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Deirdre's Garden Diary








                                                                   

                                                                     




Deirdre's
Garden Diary
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:: Onions ::
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:: 01.26.07 ::
Getting Started



Part of the onions went into the ground today.  I started with this double row. On the right are the White Granex scallions that I bought; there are 20 total in that row spaced almost two inches apart. On the right are some leftovers that Brian gave me from his onion bunches. There are four different kinds with 5 each of: Southern Bell Red - Contessa White - 1015 Yellow - White Bermuda.  I may use some of these for Chives and then possibly pull every other one as they grow so that some of them can get bigger.

I put in a third row of the Yellow Granex bulbing onions. These are spaced out more than the others with only ten in the row so that they can get bigger for slicing.

There were bluebonnets coming up in the raised beds but I couldn't bear to pull them out when I weeded.  They will finish flowering in the spring and then I can collect the seeds and pull the plants out to make more room for the onions as they get bigger.

I still have a lot more starts and bulbs to plant, but I was told to stagger out the planting times so that I could have onions ready for eating at different times and they wouldn't all be ready at once.  So in a couple of weeks or so I will put out some more and I will update the page as they grow.
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:: 01.14.07 ::
Starts
 
I bought onions for the garden! I have three different kinds.
A set of green onion scallions (bunching) and red and Yellow Granex onions.  It is funny to buy these because they are little miniature versions of the full grown vegetables, only they're kind of dried and shriveled.  Hard to tell from the photos, but they are tiny little bulbs.

 

 
This will be my first time to plant onions. I was going to plant them this weekend but the weather dropped below freezing and we had some freezing rain. So I will have to put them in the ground as soon as it clears up and the ground isn't so soggy. 

So far though I am on schedule. I swore I would get an early start this year instead of planting everything too late.   I will post more photos when they have been planted. 
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:: 06.20.06 ::
Umbels
I planted just a few scallion onions this year. Only three of them really made a stalk because I never did get around to fertilizing them...I sort of let them go and forgot about them. They put out these really pretty scapes and the umbels opened and dropped seed. I didn't collect the seeds; just let them fall to the ground. I also never dug the onions up so maybe they are still there?  Sad I know.  I should dig one up to see what it looks like. Maybe the seeds that dropped will grow next year...if I don't forget and pull them up thinking they are weeds!  Oh well, I will do it better next time...hopefully.

 




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Garden Index

Onions
Red Granex

Yellow Granex

White Granex

Southern Bell Red

Contessa White

White Bermuda

Texas Supersweet Grano1015Y


:: Water ::
Weekly, or more if needed.

:: Sun ::
Full Sun
:: Water & Soil ::
Sandy loam.
Well draining.

:: Location :: 
South - Row Beds

:: Propagation ::
2007 (from starts)

Spacing:
3/4" deep, 3" apart

Grow by seeds planted  in October/December or by transplants (starts) planted in
January/February to harvest full grown bulbs in May/July.

Trim foliage back on the bunching onions when planting and place bulbs so that they just peak out of the dirt. They can be used as green onions after becoming pencil size and after that at any time during the growing period listed above.

Onions have reached full maturity when stalks begin to weaken and fall over.

When ready, pull them from the ground and lay them out in the sun to dry for a few days.  when dry remove the tops and roots and store in a protected dry airy place, preferably away from sun and not touching.
:: Helpful Facts ::

*Regular fertilizing will give you larger bulbs. Fertilize soil before planting transplants and then again when plants have developed 5-6 leaves and every 2-3 weeks after that.

* Each leaf on an onion plant forms a ring in the onion. The more leaves it has the larger the onion.

* Keep grass and weeds around onions clear so they do not compete with the plants for nutrients. Hand pull the weeds so that the onion roots are not disturbed.

* Onions are biennials. They are harvested the first year but if left in the ground will go to seed in the second year...although sometimes, rarely, they can bolt sending up a tall hard stalk with a seed pod the first year.


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