Homesteaders

[lazy gardener]

No. I can't imagine planting onions at onset of winter. But, it depends on what planting zone you are in. It also depends on the type of onion. Specific varieties will bulb according to day length, and all are categorized as short, long, or intermediate day length bulbs. Plant the wrong bulb at the wrong time in your zone, and you will have pitiful results. I should talk. I never seem to get it right, in spite of having this bit of knowledge. If you are getting ads for onions, IMO, walk away. If you don't walk away, run!

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/onion-bulb-formation-strongly-linked-day-length

 

[Chicken girl 15]

On the homestead, this is the best time of year to be a dog!

that baby is in its glory. My boys would think they had died and gone to heaven.

 

[Molpet]

No time to catch up these days. BUT I'M GETTING ADS FOR ONIONS. SHOULD I BE PLANTING ONIONS AT THIS TIME OF YEAR? We're slated for snow next week. I did plant some garlic though.

I get my plants from http://www.dixondalefarms.com in TX .. they send them based on your planting zone at what they think will be the proper time...
the plants will keep 2 weeks from arrival to planting if you follow the directions they send.. they send mine in March and one year I planted half and waited for the others because a snow storm was coming in... I covered half of what I planted ... a week later I planted the 2nd half after the snow melted and they all did fine... When I harvested I couldn't tell them apart except by location in my notes LOL

Today they sent an email that said in part: "
No matter when planting time is for your area, it's a good idea to place your order early. Orders are filled as they are received, so contact us soon to ensure you receive all the varieties you want. If you're not sure what onions to choose, we hope this issue helps you decide. It's a roundup of our all-time customer favorites for each growing area. Have a look and get your order placed soon!
Happy planning,..."


2 yrs ago in Dec they had 10% off , and they sent in March....but not last year, unless I missed it.. but they were out of some varieties by spring 2016..
they have great leaks if you have a spot that is loose soil and can be kept moist.
I grow some long keeper from them and get sets local for short keepers... the harvest from sets just don't last through the winter due to the type.

 

[rancher hicks]

I've never planted onions and we do use a lot. I expect I could use about 200#'s

 

[rancher hicks]

When we bought the place this was all waste high with weeds. It took me a whole summer to mow it and see what was there.




cut logs make great borders for garden beds.



I use cardboard to define the border. It keeps the weeds down and makes it easy to plant in the spring. I hope to add berry plans and Rose of Sharon. Not quite like a hedgerow.



Even through the leaves the Forget Me Nots fight so they're not forgotten. In the spring it's hard to mow they look so pretty.


Leaf litter in the run helps keep things dry and adds to the compost I will take out come spring.



Why oh why must people destroy the earth. There are so many old tires dumped and I have to work to drag out. I hope to use them aesthetically somehow. Painted or some thing like that.



I will need to buy a bolt cutter to cut this chain link down to a manageable size. When I first pulled on it a bunny came running out. There is just so much junk tossed into the woods, I could

.



The new compost spot. Easy enough to build. I've just laid some long branches on top till I decide how to use them. Next year I will try using my leaf blower to just blow all the leaves in. It might be easier than using the mower to gather them. Might even be easier to rake them. We shall see.



Only the one bed of garlic this year. Leaf litter saves on using straw or hay. Which is more costly. I may do another 2 X 4 bed. My two year old grandson and I had a fun time planting this.

I did use leaf litter around my berry bushes and raspberries too. I hope that is not a bad idea. Still there is much to do and I'm so old. I have taken a part time job so perhaps next year I can hire some help.

Lord give me strength. Visited a friend who was having Chemo today, so I have plenty to be thankful for. DW had to go see her PT today so we stopped up to see Dave.

I hope everyone will take some time to count their blessings. We have so much to be thankful for. One blessing while I think of it is you folks who are here and take the time to answer my requests for advice. Thank you,

Love ya, Rancher, feeling melancholy, Hicks.

 

[lazy gardener]

Beautiful pics, RH. Sorry you're feeling down in the dumps. Wife doing better???

Getting out and soaking up a bit of sunshine, getting a bit of physical activity always seems to set my world right. Today, I was able to ditch the jacket, and spent about 4 hours mucking out the garden. Still more clean up to do, and there will be a huge mess of weed seeds sprouting next spring. I'll just smile, and call it green manure, haul in some more wood chips. The flock helped me today. I'm thankful that I have a few hours of work lined up next week. I haven't worked since early Oct. We're heading into our lean season, as hubby's hours get cut after Thanksgiving. But, no matter what, God always meets our needs, and the bills get paid.

 

[henless]

On the homestead, this is the best time of year to be a dog!

My dogs are always dragging something up. Jack brought in a deer shoulder the other day. It was all skinned and looked ready to cut up. I have no idea where he got it.

cut logs make great borders for garden beds.



Leaf litter in the run helps keep things dry and adds to the compost I will take out come spring.



Why oh why must people destroy the earth. There are so many old tires dumped and I have to work to drag out. I hope to use them aesthetically somehow. Painted or some thing like that.



I will need to buy a bolt cutter to cut this chain link down to a manageable size. When I first pulled on it a bunny came running out. There is just so much junk tossed into the woods, I could

.



Only the one bed of garlic this year. Leaf litter saves on using straw or hay. Which is more costly. I may do another 2 X 4 bed. My two year old grandson and I had a fun time planting this.

I did use leaf litter around my berry bushes and raspberries too. I hope that is not a bad idea. Still there is much to do and I'm so old. I have taken a part time job so perhaps next year I can hire some help.

Lord give me strength. Visited a friend who was having Chemo today, so I have plenty to be thankful for. DW had to go see her PT today so we stopped up to see Dave.

I hope everyone will take some time to count their blessings. We have so much to be thankful for. One blessing while I think of it is you folks who are here and take the time to answer my requests for advice. Thank you,

Love ya, Rancher, feeling melancholy, Hicks.

I wanted to use cedar trees for a border around my garden area. Couldn't find any at a reasonable price, so I settled with cross ties.

Love the leaves in your coop. I fill my coops & runs with leaves. The chickens love it!

We have major dumping problems here. There is a creek that runs out of our pond and crosses under the road. People are always dumping crap off into the creek. We are always calling the law to have them come and make the dumpers clean it up. You would think they wouldn't put their names in the bags.

I'm using leaves/pine straw again this year on my garden. I had good luck with it last year. I'm working on a bte garden of sorts. I'm not able to get wood chips, and this fall I'm putting in some raised borders to help define my planting sections. I don't have enough manure or compost to cover the whole garden, so I want to concentrate the good stuff where I plan on actually planting.

 

[rancher hicks]

Beautiful pics, RH. Sorry you're feeling down in the dumps. Wife doing better???

Getting out and soaking up a bit of sunshine, getting a bit of physical activity always seems to set my world right. Today, I was able to ditch the jacket, and spent about 4 hours mucking out the garden. Still more clean up to do, and there will be a huge mess of weed seeds sprouting next spring. I'll just smile, and call it green manure, haul in some more wood chips. The flock helped me today. I'm thankful that I have a few hours of work lined up next week. I haven't worked since early Oct. We're heading into our lean season, as hubby's hours get cut after Thanksgiving. But, no matter what, God always meets our needs, and the bills get paid.

She is sick right now. Thinks she has a fever. Was over at DD's yesterday and she has littles. She did have a nerve block so that might be some of it too. I'm sure she'll be feeling better soon or at least I hope so. I just get tired. Lots to do all the time when you have chickens and a garden and a big yard.

Plus all she did you know. Men always take twice as long to do house work.

 

[lazy gardener]

Sorry she's under the weather. I had a flu bug last week. I swear I get sick a lot more often.

 

[Beer can]

Anyone here with experience growing multiplier potato onions?
I just got some and am debating wether or not I should plant them now. Gets rock solid below zero here with some really warm days in the winter. Every thing I've read says plant in fall like we do garlic. Then I read on one site plant in spring in cold climates...?