WooHoo, indeed!
Ordered my Onion Plants!!
Linda, is there anything you don't have???
What kinda cloth should I use if I want to sew something that'll do both for chill, but most likely, for a little extra shade in the summer?
Nola,
For blustery, chilly winds, I just throw some old sheets over my pvc hoop. I use LARGE bulldog clips to clip it to the hoop ribs.
For dips down to around 30° I haven't put any cover at all, if it's just for a couple hours overnight, and warming up by daybreak.
For sustained dips below 30° (a hard freeze ALL night, and maybe into the next 18 hours, or 2-3 days in a row, etc...), I water the garden well, then cover the hoops with the sheets, followed by the 4-6 mil plastic sheeting. Only once has anything actually frozen -- some mustard leaves, that I didn't realize were more tender than the tough collards...
Linda
Linda, you know how nervous we New Orleanians get about the idea of snow! It's only a slight chance, even according to Margaret Orr, but the grocery was absolutely mobbed just now.
My meyer lemon is just starting to set flowers, and they smell delicious. My neighbors are going to know how nuts I am when I start putting real bedding on my garden beds!
Btw, Margaret Orr is on Twitter, she's the best! http://twitter.com/margaretorr
Nola,
I interned at WDSU with Margaret Orr and a very young Cambrel Louis, who was an aspiring sportscaster. He does weather and all-around reporting here in Houston.
Lisa Trapagni was on air here for a hot minute, then, poof !!
Did she go back home?
Linda,
Thanks for the support... There was a website that sells them & that's where I got the idea. In fact, we have to take Betty's sewing machine to the repair shop because it's locked up. It doesn't have to be a heavy duty machine because the weed cloth is so light, but you need to use nylon thread so it doesn't rot. That's what is hard to find...
The frame is very cheap to make and all the items are available at Lowe's or HD.. It would be a lot cheaper and easier to move than the cedar one we put together last year. What I figure to do is make a sleeve along the top long side of the frame for the pipe to slide into. Then, run the fabric out & under the lower rectangle and back up to the top frame, that way the lower frame will keep the fabric under tension. The end pieces will be done the same way, but just join the main fabric about 2' in from the end, so it will all be one piece of fabric.
It sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't too bad, when you have the knack for doing things like that.
Looks like I'm ordering my onions in the morning...
Kevin
Kevin,
So, slide the tube into the weed cloth casing on one long side along the top. Then, guide the remaining length of cloth down and under the parallel bottom long side, over to and under the opposite bottom side of the frame, then back up to the opposite top and slip that tube in?
Then, criss-cross the two short side pieces the same way?
Yes? No? Confused? LingOL?
Imagine my surprise when I saw a blanket of frost enveloping my entire yard this morning! Who knew?
Everything, EXCEPT THE ONIONS, is a bit shriveled back..
The bottom rectangle will be glued together,except the corner vertical uprights. Making a 10' long bed I'll go ahead and use 6' wide cloth, having 2 seams in the body. Using 3 pieces of cloth will give me the end material, with overlaps for corner reenforcement...
I'll make up a set of plans and a cut sheet if you or anyone would like it....
You have the idea right, but I'm going to keep everything except the base rectangle unglued so the bed can be broken down & stored when needed...
Kevin
This message was edited Jan 17, 2013 4:51 PM
Woohoo! Dixondale onions just delivered! Just in time for the weekend. I'll have to redo my bed a bit as I set it up before the hail, sleet, snow and torential rains beat it down. Not that I'm complaining. I very happy for the precip. And since the weather is supposed to be good in my area this weekend I'll be glad to reset set the bed and wallow in onion heaven! I hoping that my bed will soon look like the photos dreaves and CountryGardens posted. Maybe I might even remember to find my camera and post a photo.....
Terri,
Since you're resetting the bed anyways, if you haven't already amended it with LOTS of phosphorous (bone meal) in about the top 3-4", you might consider that too. You could use some other high phosphorous fert (Super Phosphate perhaps?) that will be more immediately readily available to the root system, since bone meal is more of a time-release additive. Just look for a high middle number. The phosphorous helps the plant establish a strong root system (which these shallow-rooted plants need).
After they've caught on, it would be time to start side-dressing with Ammonium Sulfate (high Nitrogen), approximately every three weeks. This will start the leaves to growing. The longer the onions grow, and the more leaves they have, the bigger the onion will be.
Linda
This message was edited Jan 19, 2013 11:36 PM
It took an act of Congress to get my onions planted, but they're finally in.
Thirty Texas 1015s and thirty-one Red Creoles.
I used two handfuls of bone meal in the top half of the Potting mix in the Earthboxes. Then, I made two parallel trenches 3" deep and 3" in from the edge of the boxes. I sprinkled more bone meal in each trench and mixed it in with some of the backfill. I set the onion transplants about 4" apart, and covered the roots just up to where the bulb started.
Then, because the floppy leaves were pulling the plants over, I gave them all a haircut. Now, they stand up nice and tall. The plants will throw more leaves when I start side-dressing with the Ammonium Sulfate.
It was too dark to take pics. I'll post some tomorrow.
Linda
This message was edited Jan 20, 2013 12:11 AM
Linda, would you like to come help us plant this spring ? Only going to plant about 20,000 this year. LOL!
LOL!
LOL @ the haircut comment!!
It was a crew cut!
Am running the part of California known as the Imperial Valley- miles of onions in neat rows- hayfields and cabbages and collards just being harvested - beautiful weather and warm sun.
Our plants that come from Dixondale are already crewcut when we get them. But we don't get them until mid April.
Bernie, to get in shape for your planting you can come down in March and help me get mine in the ground. LOL!
Janet
I don't plant, my son & workers do it.
With my excess transplants from Dixondale, I planted 2 Earthboxes, 1 with Texas Legend and 1 with Hybrid Southern Belle Red. I only had about 20 left over after that, so I put them in the bed where the shallot seeds did not germinate and used all of them! If they all turn out well, I'll know in the future to get 2 bunches from Dixondale.
Does anyone grow shallots from seed? I've planted both bulbs and seeds before, and have been disappointed with both of them.
I have been away from Dave's for a couple of years but hope to get back to learning! Three years ago, I had wonderful success with onions but the last two years have been sad. Not only onions but also potatoes. I am stubborn though and plan to plant more of each and will definitely go back to Dixondale for the onions. My problem, I think, has been the terrible heat we have had here in SC (Florence). Last year my beans did very little until the end of August and then they went wild. Potatoes were small as were the onions. I do not have full sun (and envy those who do) but sun does get to each box during the day. Thanks for the info on bone meal, etc. That should help out a lot. Marilyn
Shallots I think do best chunked under a peach tree and ignored. Not pamperd were how ours grew best, but i think we used running onions as shallots- My grandfather wanted em with his scrambled eggs, but I never saw him fertilize them... And rarely watered em at all...where i lived i used to mix liquad iron in tbe fall to the area where they were rather than nitrogen.
Visiting both the big box stores this weekend I happened to notice Bonnie already had their onion sets out for sale. I was curious, are they direct from Bonnnie, or does Dixondale produce them for Bonnie???
Hopefully mine will be here sometime next week, gotta get that bed put together...
Kev,
Just be sure they're onion transplants and not sets. There's a big difference, as I understand it, and you don't want what looks like little golden pearl onions...
Mostly, because you don't know what type of onion it is (long-, medium-, short-season...). And, because they'll only make green onion tops, not bulb onions.
The transplants from Dixondale look like dried up green onions with roots on the bottoms. I'd only go with Dixondale's, or (this season), my own transplants that I grew from seeds sown in August. Which end up looking like fresh green onions (not dried up). I just dumped them, separated each, and planted in my Earthboxes.
This is my first year from seeds, so we shall see! I'm growing Texas 1015s and Red Creoles.
Linda
Skywatch? What Gymgirl said abt the difference in sets and transplants... could that have been the problem???
I have not found it true that sets only produce tops- I have grown them in the past and they bulbed up nicely- both red and white. I prefer transplants to sets, though.
Jo? you are in Long Day planting zone.... We are in short day zone and don't have that much time.
Right, Kitt,
Without knowing what type of set it is, we'll only get green onion tops down here. Safer to go with ordering the short-season transplants, and be sure...
Onions are biennials; that means that when planted from seed the first year is all vegetative growth, and the second year you can get flower stalks. Transplants are produced from seed the same year you plant them, therefore the plants produce all vegetative growth (leaves and bulb). Sets are produced from seed the year before you plant them in the spring (speaking from a northern, long-day perspective). If the set is big enough, it will send up a flower stalk that growing year and generally will not store well. Smaller sets may not be big enough to trigger flowering, and will produce vegetative growth only. My mother taught me to go through the bin of onion sets and only pick out the ones smaller than a dime, to minimize the amount of flower stalks we got. And the ones that did flower became green onions.
Personal experience: planted shallot seed 2 years ago. None of the shallots (1st year) flowered. Left a few shallots in the ground to overwinter. Last year planted more shallot seed. All of the overwintered shallots (2nd year) produced flower stalks. None of the shallots from seed planted last year (1st year) flowered.
Cybrczch, I believe you are correct. My grandmother said green onions come from sets and the big onions come from starts (or seed I guess if you have the time). So that is in line with what you are saying.
Bernie,
I wish I had one or two of your crew down here! I'm only planting about 500 transplants, but it's taking me weeks! I plant a bundle one day, then rest, then plant another bundle a day or two later... I do a little bit besides that, but not that much. (I'm Jonesin' for a kidney transplant!)
David R
I know that some of the terms are used interchangably by those of us who don't know what we're talking about. Of course we see the seed packets in the store, and have seen the bulbs in bags at Wally World. WM and Lowe's and Home Depot all have the Bonnie Onion plants that are bundled in those wooden crates. Are they "slips", "transplants", "sets", or what?? Another thing I was real curious about, those that are on sale now have Bonnies stickers & tags on them, are they "produced" by Dixondale and sold through Bonnie??
They would be transplants. Probably from Dixondale. I'm sure Bonnie Plants contracts most of their growing. That method is widespread in the industry.
Thanks, that's kind of what I figured...
You could always email Bonnie and ask who their supplier is for their onion plants. There's an onion farm here in the area where a local garden center gets their onions, but I had miserable luck with them the first year I grew them, so now I order from Dixondale.
Kittriana, I used transplants in containers. This past year I put them in my big boxes, usually I used the wine casks ( which are now in wine cask heaven). I have ordered from Dixondale before but I can't remember which year. Last years may have been from Lowe's . Dixondale gets my order this year for sure. Thanks to Gymgirl, I might have better luck. Last year was terribly hot in SC so I am planning accordingly. Have to get going on getting what I need. All of you are far ahead of me.
To dreaves: hang in there! My husband finally had a kidney transplant in 1999 after 24 years of home hemodialysis. He waited too late so I pray you are getting one quicker! Good luck! Marilyn
Marilyn,
Good luck with the onions. I've been growing Dixondale onions for the past several years with good results. I've found ordering means that the plants are in better shape than the ones sitting in the sun at the big box store.
Thanks for the good wishes on the transplant. I've been listed for 5 years, but have high antibody levels (PRA). Because of the high antibodies a matching kidney is not very likely. I am doing home hemo as well, but just over four years.
Wow, looks like many of you are doing well with your onions. I also bought the short-day sampler and here are a couple of pics. I am not sure if they are getting all the sun they need so this will be a learning experience, as this is my first time growing onions.
Before I planted (in late November or early December, can't remember which) I had worked the soil in this bed pretty well and loosened it up. I also added several bags of composted cow manure. I also did my best following the Dixondale instructions. Anyway, I was about to buy some fertilizer online for the onions, but as someone mentioned it ain't exactly cheap. I happen to have some bone meal handy, which is 6-12-0 so that is a start...I need to reread some of the earlier posts regarding "alternative" fertilizing solutions.
