Posted on 06/01/2025 5:48:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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For us with the frequent rains and heavy dews, you can add roots in water 3" down. Not good. Only my potted plants are doing well. Maybe I should have built raised beds, but God knows how I'd afford the good draining soil. Go dig sand over at the river, if I can get away with it, maybe.
Bump for morning. I know the bulbs you bought, but will look up info on the variety in the AM.
BUT - I still stand on my knowledge that the COLOR of the onion is based upon the the VARIETY of the onion; not how they’re grown.
Qiviut. Alfalfa makes a good fertilizer! Maybe I should look around here and see if I can find pelletized bag locally.
That’s true - but in all my years (decades!) of growing tomatoes, they seem to WELCOME rainwater over overhead watering from the hose or sprinkler.
I have no idea how they know the difference! :)
I’ve also found that I have MUCH better production and less disease issues in a ‘dry’ year when I am personally tending to my plants while Mother Nature is off doing other things and NOT raining on me. ;)
I’ll check into that.
I believe you, though I’ve never seen red onions in the store that had this little color. Makes me wonder what variety the commercial growers use, and why a different variety would be sold to home gardeners.
There are many varieties of onions.
Love all the gorgeous pictures. Have never seen so many cactus blooms. Sorry you are still dealing with ash! And you little ones have jobs! love it.
Commercial growers tend to put shelf-life and portability above all else. That’s why store-bought tomatoes, unless locally sourced, taste like cardboard for the most part. ;)
My favorite red onion (in my Zone 5a) variety is ‘Redwing.’ Nice size, great flavor and stores/keeps wonderfully.
“(105-120 Day) The longest-keeping red storage onion. Bulbs store nearly as well as Patterson Hybrid. The glossy, dark red, 3-4” globe-shaped onions are moderately pungent, very firm and have good skin retention. Tops grow upright and strong. Long-day.”
You also need to know which onions grow best in your zone:
Long-Day, Intermediate and Short-Day Onions Explained
https://www.tinygardenhabit.com/long-day-intermediate-and-short-day-onions-explained/
Who knew that growing a simple ONION could be so complicated! ;)
During the Jan. fires we had here in LA - I was right smack in the middle of the three largest fires, our particulate level got up to 368, normal for us is around 40. I went outside for a few minutes, came back in and had a bloody nose.
I saw this map last night of the spreading soot, ash and particulates from the Canadian fires and immediately thought of you:
That particular amarylis was given to me by a neighbor - I’d never seen an orange one before and was happy to add it to my collection.
Neighbor dropped off about 12 huge bulbs two years ago that she’d dug up from her yard and was going to toss in the green bin, but thought I might want them. Bulbs like that go for around $20-25 at our local nursery, so I was happy to get them. Also in the dump were a number of spider lily bulbs - none of them have flowered yet, just a lot of greenery so far.
The main tree in our house yard is a HUGE (and I mean you can see this thing from SPACE!) Maple tree. When she sheds her leaves in the fall, the first three rows of my garden beds are covered. I just let them break down over winter; they are a great soil amendment.
That tree is also home to all kinds of birds (two Oriole nests in there, this year) and she gives wonderful morning shade for working in the garden, but you’ve only got until about 11am to get everything done for the day. The garden is, ‘ All Sun Until Sunset’ from that point on. ;)
“...and also I stick it out of the upstairs window to do one of the trees that brushes the house!”
Pictures, or it didn’t happen, LOL! :)
Thanks. Sounds like short-day onions are the way to go around here.
“Alfalfa mildews/molds easily so it needs to be dry before baling.”
This past week they took the first cutting of Alfalfa on our farm. They wrapped it all for just that reason.
Molly Brown! I remember the movie (staring Debbie Reynolds) and the beginning was her as a baby, in a basket, riding the rapids in a big river! Not sure if that was true or not.
She was a passenger on the ‘Titanic’ and survived the sinking, though. Amazing life!
Ping to posts 89 & 90.
You’re getting to be our Onion Expert here. :)
As I’ve said, I don’t grow them very often as Wisconsin is a huge onion producer and they’re cheap for me all year round. Same with other root crops like carrots and potatoes.
The whole center of our state is Sandy Loam soil, thanks to the Glaciers and they grow root crops for the rest of America and export.
On, Wisconsin! :)
The week ahead:
Monday - HOT! Hitting 84 today
Tuesday - 81, 80% chance of rain (we could use some)
Wednesday - Lingering showers, back to 73
Thursday - 74, overcast, funeral for First Cousin, Scot :(
Friday - 75, 20% chance of rain
Saturday - 75
Sunday - 74, 30% chance of rain
Today’s goal is to get my Green Bean seeds in (’Saychelles’ Pole Bean) as well as some Scarlet Runner Beans for the Hummingbirds to enjoy. I watered the garden yesterday.
Eating from the Land, Garden, Pantry:
Hash Brown Casserole made with our own eggs. Pork Sausage from the neighbor’s hog. V8 Juice from last year’s canning. Applesauce from last years apples/canning. Life Is Good!
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hash-brown-egg-bake/#RecipeCard
My favorites for open pollinated so you can save the seeds and they’ll breed true, are Stuttgarter and Milano D’Rossa.
I’ve watched some you tubers on growing onions. These three guys cover three completely different growing zones. Migardener is Michigan, the Millennial Gardener is SC, and Epic Gardening is S. California. They all have made several videos each on growing onions.
My favorites are:
Migardener -
Most Gardeners Want BIG Onions, But Don’t Do THIS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFH36F9r18
Millennial Gardener: 6 Tips To Grow The BIGGEST Onions EVER!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f3lUsvIFn0&t=2s
Epic Gardening: My New Favorite Way To Grow BIG Onions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbuwWCpTXDY&t=3s
We were in your situation in NY. NYS has a tremendous agriculture and onions are a big crop in Central NY, so they were cheap and plentiful. NOT worth the garden space.
Here in NH, it’s another story so since they are more expensive and I have a MUCH bigger garden, it’s worth it to grow them.
This morning, a bit before 4 AM, our Border Collie, Mandy, insisted that she had to go outside. She went out and right back in, shaking her head and drooling up a storm. Yeah…Flower. Barb had to mix up a batch of treatment and the house still smells.
As Von Moltke the Elder once said, “No plan survives contact with the enemy!” It applies to skunks as well!
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