onions on the rack

yopper · August 17, 2010

Onions are about half the size they should be,tops about the size of my thumb and leaves dead. bent tops over last week and they came back up strait. SO today I pulled them and put them in the barn on the drying rack.Hope I can salvage a few of them.

YOPPER

eyolf · August 17, 2010

What variety did you grow?

I gave up on onions from sets and start seeds in February. My luck with onions has been pretty good after that.

barkeater · August 17, 2010

I only grow from seed too. I start mine the 3rd week of March and usually have huge bulbs of Candy and Mars.

eyolf · August 17, 2010

3rd week of March?

That would be risky here. I find that transplant losses drop to near zero with bigger transplants. I usually set them out about the 3rd week of April, dependent, mostly, on soil conditions...if the frost hasn't gone out yet, you're not good to go. They stand there and sulk for two weeks, then take off...

I haven't decided on an ultimate favorite variety. Copra is maybe on the list, but there are others. WE can usually keep onions in dry storage until we either run out (and start using the potato onions) or into early summer (9-10 months!) with the best storers. Candy didn't hold up as well as others.

FWIW, Stokes has the best selection in Onion seeds.

barkeater · August 18, 2010

I was surprised too the first time I tried it. The next year I started them a couple weeks earlier, plus more the 3rd week of March and made 3 staggered plantings from late April to late May, 10 days apart. The last ones planted did better with less loss than the others, even the smaller ones.

Any later than that is too late though. I forgot I had some Redwing seed that is supposed to store longer than Mars, and planted it the first week of April. They were pretty good size when I transplanted them in late May, but they never bulbed up.

This year I had some loss, about 10%, because of the unusually hot, dry weather at planting time.

Candy lasts into late January for me and Mars to March. I'll be planting Copia next year for a long storage onion. Glad to know it works well for you.

stargazer943 · August 18, 2010

I planted sets last year from Lowe's and they were little and didn't do much. Gonna try seeds this year too! Got some Texas grano in a trade so hope it works!

tjg911 · August 18, 2010

barkeater,

i start my seeds the 1st week in feburary because after several years of starting them on 2/22 i wanted the 2 extra weeks of growth before planting out about 4/15. remember onions bulb starting around the longest days of the year.

yopper,

i am surprised at this. yours is the 3rd thread on lousy onion results this season! did you see my post? pitiful!

yopper · August 20, 2010

YEH Tom I saw your post the price of onions in the stores will go up this yr. Looking at other web sites onions didn't do good for most from Main to Alabma this yr.I didn't have to get backhoe out to dig them this yr.ether!!!! Ya gotta have a bad yr. now and then to appeciate the good yrs. YOPPER

August 17, 2010	#1
yopper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: U.P. Michigan Posts: 91	onions on the rack Onions are about half the size they should be,tops about the size of my thumb and leaves dead. bent tops over last week and they came back up strait. SO today I pulled them and put them in the barn on the drying rack.Hope I can salvage a few of them. YOPPER

August 17, 2010	#2
eyolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central MN, USDA Zone 3 Posts: 294	What variety did you grow? I gave up on onions from sets and start seeds in February. My luck with onions has been pretty good after that. __________________ a day without fresh homegrown tomatoes is like... ...sigh

August 17, 2010	#4
eyolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central MN, USDA Zone 3 Posts: 294	3rd week of March? That would be risky here. I find that transplant losses drop to near zero with bigger transplants. I usually set them out about the 3rd week of April, dependent, mostly, on soil conditions...if the frost hasn't gone out yet, you're not good to go. They stand there and sulk for two weeks, then take off... I haven't decided on an ultimate favorite variety. Copra is maybe on the list, but there are others. WE can usually keep onions in dry storage until we either run out (and start using the potato onions) or into early summer (9-10 months!) with the best storers. Candy didn't hold up as well as others. FWIW, Stokes has the best selection in Onion seeds. __________________ a day without fresh homegrown tomatoes is like... ...sigh

August 18, 2010	#7
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	barkeater, i start my seeds the 1st week in feburary because after several years of starting them on 2/22 i wanted the 2 extra weeks of growth before planting out about 4/15. remember onions bulb starting around the longest days of the year. yopper, i am surprised at this. yours is the 3rd thread on lousy onion results this season! did you see my post? pitiful! __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

August 17, 2010	#3
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	I only grow from seed too. I start mine the 3rd week of March and usually have huge bulbs of Candy and Mars.

August 18, 2010	#6
stargazer943 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: East TX Posts: 12	I planted sets last year from Lowe's and they were little and didn't do much. Gonna try seeds this year too! Got some Texas grano in a trade so hope it works!

August 20, 2010	#8
yopper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: U.P. Michigan Posts: 91	YEH Tom I saw your post the price of onions in the stores will go up this yr. Looking at other web sites onions didn't do good for most from Main to Alabma this yr.I didn't have to get backhoe out to dig them this yr.ether!!!! Ya gotta have a bad yr. now and then to appeciate the good yrs. YOPPER