Greetings I haven't posted for awhile as I went on an outrageous trip to the Amazon(pictures on Farmer Daves face book) beginning of April and have been catching up since. These rainy days do afford a little extra time to catch up with my garden friends. End of May and just planting my onions. Its cool and wet this year so my garden bed preparations are going slow. Last year I planted our early eater walla walla onions on 3-25-09 and our keeper onions on 4-15-09. Both keeper onions and early eaters were planted on 5-26 this year. No early onions this year. Our early onions are usually ready around June 21st, when our stored keeper onions are just getting finished. At our place onions are a real staple I like growing Walla Walla onions for early summer eating and Copra onions as a winter keeper. Onions add great flavor and good nutrition to our diet. They are rich in vitamin C, potassium, iron and dietary fiber. Onions have been linked to cancer prevention and lowering cholesterol levels. Here is how to plant onions: Amendments and Soil: Grow your onions in rich fertile soil. Give onions a little compost or manure after a month or so, and lots of water from the start. Culture: In late fall plant your onions in a flat in a green house or direct seed outside if you live in a place that only has light frosts. Onions develop quickly in the spring and mature in early summer. Summer solstice June 21st is usually when we start eating our onions. Start your onions in the green house between November and February and plant out in April or early May. We recommend the transplant method. Sow your seeds in flats nearly touching each other 1/4" deep they are easily to transplant even bare rooted. Harden off plants when they are 4"'s high before transplanting. Onions should be planted 4" apart in rows 8-10" apart. Water deeply 3 times a week onions thrive with lots of water and will grow large bulbs. Days to maturity are from the date of transplanting. Planting onion sets works for some people. I have found that onion sets often go to seed instead of bulbing up, especially the bigger ones. If you use sets use the smaller onion sets. Plant away and Have a great day! Farmer Dave Planting Onions ( photo / image / picture from Farmer_Dave's Garden ) Planting Onions ( photo / image / picture from Farmer_Dave's Garden )
