It’s fun to experiment with different starts! I’ve had good success with Ailsa Craig. They’re huge! Last year I experimented and started seed in early Jan under a grow light. By the time it’s ready to plant they were a good size. I also bought the starts like I usually grew, and the onions from seed were actually better. So now i just start my own. Even though they aren’t supposed to store well, they usually don’t start sprouting until March, after a late August/early Sept harvest.
I’m so excited about the Ailsa Craigs this year. Last year I had soil issues with coco coir and threw them all out. Not this year with potting soil. Last year was my first year with onion plants and will never go back to sets. Absolutely loved the turnout.
@@dustyflats3832 Nice! I’ve had some that were 3 lbs! I space them 5-6” apart for the ones i want to get big. To store them, after cured and trimmed, I just keep them in a laundry basket with a dark towel over them in a shed/shop. It’s unheated but I’m in western WA zone 7b/8a so it doesn’t get super cold here.
I planted my wintersowed onions in bunches of 3-4 in a hole. I did that with beets too. I heard Charles Dowding plant in the same style. It’s my first time to plant in bunches so we’ll see. Hope it works! Zee- N. Cali zone10a
This year I wanted to try winter sowing onions, peppers and tomatoes to see if there was enough time for them to produce in my Z5a. I have some leeks and bunching onions, but I think I forgot a slicer type. The weather temps have been extreme and today I will put the rest out in jugs. Have many tender perennials to do as well. Last year was my first try at onions and was Very successful. I purchased from Dixondale, but this year I was quite successful with seed. Last week when it was so Hot outside I planted Spanish Sweet and Redwing. I have Blush, Patterson, Aisla Craig and Walla Walla to plant yet. Yes, we love our onions!😁. I have them all covered because we had 6” of snow Monday and the last 2 quite a bit of rain. I used Trifecta and normally I put bonemeal on. Will follow up with some nitrogen and stop fertilizing when bulbing starts June 20th for my zone. 😂😂I have a lot more to plant and experiment with. I am so eager to get the rest planted and celery as I need the greenhouse space. I’m waiting for grow bags to use in kiddie pool for celery. I think that system will get some prize winning celery and keep them well watered. So eager to get rolling and the weather has been a factor since January as we are now getting July and March weather together.😮. There is new garden that needs to be fenced and with our fairly new mower transmission our🙄I think the garden just got a lot bigger. Great tutorial on onions! Oh, the tree roots! I believe that is one of the issues of why my garden is so dry! The oaks and especially the cedars drink a lot. And we use a cattle panel to drape the onions on to dry that worked great!
I use to always do sets as that’s what my dad did. Last year was a huge happy experience with plants. I had very nice onions all winter and just now starting to run out and use frozen and dehydrated.😊
Thank you, Susan. Clear and concise teaching, as always. Last year, I experimented by planting my onion starts outside the perimeter of my veg garden fence. I knew the deer wouldn't bother them, and it freed up space to plant something else inside the fence. Well, it didn't work out. The onions were very small because we had a dry year, and there's no irrigation outside the fence. Live & learn! It's part of the fun of gardening.
I’m planning on starting some onion sets this weekend but it is May 18th. I hope that it’s not too late to plant? I’m pretty much the same growing zone as you!
Kudo’s to you Susan for handling those tiny starts. I start mine indoors and they are quite a bit bigger but still tedious. Love my onions and sharing the website for the regions confirmed my choices were the right ones for my long day onions.
Thank you Susan! Our sets arrived yesterday and we are zone 5b in New England. Your shared knowledge and teaching style are a tremendous support. Your two (solo) books and one (co authored one) are “on call” next to our grow lights in our home. Cannot thank you enough.
Thank you Susan. This was a helpful video as this is the first year growing onions. I'm on Cape Cod MA and starting mine from seed in early February and planted them out late March. So far so good. I planted Spanish white, Rossi Di Milano Red and New York Early yellow so hopefully out of the three varieties I will get something. Also I planted Japanese Negi Scallions so fingers crossed for some nice onions this year. I love your watering can. The one I have lets out big globs of water all at once. Do you have a link to the one you have? I would like one like that with a gentle steady stream. Thank you for sharing:)
So glad you enjoyed the video. The watering can came from Gardener's Supply, and it is made by Burgon & Ball, which is a highly-respected company. Here's a link to it on Gardener's Supply's website: www.gardeners.com/buy/long-reach-watering-can-medium/8613345.html.
Where would you place onions in your crop rotation? Often you see alliums placed after brassicas but I recently heard an expert say that this is a bad idea. This was because brassicas suppress mycorrhiza, something onions depend heavily on.
Hi, Katarina. I don't rotate my crops in a specific order. I just make sure that I don't grow my various crops in the same location... based on a 3-year rotation schedule. I did find information on Brassicas and how they don't form connections with mycorrhizal fungi, but it primarily referenced how Brassica cover crops can have that effect, which could be to the detriment of whatever is planted in the same bed afterwards. Thanks for bringing this up.
Yes they do! Just go to their website, spokengarden.com and look for the "shop" link. They also sell a larger one and both models come in very cool colors!
Didn't you redo that area and put down the thick black weed cover? Are you still getting some roots? I have a lot of roots in my garden from a giant pine cone tree. So far I can still grow things; but I wonder how much better the garden would be otherwise.
Hi Susan. I just had a hip replacement and I would love to have a kneeling chair/ bench like you used in this video.What do u call them, who sells them?
Hi, Michele. They are generally called garden kneelers and I got mine from Gardener's Supply. Here's a link to them: www.gardeners.com/buy/deep-seat-garden-kneeler/40-009.html. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Hi Susan. I am new to your channel and want to thank you for all the wonderful and educational content you put out. I have a question that may seem off topic. Hope you don’t mind. I just watched your crop rotation video. In the video I think you said we should replace our soil when using containers. Does that apply to only diseased planters? I have a lot of containers and that would get pretty expensive if I have to dispose of all that soil and start over each year. I’m going out now to purchase my onion sets. I can’t wait to get things planted! Have a blessed day.
Hi there. If you had any disease or insect issues in your containers, you definitely don't want to reuse the soil. But otherwise, you can reuse it. Just be sure to add in some nutrients to help the plants grow.
Can one plant onions in the NW around their property and have them grow back as a perennial if not harvested, or will they rot in the ground if not pulled after greens die? I know I have leeks and chives that come back every year but have not tried it with onions
It’s fun to experiment with different starts! I’ve had good success with Ailsa Craig. They’re huge! Last year I experimented and started seed in early Jan under a grow light. By the time it’s ready to plant they were a good size. I also bought the starts like I usually grew, and the onions from seed were actually better. So now i just start my own. Even though they aren’t supposed to store well, they usually don’t start sprouting until March, after a late August/early Sept harvest.
I’m so excited about the Ailsa Craigs this year. Last year I had soil issues with coco coir and threw them all out. Not this year with potting soil. Last year was my first year with onion plants and will never go back to sets. Absolutely loved the turnout.
@@dustyflats3832 Nice! I’ve had some that were 3 lbs! I space them 5-6” apart for the ones i want to get big. To store them, after cured and trimmed, I just keep them in a laundry basket with a dark towel over them in a shed/shop. It’s unheated but I’m in western WA zone 7b/8a so it doesn’t get super cold here.
Wow!
I planted my wintersowed onions in bunches of 3-4 in a hole. I did that with beets too. I heard Charles Dowding plant in the same style. It’s my first time to plant in bunches so we’ll see. Hope it works! Zee- N. Cali zone10a
Top merci à bientôt 🙏🙏🙏
I started some onions bia winter sow jug... I thought they were just too tiny, I didn't think I could do it. But now I'm gonna try!!
Great video
Thank you!
This year I wanted to try winter sowing onions, peppers and tomatoes to see if there was enough time for them to produce in my Z5a. I have some leeks and bunching onions, but I think I forgot a slicer type. The weather temps have been extreme and today I will put the rest out in jugs. Have many tender perennials to do as well.
Last year was my first try at onions and was Very successful. I purchased from Dixondale, but this year I was quite successful with seed. Last week when it was so Hot outside I planted Spanish Sweet and Redwing. I have Blush, Patterson, Aisla Craig and Walla Walla to plant yet. Yes, we love our onions!😁. I have them all covered because we had 6” of snow Monday and the last 2 quite a bit of rain. I used Trifecta and normally I put bonemeal on. Will follow up with some nitrogen and stop fertilizing when bulbing starts June 20th for my zone. 😂😂I have a lot more to plant and experiment with.
I am so eager to get the rest planted and celery as I need the greenhouse space. I’m waiting for grow bags to use in kiddie pool for celery. I think that system will get some prize winning celery and keep them well watered.
So eager to get rolling and the weather has been a factor since January as we are now getting July and March weather together.😮. There is new garden that needs to be fenced and with our fairly new mower transmission our🙄I think the garden just got a lot bigger.
Great tutorial on onions!
Oh, the tree roots! I believe that is one of the issues of why my garden is so dry! The oaks and especially the cedars drink a lot. And we use a cattle panel to drape the onions on to dry that worked great!
Happy gardening Susan. Onions from seed were so tiny. I always buy sets. Thanks for the explanation.
I use to always do sets as that’s what my dad did. Last year was a huge happy experience with plants. I had very nice onions all winter and just now starting to run out and use frozen and dehydrated.😊
But they do grow to full size! I will be doing updates throughout the season. Have a great day!
Thank you, Susan. Clear and concise teaching, as always. Last year, I experimented by planting my onion starts outside the perimeter of my veg garden fence. I knew the deer wouldn't bother them, and it freed up space to plant something else inside the fence. Well, it didn't work out. The onions were very small because we had a dry year, and there's no irrigation outside the fence. Live & learn! It's part of the fun of gardening.
Darn! Well, it was a good idea. And that's how we all become better gardeners, right?
I’m planning on starting some onion sets this weekend but it is May 18th. I hope that it’s not too late to plant? I’m pretty much the same growing zone as you!
I think you should be OK.
Kudo’s to you Susan for handling those tiny starts. I start mine indoors and they are quite a bit bigger but still tedious. Love my onions and sharing the website for the regions confirmed my choices were the right ones for my long day onions.
Thank you, Lucie! We had a very cold, challenging winter so my winter-sown seedlings were not as robust as usual.
Thank you Susan! Our sets arrived yesterday and we are zone 5b in New England. Your shared knowledge and teaching style are a tremendous support. Your two (solo) books and one (co authored one) are “on call” next to our grow lights in our home. Cannot thank you enough.
Hi, Michael. Thanks so much for your kind comments. I hope you have a great garden season!
Thank you Susan. This was a helpful video as this is the first year growing onions. I'm on Cape Cod MA and starting mine from seed in early February and planted them out late March. So far so good. I planted Spanish white, Rossi Di Milano Red and New York Early yellow so hopefully out of the three varieties I will get something. Also I planted Japanese Negi Scallions so fingers crossed for some nice onions this year. I love your watering can. The one I have lets out big globs of water all at once. Do you have a link to the one you have? I would like one like that with a gentle steady stream. Thank you for sharing:)
So glad you enjoyed the video. The watering can came from Gardener's Supply, and it is made by Burgon & Ball, which is a highly-respected company. Here's a link to it on Gardener's Supply's website: www.gardeners.com/buy/long-reach-watering-can-medium/8613345.html.
Where would you place onions in your crop rotation? Often you see alliums placed after brassicas but I recently heard an expert say that this is a bad idea. This was because brassicas suppress mycorrhiza, something onions depend heavily on.
Hi, Katarina. I don't rotate my crops in a specific order. I just make sure that I don't grow my various crops in the same location... based on a 3-year rotation schedule. I did find information on Brassicas and how they don't form connections with mycorrhizal fungi, but it primarily referenced how Brassica cover crops can have that effect, which could be to the detriment of whatever is planted in the same bed afterwards. Thanks for bringing this up.
I love that little dib tool you used to plant your Winter sown onions. Do they sell it?
Yes they do! Just go to their website, spokengarden.com and look for the "shop" link. They also sell a larger one and both models come in very cool colors!
@@SusansInTheGarden thank you!
Didn't you redo that area and put down the thick black weed cover? Are you still getting some roots? I have a lot of roots in my garden from a giant pine cone tree. So far I can still grow things; but I wonder how much better the garden would be otherwise.
We did and those tree roots are still persistent! Very frustrating.
Hi Susan. I just had a hip replacement and I would love to have a kneeling chair/ bench like you used in this video.What do u call them, who sells them?
Hi, Michele. They are generally called garden kneelers and I got mine from Gardener's Supply. Here's a link to them: www.gardeners.com/buy/deep-seat-garden-kneeler/40-009.html. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Hi Susan. I am new to your channel and want to thank you for all the wonderful and educational content you put out. I have a question that may seem off topic. Hope you don’t mind. I just watched your crop rotation video. In the video I think you said we should replace our soil when using containers. Does that apply to only diseased planters? I have a lot of containers and that would get pretty expensive if I have to dispose of all that soil and start over each year. I’m going out now to purchase my onion sets. I can’t wait to get things planted! Have a blessed day.
Hi there. If you had any disease or insect issues in your containers, you definitely don't want to reuse the soil. But otherwise, you can reuse it. Just be sure to add in some nutrients to help the plants grow.
@@SusansInTheGarden thank you for answering my question. I appreciate that! How should diseased soil be disposed of?
Can one plant onions in the NW around their property and have them grow back as a perennial if not harvested, or will they rot in the ground if not pulled after greens die? I know I have leeks and chives that come back every year but have not tried it with onions
They will rot in the ground but if you let them bloom, those seeds should fall to the soil and germinate for you.
Thank you for another informative video.
QUESTION:
I am wondering if you can plant spring crops like Lettuce or Pak Choi in between the garlic plant?
Yes, you can provided you have enough room in between the garlic plants.
@@SusansInTheGarden
That's wonderful. I have a small garden and now I can produce more good. Thank you.
Food.
Have you experienced young onion tips dying? I think it may have due to being too wet.
I haven't but it's either from the soil being too wet or too dry. That's frustrating.
Boy, the winter sown onions in the milk carton are tiny.
Yes, I’m curious if they will catch up.
Yes they are! We had a really challenging winter. I'm confident they will catch up!
@@SusansInTheGarden please keep update, really want to know the results. thank you.
@@banyuanhuacaobanyuancai That is the plan!