[bo]

.  Wow, I am impressed most of you folks start your seeds.

I am a bit lame in that arena still.  Other than stuff that sprouts in place, I buy plants at the local greenhouse.  Maybe because my garden tends on the small side, and I cannot use a whole packet of certain seeds.  Like, I might plant one sungold cherry tomato, a couple of brandywine, 4 poblano and 4 jalapeno, etc.  I guess the greenhouse has a good selection, but probably more $pendy.

I have been screening and packing compost.  Trimmed back the raspberries, planted some spinach, lettuce and cilantro.  Garlic just came up this week.


So onions.  I want to get onions right this year, and be able to stick a bunch away for use all winter.
My success with them in the past has been spotty, which seems odd to me because they seem simple enough.
I start with the little bulbs; is that what most of you do?  Most come up, but a lot went to flower right off the bat last year, which looks cool but does not make a large, storable onion.  Any thoughts on that?

for storage purposes it's a good idea to start onions from seed. They store better than way and are less likely to bolt on you.

Don't you have to start seeds in the summer for sets to be ready the following spring? I know there's something strange about growing onions from seeds and that's why most people don't do it.

[pinnah]

The only onions I have grown from seed are the little green onions.
I bet they do take a long time.

I did get some wallawalla starts last year, and they worked great.
It was the little dormant bulbs (red and yellow) that many sent up a flower.


Nice expansion Euge!  Those words are wishful music to my ears "getting soil delivered".  Dreamy.
You going to just smother that grass?

Rhubarb.  Definitely my favorite edible landscape plant.  Where else can you get tropical sized leaves like that?  Awesome.

[phillamb168]

I did not know this, but apparently Swiss Chard and Rhubarb are relatives! Except while you eat the leaves on chard, the leaves on rhubarb are toxic. The more you know.

[morticaixavier]

I did not know this, but apparently Swiss Chard and Rhubarb are relatives! Except while you eat the leaves on chard, the leaves on rhubarb are toxic. The more you know.

and they are both a type of beet.

**EDIT**

and as I discovered, in some places chard is perennial. I've been fighting with giant three foot chard plants that the prior resident of my house let go wild all over the lawn.

[Slowbrew]

I no longer have place for a garden but back when I did I'd plan my onions very shallow and cover them in a thick layer of grass clippings.  We have very heavy soil and it doesn't work well for bulbs, tubers or anything harvested from under ground.  By the end of the growing season the onions were all above ground but under 5-6" of grass clippings.  Worked great for many years.

Paul

[morticaixavier]

I no longer have place for a garden but back when I did I'd plan my onions very shallow and cover them in a thick layer of grass clippings.  We have very heavy soil and it doesn't work well for bulbs, tubers or anything harvested from under ground.  By the end of the growing season the onions were all above ground but under 5-6" of grass clippings.  Worked great for many years.

Paul

My mother in law was telling me that this is how she used to do potatoes. in hay or straw.

[bluesman]

Need to get some dirt delivered tomorrow or by Sunday the latest! Also, I need to set up some sort of drip system.

Looking good so far euge. 

Are you planning to mix any organic materials into the soil. I am building a new compost bin in the coming weeks. I want to compost my spent grains and grass clippings for use on the garden.

[morticaixavier]

Don't you have to start seeds in the summer for sets to be ready the following spring? I know there's something strange about growing onions from seeds and that's why most people don't do it.

You can start onion seeds indoors in early spring and plant the sets but no, they don't have to overwinter or anything. You do have to select your varieties correctly as they require varying day lengths to set bulbs. It is easier to plant sets because you don't have to thin and you don't have to start quite as early.

[bo]

Don't you have to start seeds in the summer for sets to be ready the following spring? I know there's something strange about growing onions from seeds and that's why most people don't do it.

You can start onion seeds indoors in early spring and plant the sets but no, they don't have to overwinter or anything. You do have to select your varieties correctly as they require varying day lengths to set bulbs. It is easier to plant sets because you don't have to thin and you don't have to start quite as early.

Any idea how long it takes, indoors, to get seeds to sets? Something like a yellow onion.

[morticaixavier]

Don't you have to start seeds in the summer for sets to be ready the following spring? I know there's something strange about growing onions from seeds and that's why most people don't do it.

You can start onion seeds indoors in early spring and plant the sets but no, they don't have to overwinter or anything. You do have to select your varieties correctly as they require varying day lengths to set bulbs. It is easier to plant sets because you don't have to thin and you don't have to start quite as early.

Any idea how long it takes, indoors, to get seeds to sets? Something like a yellow onion.

don't know how long it would take, but you can start your seeds indoors 4 weeks before last frost. If you want to grow sets for the next year you can transplant them outside after frost danger and basically harvest as you normally would but do it when the stalks are only about 8-10 inches high and the bulbs have just begun to swell. cure just like normal and store till next spring (cool dark airy place) or layer them in straw in late fall for early spring onions, if your climate allows.

[bo]

Don't you have to start seeds in the summer for sets to be ready the following spring? I know there's something strange about growing onions from seeds and that's why most people don't do it.

You can start onion seeds indoors in early spring and plant the sets but no, they don't have to overwinter or anything. You do have to select your varieties correctly as they require varying day lengths to set bulbs. It is easier to plant sets because you don't have to thin and you don't have to start quite as early.

Any idea how long it takes, indoors, to get seeds to sets? Something like a yellow onion.

don't know how long it would take, but you can start your seeds indoors 4 weeks before last frost. If you want to grow sets for the next year you can transplant them outside after frost danger and basically harvest as you normally would but do it when the stalks are only about 8-10 inches high and the bulbs have just begun to swell. cure just like normal and store till next spring (cool dark airy place) or layer them in straw in late fall for early spring onions, if your climate allows.

I gotta try this. Now I wonder if I can even buy seeds locally.

[denny]

I just asked my wife (the REAL gardener around here) about her schedule for starting onions from seeds.  She said it takes a couple months for them to be ready to set out, but they'll keep in the pot a long time.  She's planted sets started from seeds 6 months earlier.  Often she'll plant the seeds in the spring, but plant the sets from them in the fall to overwinter.

[euge]

This is where I got most of my onion info.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/onions/oniongro.html

I plan to spray some herbicide down to kill the grass, then turn it after a couple of days. Then the raised beds will be filled. I will lay mulch and perhaps gravel around the planters to keep the grass at bay. It will grow up the inside and is a real PITA to eradicate.

[morticaixavier]

This is where I got most of my onion info.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/onions/oniongro.html

I plan to spray some herbicide down to kill the grass, then turn it after a couple of days. Then the raised beds will be filled. I will lay mulch and perhaps gravel around the planters to keep the grass at bay. It will grow up the inside and is a real PITA to eradicate.

man, don't use herbicides! why spend the money to get healthy soil trucked in and then poison it? That stuff is bad for works, soil bacteria and therefore long term health of your soil. mulch with 6 or 8 inches of compost or even plastic or cardboard around the planters to keep the grass down. remember those grass roots, although annoying will break down and add structure to your soil!

[Hokerer]

This is where I got most of my onion info.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/onions/oniongro.html

I plan to spray some herbicide down to kill the grass, then turn it after a couple of days. Then the raised beds will be filled. I will lay mulch and perhaps gravel around the planters to keep the grass at bay. It will grow up the inside and is a real PITA to eradicate.

man, don't use herbicides! why spend the money to get healthy soil trucked in and then poison it? That stuff is bad for works, soil bacteria and therefore long term health of your soil. mulch with 6 or 8 inches of compost or even plastic or cardboard around the planters to keep the grass down. remember those grass roots, although annoying will break down and add structure to your soil!

+ a bazillion.  No need to spray, just cut it short and cover it with many many layers of old newspaper and put your fill on top.