Onions 2......Freezing weather.........21-0-0

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

Welcome back.

First photo is my multipler onion bed as of Feb 6th, 12. The second is a close up... freezing temps certainly don't hurt them.

Not much tastes better when the outside temps are having trouble deciding if it is winter or summer.

But they are already trying to bloom ( third photo ) and I can't change that. Kristi


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Hutto, TX

podster........where can I purchase multipler onions in Texas?.......

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

I'm sorry, I don't know where you can find them. I bought my first batch from our local feed store years ago.

Last year, I got a start of another type from a man in Houston. He called his gumbo onions.

I plant them anytime from late summer up through October.

In the past I have left them in ground in a perennial bed. They do not grow large bulbs. Probably quarter to fifty cent piece size but are tasty.

If you will help me remember, when I harvest these this summer, I will gladly share a start with you.

Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a)

Seems like Lowes had some multiplier onions here... the ones in bags... may not be at all the Lowes and I DONT know if they are viable bulbs, so check

Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a)

my grandfather called all runnin onions 'shallots', and had them fresh with his scrambled eggs (and pork brains when we killed a good hog)

Irving, TX(Zone 8a)

check ebay under: egyptian walking onions
I just bought some ... I am curios

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

First photo ~ The Egyptian walking onion is a different onion albeit an interesting one.

Second photo ~ It sets bulbs on the top of the stalk which then bends to the ground takes root and 'walks'.

Third photo ~ The multiplier or potato onion produces clumps of onions under ground. This clump was about a foot across.

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Irving, TX(Zone 8a)

I guess I dunno much about onions ..
I am planting them for the first time this year ... my friend forced me to do it.
i am very fascinated by the walking onions ...

Irving, TX(Zone 8a)

oh nooooooo
I am going to become an "OAA onion adicted anomimus" ....
That's my problem ... I want to try everything ....

Alba, TX(Zone 8a)

I got mine from Southern Exposure.

Good to see you back, texasrockgarden! Looks like a really good harvest last year. Mine came out well, too! Must have been a good year for onion.

Hutto, TX

TX_gardener........Thank you mucho

Brady, TX(Zone 8a)

Yur welcome ... hate that I have to wait til fall for bubs

Irving, TX(Zone 8a)

what will happen if I plant now the POTATO ONION bulbs?

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

I'm certainly not an expert but am sure they will be fine.
It may not grow as large a clump of onions as it has a shorter time to develop them.
The ones I have will die down by June and can be dug or allowed to lay dormant till fall begins.

Irving, TX(Zone 8a)

Thanks.
So I plant them now. They will dye in the summer ... but I dunno worry, right?

SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a)

LOL!!!

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

Quote from drthor :
Thanks.
So I plant them now. They will dye in the summer ... but I dunno worry, right?


Only the foliage dies down in summer. If you leave them in a perennial bed ( potato onion or multiplier onion ) they will lie dormant like your daffodils. At the right time, they will sprout next Oct. and start developing again.

Or you could dig the bulbs that had formed and eat or replant them.



This message was edited Feb 17, 2012 7:58 PM

Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

My onions are much stronger and are going to be ready to pull earlier than last year. The mildness of the winter has something to do with that I'm sure. A few of the plants are starting to break over, which I've heard is an indication that they are close to maturity. Most of the yellow and white onions are at least the size of the ones in the photos below. Some of the red onions are a bit larger, but I forgot to get a picture of those.

David

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Canyon Lake, TX(Zone 8b)

Nice onions. Have you started cutting back on water?

About the size I am growing, baseball size. No softball size ones for me this year though. I let onion thrips get ahead of me this year so the green tops suffered. Actually the small ones are good for the kinds of salads I eat, a cucumber slice, a thin onion slice, a tomato slice and a Jalapeno slice stacked one on top of the other and drizzled with olive oil and vinager....and that's a bite.

Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

I pulled about two-thirds of my onions today. I left everything that still had a firm neck and harvested anything that was breaking over. The photo is a mix of Southern Belle Red, Red Cajun, Yellow Granex, Texas 1015Y, and Texas Early White. The Early Whites are a little smaller than advertised, but everything else is pretty well as expected. The Southern Belle Reds and the Yellow Granex are the biggest. The Red Cajun are probably the smallest.

David

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SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a)

Nice haul!

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

Excellent crop David!

I dug the gumbo onions today. They are a smaller onion but tasty. They are on trays in the GH drying righ now.

I'm hoping to dig the rest of the multiplier bed by the weekend so I can plant other things in it. It is a raised bed which I put rotting wood as the base layer. The roots from the onions had reached deep into the wood and I pulled up chunks of it with the clumps of onions. We've not had measurable rain from almost a month and the wood was still damp. Interesting! Kristi

Alba, TX(Zone 8a)

That is interesting. I have rotting wood...what type of wood was it if I may ask. I have some fallen oaks in the back of the pasture. We have a lot of it ready to stack for firewood, but some of the branches were already rotting. It would be nice to do something with them.

Deep East Texas, TX(Zone 8a)

Terri ~ I used rotting pine limbs as a base in this raised bed. I also have a pit bed and started with rotten hardwood branches ~ small and large. Last year even as dry as it was, the tomato plant roots had reached down and grew throughout the wood. It really appears to work. If you are interested, you might do an internet search for Hugelkultur. I think there are only a couple types of wood that aren't recommended for use.

Right now, I have an old pile of firewood that needs to be bedded and planted... lol

Canyon Lake, TX(Zone 8b)

David, those are nice onions. You have the magic.

I was pleased with Southern Belle (red) I planted last year. This year I was disappointed with Red Creole..too small. My Texas Early White and 1015Y did OK. Next year for me it will be Texas Early White, 1015Y and back to Southern Belle.

The Texas Early White is advertised as a long keeper. We shall see.

Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

I had 1015s and Southern Belle Reds last until Christmas. That is much longer than advertised for both. Hopefully the whites will last even longer. I will do a taste test for all five varieties I have once they have cured.

Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

TRock,

Saw your posting on FB to Dixondale. I asked a similar question, but got no response either. I guess we will learn by experience if we should have pulled the final onions once wet. I could have pulled all mine yesterday, before we got rain last night. Now they are very wet, and going to get wetter with more rain today. Hopefully they are still growing and the moisture doesn't cause rot!

David

Hutto, TX

David very impressive crop of onions. I picked most of my onions this past weekend. My crop was OK, but not like years past. I will pick the rest maybe tonight.........if it's not raining. Speaking of rain David, how much did you get last night. I got maybe 1/2 inch.

Also what is the best way to cure my onions. In years past I have let them sit on my patio in the shade for a week or so. When should I cut the stems. This year I plan to take my onion harvest to the Hog Farm in Marble Falls. I think I mentioned we discovered a root cellar. What is the best way to store them in the root cellar?

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Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

Hornstrider,

The way you have your onions pictured is how I lay mine to cure. I leave the tops on until they are completely dry, then I cut with scissors. I store the onions in large mesh bags (laundry bags) and hang them in the garage. Hanging in your root cellar would be even better. It should be cooler than my garage is for most of the summer. Maybe someone with more experience than me will comment on their storage methods.

We got about 1/2" of rain here, too. For all the wind and lightning, there wasn't that much water. I did have enough wind that I had to straighten tomato cages this morning. Only one, one an edge of the garden, was blown completely over.

David

Hutto, TX

David.........The wind was fierce. I think all of my tomato plants survived in tact. Thanks for the advice.

Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

TRock,

I got a Facebook reply from Dixondale. They said that it wasn't a big deal if the onions get wet before harvest, and that we should just keep pulling them as the tops fall over. My garden is just wet enough to be messy, so I am going to wait until it dries a little before I pull any more onions.

David

Canyon Lake, TX(Zone 8b)

A couple shots of 1/2 my onion crop. No more Red Creole for me. Back to Hybrid Southern Belle Red.

When the stems are dry and crisp using scissors I cut them off about an inch or more away from the onion. They are then stored on baby bed springs suspended from floor joists under my log cabin. The cabin is built on pier and beams skirted with vertically placed logs. The environment under the cabin stays cool and dry in summer.

Last year the onions started sprouting last week November and by second or third week December all remaining (about 10 - 20) had pretty much sprouted.

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Phoenix, AZ(Zone 9b)

tex.....are these all for home consumption or do you sell to market? Looking very good!

Canyon Lake, TX(Zone 8b)

Mary, mine are for my use only. One a day for six months will consume 3 bunches (what I buy) of 60 onion transplants. This year My three bunches consisted of many very small plants that I went ahead and planted for a total of 287 plants. About 80 to 85 % made onions so I will have extras to share with a couple neighbors who appreciate home grown veggies.

Hutto, TX(Zone 8b)

In my experience, Dixondale is pretty generous with their "60" onion bundles. The Yellow Granex had about 75 plants in the bundle, all the others had even more. I would guess that the 1015Y bundles had close to a hundred each. A few of the smallest plants didn't make it, but I have a good number of onions from 6 bundles. I will get a final count when I trim the leaves and sort into bags. I'm guessing I have well over 500 onions that made it through the season. I share mine with neighbors and family, too.

Phoenix, AZ(Zone 9b)

I could not plant all the ones I got from Dixondale, gave away most of them but that friend is suffering some serious fungal problems in her beds and I think she lost most of the onions and tomatoes.

So - - - by 'tops fall over', do we mean one or two stalks has bent over or all of the stalks need to bend before harvesting? I've a couple of onions that are poked pretty far out of the soil but the stalks are 'standing tall' still. I have so few that I really don't want to sacrifice any to a premature harvest. Thanks for any help. No time to get a picture this morning, gotta run. Maybe this afternoon.

Alba, TX(Zone 8a)

trg, thanks for the tip re: Hybrid Southern Belle Red. I've tried the Red Creole twice now thinking that as I am close enough to the LA state line I would have success with them. They've disappointed me twice and I was thinking I just couldn't grow a red onion in my area. I'll place my order early this fall and include Hybrid Southern Belle Red. I've had real good luck with several other varieties from Dixondale. The onion patch is definitely an area that I am expanding as it is working out so well for me! Also thanks for the tip for the box springs. I've been storing mine in laundry baskets, which work fine, until you get to the bottom layer. I was trying to think of a way to store all my onions in just one or two layers. Or learn to braid them and hang them along the panty shelves. Gardening is such fun! Always something new to learn. =)

Hutto, TX

dreaves...........I have purchased my onions from Dixondale Farms for a number of years. I have been very please with their product until this year. I ordered my onions early, and when it was time for me to plant they had not shipped my onions. I called them, and they said they could not get into their fields to harvest due to the heavy rainfalls. I said I needed to plant so they shipped what the had ready. The onions were small, and puny looking, and I planted anyway. After a couple of weeks the onions still looked puny so I pulled them, and purchased new onions from the Natural Gardener in Austin. Their onions were of much better quality. I really can't blame Dixondale since they were being flooded, but I will probably purchase from The Natural Gardener going forward. At least I can see what I am buying, and the prices are about the same.

SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a)

Horn,
What Zone is Hutto? I'm in Zone 9a, and Dixondale won't ship onions to me before late November.

With our mild winters, I think I could plant at least by mid-November, if I had the plants. What do you think?

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