Posted on 05/01/2024 6:00:41 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I have never put that much effort into onions. Wisconsin grows SO MANY ONIONS (and potatoes and carrots and other root crops) that they’re always cheap and plentiful to me. The entire center of our state is ‘Sandy Loam.’ Toss a tater in, get a zillion of them back, LOL!
When I DO grow onions, I just buy the bags of mixed bulbs at Walmart or the Hardware Store.
I have learned that in our quest for self-sufficiency, not EVERYTHING needs to start 100% from scratch.
Have you read: ‘Make the Bread, Buy the Butter?’ It’s a great book showing the economics of things we should do ourselves and things that are better off to buy at market or locally if possible.
It opened my eyes and has saved me a lot of work and heartache - because some things I’m just not good at!
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Bread-Buy-Butter-Shouldnt/dp/1451605889
The situation I ran into was the red onion I like the best, which is a beautiful onion and stores very well, is Rossa DiMilano, and is available only as seeds. I have not found them sold as onion sets yet.
So I thought I’d try to get my own sets started from seed.
I guess the other option is to try to either start the seeds even earlier next winter, like the end of Jan/beginning of Feb so the plants can get to a decent size before putting them out, and waiting a bit longer and not trying to jump the gun and getting them in as early as possible.
I have a few left in the seed starting trays that I didn’t have room for that I thought I’d use if I needed to replace any loss. I just didn’t expect that much loss. Those ones in the trays seem to be a decent size, but boy, they sure do take a long time to grow.
I’ve also heard of winter sowing them, but never tried that either, but am considering it.
I think I figured out what happened.
I had to cover the seedlings because the weather got REALLY cold and I wasn’t sure they’d make it, and probably bent them over.
Them bending over signals to them to stop growing. Well, I still have a bunch of the red ones left from last year and I guess I’ll grab the smallest of them and plant them to save the seed instead of buying them again this year.
Sounds like you’ve come up with a great solution. The red sets/plants that we sold @ Jung’s that were the best for storage were called ‘Redwing.’
I remember Gary growing them out one season and he, too, had onions well into the following spring. He hung them in his unheated garage and took one as he needed it. If an onion can keep well in a garage through a Wisconsin Winter, it’s a winner. :)
“(105-120 Day) The longest-keeping red storage onion. Bulbs store nearly as well as Patterson Hybrid. The glossy dark red, 3 to 4 inch, globe-shaped onions are moderately pungent, very firm and have good skin retention. Tops grow upright and strong. Enjoy them cooked or fresh all winter. Long-day.”
https://www.jungseed.com/product/J02755/551
‘Long day’ means they can be grown in the north.
Yes, I only grow long day onions.
And I understand that the hybrids are good for storage, but I want to be able to save seeds because I don’t trust anyone any more and if seeds cannot be had, as in some places during the Covid lockdowns, that gives TPTB the ability to control the food supply.
I’d rather be more self-sufficient.
I did find about a dozen left over ones that were starting to sprout, so they’re going in the garden sometime today or tomorrow and I’m going to let them go to seed and save the seeds.
Thank you!
The transplanting part might be an issue for condo- (read: minimum security prison) dwellers, but I’ll see what I can do.
The leaf information is Huge - that was cause confusion.
Puppies coming on Sunday?? Happy Mothers Day.
Puppies came YESTERDAY - but I will explain all the details in the morning. Suffice to say we had some problems (Mama Dog and Puppies are OK!) but Beau & I are exhausted and calling it quits early tonight.
Stay tuned! :)
Good! Check the drainage in the pot (make sure it has some!) and if it has to stay pot-bound, take a look at the root structure and maybe pot it up into a bigger pot if you can. Go 2-4” larger in pot size; that should be fine for a patio plant that you’re just going to enjoy this season...unless you can ‘re-home it’ come end of summer. ;)
If you’re seeing a LOT of roots all close together, score it as I suggested earlier before re-potting. She’ll thank you for it! :)
Good Morning!
The Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Mortgage Lifter is an heirloom tomato cultivar bred in 1930’s West Virginia by Marshall Cletis Byles, an amateur tomato enthusiast. Mr. Byles went by the moniker M.C. “Radiator Charlie” Byles, as he worked as an auto mechanic in a shop at the base of a mountain road where transport truck radiators tended to blow while trying to go up the big hill (reference). He named his tomato “Mortgage Lifter” because he sold so many of the plants that he was able to pay off his mortgage with the proceeds.
Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are very large beefsteak-type tomatoes that can routinely reach 2-3 pounds each in weight. The peel is generally a red color with a hint of pink (and sometimes a touch of green on the ribs near the stem). Mortgage lifter tomatoes are very tasty, with a subtle sweet taste perfect for a sandwich on a hot summer day.
“With absolutely no experience breeding or growing tomatoes, Mr. Byles had a goal of developing the largest, most delicious tomato possible. …and once he was happy with his results, he sold plants for a dollar each, thereby paying of his $6,000 mortgage in six years; people came from hundred of miles to purchase the plants as news spread fo their excellence.”
What do Mortgage Lifter tomatoes taste like?
The Mortgage Lifter tomato has a delicious, mild, sweet taste. These tomatoes are not as intensely-flavored as some other heirloom tomatoes (such as Brandywine or Black Krim). Mortgage lifter tomatoes are a wonderful all-around tomato for eating fresh. They lack the bitterness that can turn off some palettes but are not overwhelmingly sweet either. While the taste is subtle, Mortgage Lifter is often named among the best-tasting types of tomatoes.
Mortgage Lifter tomatoes have inherited some of their sweet taste from their parent varieties. Mortgage Lifter tomatoes were bred from German Johnson tomatoes.
Other similar large pink heirloom tomatoes to try to include Brandywine tomatoes, Pink Ponderosa, and Anna Russian (heart-shaped).
https://www.homefortheharvest.com/mortgage-lifter-tomato/
Beautiful morning here. I’m watching a mama wren come & go, feeding her nest full of babies, while I enjoy my coffee.
The wren built her nest in the corner of a box holding ratchet straps that is sitting on a table on the front porch. When I first discovered the nest, I checked for eggs & there were 5 so the nest area is off limits until the babies fledge. Usually the wrens build nests in hanging flower pots on the porch, but the pots currently don’t have anything in them so the box was chosen.
Beautiful weather, high about 70, until late afternoon when we might get some showers. The goals today are to mow the place & load the trailer before I head for the new house Monday. Tomorrow being Mother’s Day, I will probably make a meal for mom & stick around so she’s not alone - rest of the family expected to be out of town. Shrimp scampi or chicken marbella (both Ina Garten recipes)?
Have a great weekend everybody.
Puppy Update:
Taylor had pups on Thursday. The first was stillborn, then she popped out three more, about 30 minutes apart. Then, she stopped! She was still HUGELY pregnant, and we knew there were more puppies inside of her.
Taylor is a Treeing Walker Coon Hound, UKC Registered, as is the sire. So other than us loving Taylor dearly (I raised her in the 2017 litter of seven), she is Beau’s best Bear Dog and these pups will be pretty valuable once trained up.
Beau took her to the Vet late in the day on Thursday. She ended up having emergency surgery, C-Section, and four more pups were delivered. Turns out TWO of them were trying to come out at the same time, with two more behind - if was a Four Puppy Pile Up!
So, while Beau was with Taylor in surgery, I had the three little ones in the house with me, staying warm in a box with each other and lots of towels and a heating pad beneath for extra warmth. They required feeding every 1-2 hours, so we had an eye dropper and UniMilk, which we almost always have on hand, and Beau and I tag-teamed feeding them all night. Luckily, Taylor had already nursed them, so they got the most important Colostrum from Mama to get started right.
Beau was able to pick up Taylor the next morning, and Mother and Puppies were all reunited by Noon. She is being a very good Mama Dog, though one of the four that was taken by C-Section is not thriving; the Vet told us to expect that.
So, we’ll probably end up with six out of an initial litter of eight, which is absolutely normal when it comes to larger litters.
We got some sleep last night, and Puppies and Mama are still doing fine, as of a while ago. I will check on them throughout the morning. Beau and Bella Coola and Paiute (Plott Hounds) are off to a United Kennel Club Water Race, so Life Goes On! ‘Coola’ is our best swimmer, so I’m hoping for a big trophy for him today, though Paiute is a good contender, too! ;)
I just found Ina’s cookbook ‘Cooking for Jeffrey’ for a few bucks at my thrift store. Was THRILLED that someone would part with it! :)
Your Wren story reminded me that Mom used to have a huge (like half the room!) cage with various Finches in it. They were fun to watch and man were they fertile! I found their chirping soothing.
We are having a bunch of people over for Mother’s Day tomorrow, so today I am cleaning and making Maple Burgers for the grill and a Rhubarb Custard Pie. Mom is bringing TWO kinds of Potato Salad because ONE is just not enough, LOL! (She makes GREAT Potato Salad) It’s supposed to hit 80 here tomorrow - rain late in the day - which is a pleasant surprise as they predicted a rainy day earlier in the week. :)
Mowing got done yesterday and Beau has been working on repairs to some of the first raised beds which have held up for close to 14 years, but need some help now. I have strawberry plants to move around in the same bed, and a number of ‘Cats Eye’ Mini Iris to share with my local friends, that needed dividing, anyway. ;)
The BEST part of Summer! :)
Now I’m ‘excited’ .... I will have to keep an eye out for her cookbooks at Goodwill/thrift store. My SIL works for a caterer & they use Ina Garten recipes all the time. I would love to have some of her cookbooks, but it would have to be at Goodwill prices ($3 for hardcover).
When you get fresh corn, try her fresh corn with basil recipe .... soooo good. I made it when an aunt/uncle were visiting and I thought he was going to bury his face in the serving bowl and eat 2nds, 3rds & 4ths that way ... he LOVED the stuff ... it was almost funny.
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/fresh-corn-salad
A bigger pot might be achievable.
I do thank you for all the advise!
It would have struck me as pitiful to say so a few years ago, but I’m amazed at how taken I am with plants and the birds that hang out at our birdhouse now. A nice realignment of priotities.
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