Onions

[CrealCritter]

I got wild onions growing right now out in the yard. But the weather ain't got cold yet, when it does it will kill off all the wild onion growth. Then when it warms back up, the wild onions will sprout again and that's my cue to transplant my onions started indoors out into the garden.

And yes... I do cut wild onion greens like these for fresh chives. If I get a big bunch of them. I'll dehydrate them and put them in spice jars to use throughout the year.

 

[CrealCritter]

I love a good 1015!

Your in Texas also right?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

South of Houston.

 

[tortoise]

corn gluten meal is new to me! Very cool! Does it have residual effect in following years?

 

[CrealCritter]

My onion success has been hit or miss. The hardest part for me is weeding them! I knocked half my onions out of the soil while weeding this past season. The year before we LOST the onions in a weed patch.

I have perennial/bunching Red Welsh onions up near my house.

I would be interested in techniques for cultivating and dealing with weeds. Companion planting didn't work well for me because the onions preventing good weeding practice.

Up here in WI, stuttgarter is the yellow onion variety of choice. Well, it's the only yellow variety available in sets. I grew some from seed and had trouble with using pellets - the pellets fell apart and the soil eroded away from the onion roots which killed them. I have to start onion seed in January here!!

Last year I said I wasn't going to grow onions any more. But my big Baker Creek seed catalog is trying to influence me otherwise!

Being in long day country, have tried starting Ailsa Craig seeds indoors for huge onions?

Let me tempt you a little further. Ailsa Craig' ready for harvest

Here's your seeds --->
https://www.rareseeds.com/ailsa-craig-onion/

 

[CrealCritter]

corn gluten meal is new to me! Very cool! Does it have residual effect in following years?

I never seen where it inhibited seed germination after a wintering and tilling the following spring.

 

[CrealCritter]

South of Houston.

Have you tried to grow 1015 from direct seeding in the garden about now? Heck if I we're south of Houston, I think I would be getting my spinach, peas and Cole crops going right about now too. What time to do usually sow spinach and peas?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'll do peas in late Feb - early March...too wet for me right now. I need more raised beds! No on planting onions from seeds...usually buy sets when I try growing onions.

 

[CrealCritter]

I'll do peas in late Feb - early March...too wet for me right now. I need more raised beds! No on planting onions from seeds...usually buy sets when I try growing onions.

My worst results came by growing from sets, planted as soon as they came in at the farm store. As a matter of fact I did an experiment one year and grew 6 rows of oinions, 2 each white, yellow and red. 3 rows we're transplants I started indoors, 3 rows were sets I purchased from the farm store. The sets I purchased grew really no bigger than large green onions do but the ones I started indoors and transplanted we're good sized slicers. This is just my experience, your could be different (I hope it was) because I don't even consider onion sets something worth messing around with after that.

 

[tortoise]

oooo, Baker Creek has Ailsa Craig onion seed. It's not a storage type, but if I use a food processor and freeze that wouldn't be too bad.

Maybe gigantic onions would be easier to find and weed around?