Garden out and doing great

[jinman]

I do mine from sets. ive heard that onions started from seed grow much larger and dry/store much better.

Our onions are actually from bulbs bought at Tractor Supply. We bought four bags of 80; one each of purple, white, yellow, and sweet yellow. From our experience this year, I would say that the sweet yellow are the best with the purple being next. One thing that is different with these bulbs is that they seem to sprout very quickly and then the stem going into the bulb is larger, easily 1" diameter on many onions. We also end up with lots of double onions too. I have never grown onions from seeds, but one day I would like to plant seeds in a cold frame with tomatoes and grow my own sets for both.

Does anyone else ever see onions grow with extra large tops?

 

[bp fick]

Our onions are actually from bulbs bought at Tractor Supply. We bought four bags of 80; one each of purple, white, yellow, and sweet yellow. From our experience this year, I would say that the sweet yellow are the best with the purple being next. One thing that is different with these bulbs is that they seem to sprout very quickly and then the stem going into the bulb is larger, easily 1" diameter on many onions. We also end up with lots of double onions too. I have never grown onions from seeds, but one day I would like to plant seeds in a cold frame with tomatoes and grow my own sets for both.

Does anyone else ever see onions grow with extra large tops?

Yes, it is often a sign, for us anyhow, of an onion over maturing or about to bolt. Your varieties are short day? Ours are long day. We plant the seed indoors 90 days for last frost. At 30 days before last frost, we put them in the ground, in bunches, just the way they come out of the cells, trying not to disturb them too much. They harden off during those 30 days and grow their little bulbs a bit. But they are teeny.

Then as the ground warms a bit, we transplant them. They'll take almost another 100 days to finish. Yes, that is almost 6 months, but that is what it takes up here. Love your variety, Jim.

Here's a photo from last year. This years are still tiny. Fingers crossed.

 

[jinman]

I have to brag about another buy I made a couple of days ago. I needed some mesh bags for my onions and we have been tossing most every mesh bag we get away. Actually, it's getting hard to find mesh bags. I think most places use reinforced and perforated plastic bags. I've been lucky to find an orange bag that I can use, but the others seem to be pretty flimsy and just barely hold up until you get them home. However, in the future I'll keep my eyes peeled for good bags to keep. But, I digress. I asked in Walmart about laundry washbags and a store associate pointed out where they were located near the ironing boards and other similar products. They had lots of the mesh bags in various sizes, but the one that caught my eye was a 15" x 18" bag they called a lingerie bag. They were only $0.97 each, well made nylon mesh with a zipper and a loop for hanging or carrying. The next size up was 23" x 30" and about $3; too big and too expensive.

I bought three of the bags and will surely buy more the next time I'm in the store. I checked Amazon and did a Google search for laundry bags and most of them this size are $3.50 to $5 each. Some were almost $10. I don't know if Walmart's price is a fluke, but I checked my receipt to be sure I was charged only $0.97 and that is exactly what they rang up at checkout. If anyone wants some great little bags that can be re-used year after year, I recommend these bags.

 

[ericrm2005]

I have to brag about another buy I made a couple of days ago. I needed some mesh bags for my onions and we have been tossing most every mesh bag we get away. Actually, it's getting hard to find mesh bags. I think most places use reinforced and perforated plastic bags. I've been lucky to find an orange bag that I can use, but the others seem to be pretty flimsy and just barely hold up until you get them home. However, in the future I'll keep my eyes peeled for good bags to keep. But, I digress. I asked in Walmart about laundry washbags and a store associate pointed out where they were located near the ironing boards and other similar products. They had lots of the mesh bags in various sizes, but the one that caught my eye was a 15" x 18" bag they called a lingerie bag. They were only $0.97 each, well made nylon mesh with a zipper and a loop for hanging or carrying. The next size up was 23" x 30" and about $3; too big and too expensive.

I bought three of the bags and will surely buy more the next time I'm in the store. I checked Amazon and did a Google search for laundry bags and most of them this size are $3.50 to $5 each. Some were almost $10. I don't know if Walmart's price is a fluke, but I checked my receipt to be sure I was charged only $0.97 and that is exactly what they rang up at checkout. If anyone wants some great little bags that can be re-used year after year, I recommend these bags.

How do you get your onions so clean of dirt and the like after picking? Do you hose them off before drying or peal a layer of skin off before the drying process. I have always thought about hosing them off before drying to make them more appealing for storage but im afraid this might not be beneficial.

 

[jinman]

How do you get your onions so clean of dirt and the like after picking? Do you hose them off before drying or peal a layer of skin off before the drying process. I have always thought about hosing them off before drying to make them more appealing for storage but im afraid this might not be beneficial.

I let the onions dry for a day in the garden and when we loaded them into buckets lots of the dry sandy soil just fell off. Then, as my wife cut off the tops and roots, she just rubbed the onions and the remainder of the dirt came off. We specifically did not wash them because we've read that will make them more likely to rot. We just dryed them for about a week in the outside air and now have them inside where it is much cooler. I'm thinking of putting them in a basement closet where they will be cool and almost no light. If they start to go bad, I will pickle them or chop and freeze them. I love pickled onions, but they make my breath toxic.:laughing:

 

[ericrm2005]

I let the onions dry for a day in the garden and when we loaded them into buckets lots of the dry sandy soil just fell off. Then, as my wife cut off the tops and roots, she just rubbed the onions and the remainder of the dirt came off. We specifically did not wash them because we've read that will make them more likely to rot. We just dryed them for about a week in the outside air and now have them inside where it is much cooler. I'm thinking of putting them in a basement closet where they will be cool and almost no light. If they start to go bad, I will pickle them or chop and freeze them. I love pickled onions, but they make my breath toxic.:laughing:

I guess it likely has a good amount to do with the type of soil. My soil is not the least bit sandy. I guess a little dirt wont hurt anything as long as I properly dry them. Usually I run out of onions long before they start to rot, so I should be good.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Anyone with experience with yellow pear tomatoes?
Shown here mixxed in with romas and a couple of potatoes I dug out to check thier progress this evening:

We've never tried the yellow pears before. Basicly they're doing good, but I'm trying to figure out the best time to pick them. Some are perfect looking -evenly yellow - sometimes a darker shade - and then there are others that have a marbley / mottled look. At first I let them be think they weren't ripe yet only to have them split open the next day....I'm tryign to figure this out - but then there's lots to experiment with since we put in 3 of these monstrous plants and are now picking about 1/2 gallon bucket each day!!:laughing: I think my average with these guys dropped well bellow the previously discussed "$64 Tomato" - I'm prolly down to a buck a piece allready!

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

Those are pretty tomatoes. Heck, taste them, you can tell when they are ripe.

I would make sauce or tomato juice out of them.

I tried to quit canning, I really did! But my neighbor came over the other day. He had a bag of okra, a bag of pattypan squash, and a bag of cukes and squash. I canned 6 pints of okra, sliced and blanched a bunch of squash and 5 vacuum sealed bags of it. Have about 5 in the fridge to cook. I'm afraid the cukes may die! I'm not crazy about that kind and I don't want to make anymore relish. Hope he doesn't bring more, I'm done.

I dressed 3 of my chickens, 9 down, 13 to go, actually 10, I'm keeping 3 for eggs. It's so dang hot I either finish early or just quit.

I actually have a bunch of banana peppers out there and 1 tomato plant that is blooming! It won't produce but I told hubby clean up the rest and leave the 1 pepper and 1 bell pepper plant only.

 

[jinman]

I apologize for the fuzzy cellphone photos. I think I was too close. However, yesterday as I was picking cucumbers, I noticed this assassin beetle with his probiscus buried in a blister beetle. All of a sudden, since grasshoppers are getting thick, the blister beetles have shown up to eat the grasshopper eggs/larvae and also the blooms on my tomatoes and cucumbers. I could probably put up with the blister beetles if they weren't so prone to fly and land on my neck or face. I'm afraid I'll smash one and end up with a big ol' blister. Anyhow, this assassin beetle is a good guy that eats other bugs and is exclusively a carnivore instead of a herbivore.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

So is it true that they will cause blisters???