 6 months growth process (although, I did grow a 9-month cabbage....tee hee hee!)

Gymgirl - I purchased onion sets from Dixondale Farms the past two years and have been very pleased with them.

I grow "Candy" - which is an intermediate type. I have also grown "Red Candy Apple" - but quite frankly it tasted the same as "Candy". I've also tried the other intermediate they carry called "Super Star". - Some of them went to seed and I do believe I have some onions growing from those seeds. They look as though they have come "true". Will know better once I pull them.

I have purchased some seeds from Johnny's called "Austrailian Brown Onion". I tried many years ago to grow onions from seed without success, but thought I would give it another go. Now that I'm "retired" I have more time to attend to their specific requirements.

I'm torn between starting the seeds indoors, or scattering them under a row cover and letting them "do their thing" through the winter.

Have you seen "The Bayou Gardener" on YouTube? He has a whole video on starting onions from seeds. He grew them in an old water trough for 3 months, then transplanted them to his fields in January. They looked like "monkey grass" growing in the trough.

I believe the only "need" they had was nice fertile soil, and I think he used some aged compost to start the seeds. Just kept the soil misted and waited...and waited...and waited....

Gymgirl - thanks for the heads-up. I saw a video he made on u-tube. Not the one you mentioned. He used a raised bed in the one I saw. From watching his video, I think I can grow my onions from seed outdoors under a row cover to keep off the birds.

Here's a link to the video I watched:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7S05OQZJBU&feature=relmfu

Here's a link to his web site:

http://www.thebayougardener.com/