How cold can little onions get?

I wanted to get a start on my garden and the store had onion plants and collards so I got some. The onions are "savannah sweet" and were little bulbs with some top on them. I planted them about a week ago.

The first cold night I covered them. I was remiss in watching the weather and it's supposed to be 23 tonight. Are they going to be OK? I was counting on being lucky and took all my stakes up that held the sheets and plastic off the plants, plus it's almost 2200 so there is no covering them now.

On another note, after I planted my collards this past sunday I went out for the day and when I got back they were already perky! It had been raining, for whatever that's worth. The onions pretty much looked like they did when I put them in until today. Today the tops on some of them looked like they were getting perky as well. Some of them still look the same.

Am I going to be replanting me some onions and collards next week? I hope not but I guess it's all a learning experiance.

We ate the collards and mustard greens from my garden for Christmas dinner and they grew back in time for New Year's Dinner. The Collards and mustards LOVE the cold weather (cole plants). We had temps dip down into the 30s (Zone 9a) and all they asked for was a windbreaker jacket! tee hee hee...

Keep in mind you're dipping a bit lower and then there's the consideration of how long your low temps last. Our dips usually are for about 1-3 hours toward the early morning. If your's isn't a sustained freeze (like 12-18 hours or lasting for several days) they should be fine.

Also, remember to water your collards before the temps start to dip. The plants don't dehydrate and the water actually keeps them from turning to mush once the temps dip.

I think the only reason you'd need to replante next week is cause you really LIKE greens!

Linda

I am not as worried about the collards as I am about the onions. Thanks for the reassurance though. I have heard that a frost makes them taste better so the other day I was worried we wouldn't get a frost. Now I am worried about my onions!

No, you won't be replanting the onions. They will survive just fine. Although the garden centers get them in this time of year, the onion sets can be planted even in late fall. What zone is Savannah in, by the way? Both collards and onions are colder weather crops you will be fine ~ but a watched pot will never boil ~ LOL You will get frustrated watching them daily, I suspect. pod

Hey Podster!

I still have onion plants I ordered several weeks ago. Is it too late to plant them now, or have I just lost my half of the order?

Put 'em in the ground girl! They will be fine. LOL

I think I just went through that same cold spell you're getting now and everything came through in fine shape. The onions never miss a beat in zone 8b. I started mine from seed in late August and successively through mid Nov. The earliest ones planted have huge tops and latest ones are just kind of sitting there. They will start growing as the days get longer.

I live in zone 9a. It looks like the made it through just fine. They dont' seem to be doing anything though, I guess it takes longer than a week. The collards look perky and I think they are starting to grow. Tommorrow I am going to take some pics.

I plant onions whenever. They just get bigger if I plant them on time. Still taste good smaller. I also start some seeds. I pull baby onions, green onions, spring onions and let what is left grow into real onions. Many people call this thinning, I call it planning? ;-)