Onions in garden

b54red · January 18, 2014

I just got through setting out between 80 and 100 onion seedlings into the garden today. They are all Bermudas which are the only onion I have found that grows good here and also is a decent keeper. Vidalia types do great here but they don't keep well at all. I love good red onions but after trying about a half dozen different ones with little or no luck I have just decided to stick with the Bermudas from now on.

I start my seed in DE in a medium size flower pot in October. Once they come up I try to give them a little mild fertilizer every week or so until they get larger and then I give them a full strength dose once they get 8 to 10 inches tall. With over a 100 plants growing in the single pot you have to keep them watered and fertilized well in order to get decent sized seedlings to set out. Around two weeks before I am going to set them out I clip the tops back so they are between 4 and 5 inches tall then fertilize them well. I let the DE dry out pretty good the last few days so they will separate easily. The shorter clipped plants are much easier to handle when setting them out and much easier to set in an upright position. As I am planting them I drag a bag of pine bark fines behind me and mulch them well as soon as I get them planted. I then water them well and give them a dose of Miracle Grow or some other liquid fertilizer within a few days of planting.

Bill

January 18, 2014	#1
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Onions in garden I just got through setting out between 80 and 100 onion seedlings into the garden today. They are all Bermudas which are the only onion I have found that grows good here and also is a decent keeper. Vidalia types do great here but they don't keep well at all. I love good red onions but after trying about a half dozen different ones with little or no luck I have just decided to stick with the Bermudas from now on. I start my seed in DE in a medium size flower pot in October. Once they come up I try to give them a little mild fertilizer every week or so until they get larger and then I give them a full strength dose once they get 8 to 10 inches tall. With over a 100 plants growing in the single pot you have to keep them watered and fertilized well in order to get decent sized seedlings to set out. Around two weeks before I am going to set them out I clip the tops back so they are between 4 and 5 inches tall then fertilize them well. I let the DE dry out pretty good the last few days so they will separate easily. The shorter clipped plants are much easier to handle when setting them out and much easier to set in an upright position. As I am planting them I drag a bag of pine bark fines behind me and mulch them well as soon as I get them planted. I then water them well and give them a dose of Miracle Grow or some other liquid fertilizer within a few days of planting. Bill