onions & snow

[yopper]

Having wind and snow this morning onions sticking up out of an inch of snow and more comming! They say snow is like fertilizer??? How is every ones garden doing?
YOPPER

[TomNJ]

Yeah I thought of you this morning when I heard the UP was getting some snow. The cold and wind is heading this way but no snow, thank goodness.

My garlic is a good 2-3 feet tall and the onions 1+ feet, all mulched and looking good. Tomato and pepper seedlings are standing by ready to go out, but I'm holding off until next Tuesday to let this cold spell pass. Just picked up 8 bales of spoiled hay for mulch and should have the whole garden in and covered next week. Then I'll be free to take off for a bit of vacation.

TomNJ

[tjg911]

my onions have not grown much since i put them out 4/12 at least they don't look like they did. i'm also concerned about my peas, they look pale green even a touch of yellow here and there. lettuce doing ok, beets and radishes are up and look ok. my garlic is doing great and was from day one.

i mention all this as i question whether the onions and peas are being effected by a lot of saw dust in the horse manure i added to the garden last fall? it sure looked like a lot more saw dust than manure but it was steaming from urine/saw dust.

my garlic bed was not amended with the manure so that makes me question the onions.

too much carbon (saw dust) can steal nitrogen from the soil to decompose the saw dust. this would result in pale/yellowish pea plants and small onion plants. it's been VERY dry and VERY hot all april and may. since 3/1 we have had just 8 EIGHT days that have been below normal temperatures and i'd bet all the other days have been above normal not normal temperature wise. 80's and 90's in the 1st week of april! add to the heat and lack of rain it's been very windy, not breezy windy. today we expect 40-50 mph winds. this is insane we never have such strong wind unless there's a huge storm.

really rotten weather so far.

[TomNJ]

Hi Tom,

I agree too much saw dust can rob nitrogen from the soil. You might want to give them a shot of nitrogen, such as urea from lawn fertilizer. I have been giving my onions and garlic a sprinkling of 29-0-4 every three weeks. Today will be their last dose.

TomNJ

[kath]

In PA, they call that an "onion snow", Yopper! We don't grow onions, but the rest of my garden is really happy-peas have set little pods, early potatoes have been hilled & mulched, spring planted spinach is ready, as is the spring lettuce, asparagus has been good for a few weeks, strawberries have started, 1st corn planting is about 18" tall, and celery is about 12". We have had amazingly good weather here so far this spring, BUT they're predicting temps in the 30's for the next 3 nights, and while I can bring my peppers into the greenhouse because they're in pots, the tomatoes were planted last week as they had outgrown their 18 oz. cups. Too many to cover, so I may be outside in the wee hours with a garden hose trying to keep them alive if it gets any colder than predicted!

[beeman]

Originally Posted by kath

the tomatoes were planted last week as they had outgrown their 18 oz. cups. Too many to cover, so I may be outside in the wee hours with a garden hose trying to keep them alive if it gets any colder than predicted!

You could try an old trick we've used in the past.
Cover the plants with newspaper! Usually there is no wind with a frost, so a draped sheet will do the trick.

[yopper]

Down to 24 last night only thing that looks bad is the napa cabbage more from the wind than the cold.The snow is gone and the sun is shining!! I like that [onion snow] saying Kath.Tig I agree with you and Tom NJ's thinking on the sawdust.I have had one mess of asparagus and jack frost got the rest. YOPPER

[kath]

Thanks for the newspaper tip, beeman-will try that tonight. Last night's low here was 43.8 instead of a predicted 39, but tonight and tomorrow they are calling for 32 in places a bit north and west of us ! The wind is still howling here today, so hopefully that will die down at a reasonable hour.
Yopper, glad to hear that most of your plants survived the snow unharmed-hopefully the sun will continue to shine and keep things warm!

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by TomNJ

Hi Tom,

I agree too much saw dust can rob nitrogen from the soil. You might want to give them a shot of nitrogen, such as urea from lawn fertilizer. I have been giving my onions and garlic a sprinkling of 29-0-4 every three weeks. Today will be their last dose.

TomNJ

tom i garden organically and won't use any chemicals. any suggestions that rae organic?

tom

[TomNJ]

I often use blood meal Tom, which is 13-0-0, but it will take a couple of weeks for it to begin breaking down. Since your plants are already pale and yellowish, I thought a faster dose might be in order.

Tom

[salix]

Tom, how about some alfalfa tea?

[tjg911]

what is alfalfa tea? i assume you soak alfalfa in water but where do i get it? how much to use with how much water? i assume water the plants with it vs spraying them?

[yopper]

Tom If you have a TSC store they should have alfalfa pellets in the feed dept. or any feed store.
YOPPER

[salix]

Tom, sorry this is so late. I don't really measure (even when I cook...), probably about 4 cups of alfalfa meal or pellets to 5 gallons of water. Heck, you could probably just spread a bit of alfalfa meal around and water it in. I get my alfalfa at the feed store.

[tjg911]

thanks there is a tsc i'll check it out.