multi-planting onions

[b54red]

As to whether this technique will work on garlic, I would say not. Just a few weeds in the garlic can stunt it's size so I don't think it would like to compete with 2,3 or 4 full size garlic plants. I have grown garlic in clumps before to get seed stock and the resulting garlic heads have always been much smaller than the ones well spaced.

davespitzer, I always mulch my onions to cut down on the weeding and also to keep soil from splashing up on the stems and giving them diseases. I usually mulch with grass clippings that I saved in large garbage bags once they were dry and they worked great. I didn't save any this year so I am using very fine pine bark mulch. So far it is really helping but some weeds still come through. Besides helping with the weeds it will just provide more organic matter to till in later.

[fortyonenorth]

Originally Posted by davespitzer

As to the question of inputs, wouldn't each onion have more unshared space for root growth to the side of the cluster?

I think that makes sense, Dave.

[davespitzer]

I've got every extremity crossed, because I planted 72 2" soil blocks with 3 onion seeds each last week, 36 each of two varieties, and I transplanted a dozen clumps of scallions three weeks ago. If this works it'll be great. If it doesn't, well, I planted hundreds of transplants last fall, so I'll still have onions! But I hope it works! BTW the seeds have already sprouted, and they look good. I do love onions. Dave

[b54red]

So far mine are looking good but they are smaller than the ones I spaced out more but I also planted them a week later so we will see. I now wish I had done this with my Bermuda onions but I already had them out when I read about this technique. It sure is easier at planting time and a bit easier to keep them weeded and mulched.

[davespitzer]

I mowed my cover crop yesterday and the ground is almost dry enough to till, so I will plant out my multi-planted soil blocks of onions in about two weeks (at 5 weeks old). From what Eliot Coleman writes in his New Organic Gardner, there are compounds in green vegetation that inhibit seed germination. That's one reason why, he says, that transplants can be planted so soon after tilling cover crops, as opposed to direct seeding. So far the onions are doing well; most have three seedlings, and 70 of 72 sprouted (two look weak, though, which makes me wonder if something in those blocks inhibited them.) Hope this works! Dave

[fortyonenorth]

I planted a bunch of different onion varieties this year and it was interesting to see the different levels of germination. Of the roughly 8 types, the best germination and best looking seedlings were of Copra, from 2 year old seed. Next best was Red Long of Tropea, again from 2 year old seed.

Australian Brown and Yellow of Parma (both from new seed) had below average germination and weak looking seedlings. One variety, Red Baron hybrid, had virtually no germination - I even did a second sowing with the same results. The vendor checked their germination test records and confirmed that they got 90% +. They graciously provided another pack of seeds, but I haven't tried them yet.

[kath]

Copra also gave me the best seedlings and best germination along with Ailsa Craig Exhibition. New York Early and Red Wing were the next best, followed by Barletta, Rossa di Milano and Rossa Lunga de Tropea. I was really pleased with germination rates because most of the seed was from trades.

Each type was planted in rows in raised beds as well as in groups of 3 and 5 to see how each variety does with multi-planting. So far, they all look very happy with the balance of sun, clouds, rain and the temps we've had so far this month.

[fortyonenorth]

I forgot to add, the seeds I got from Marko look excellent - Belokranjka - or something close to that.

[b54red]

Since I was able to plant a few clusters of Bermudas at the end of the row of single plants, I can say that the single ones are about 20 to 40% larger than the onions in the groups. I still like this method because you actually end up with more onions but they tend to be smaller. I'll have to wait and see on my other varieties which have not matured yet.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by fortyonenorth

I planted a bunng to see the dich of different onion varieties this year and it was interestifferent levels of germination. Of the roughly 8 types, the best germination and best looking seedlings were of Copra, from 2 year old seed. Next best was Red Long of Tropea, again from 2 year old seed.

Australian Brown and Yellow of Parma (both from new seed) had below average germination and weak looking seedlings. One variety, Red Baron hybrid, had virtually no germination - I even did a second sowing with the same results. The vendor checked their germination test records and confirmed that they got 90% +. They graciously provided another pack of seeds, but I haven't tried them yet.

My Parma's also had low germination and weak seedlings, but I have some that are looking sort of good anyway. Red Baron's from seed that germinated fine last year totally failed this year. Redwing Hybrid from seed that did fantastic last year totally failed this year. Lilia onions from seed that also did great last year had low germination this year. Sweet Yellow Spanish and Candy Hybrids did very well.

[b54red]

Well I pulled up the Bermudas yesterday and the ones in the single row spaced about 6 inches apart were the largest I have ever grown with a couple being 6 wide. The ones planted in clusters were more like my Bermudas usually look between 2 and 4 inches. I will probably plant most of my Bermudas next year in clumps of 2 or 3. Clumps with more than that tended to have one or two very small onions in them.

[fortyonenorth]

Thanks for the update, B54. Most of my clumps of 5 seem to have "lost" one or two onions from each - not sure the reason. Still a long way to harvest here in the north.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by fortyonenorth

Thanks for the update, B54. Most of my clumps of 5 seem to have "lost" one or two onions from each - not sure the reason. Still a long way to harvest here in the north.

I think it is just going to work better if you keep the clumps to no more than three. I have noticed in the clumps of five that only two seem to do fairly good with one smaller one and two really small ones. I have also lost a few in the bigger clumps.

I like this technique for Bermudas and other smaller varieties but don't think it would work very well on larger onions like Vidalias. Since I like the smaller onions for their better keeping qualities I will be using this technique more next year but will not go over 3 to a clump.

[BradS]

Are you all growing for personal use or for sale? Do the very large onions have the same flavor as the smaller ones?

[davespitzer]

Originally Posted by BradS

Are you all growing for personal use or for sale? Do the very large onions have the same flavor as the smaller ones?

I'm doing both. I have a couple of hundred red torpedos planted as singles about 5" apart- they are doing great, with big bulbs developing. I also have a couple of Spanish-type yellow varieties going as multi-plantings which are also growing well, but they're too small to know how they'll turn out. I have scallions planted both as singles and as clumps of several plants, both doing well, and a very dense planting of shallots that seem to be doing OK (and they have almost no weeds). Overall I think that the singles are going to be larger and more symmetrical than the multi-plantings, but they're much harder to weed. As to flavor, it's the same either way.