Noobie needs help: Onions---when and how to plant.

[Arielle]

I got my onion plants this spring from Pinetree Seeds - http://www.superseeds.com/ . Copra and Super Star. They did well in our Maine garden. While I love Johnny's, Pinetree had much better prices on plants. I just didn't feel like messing with onion seeds this year.

I order all my seeds, plants and trees from either Pinetree, FEDCO or Johnny's.

NIce to hear from you!!

I'm surious if you tried to keep the copra or the super stars for winter storage, or did you use as needed right out of the garden?

I saw one onion seed seed in particular, a red, at JOhnny's, that is pelleted; bet that makes planting much easier with seeds. THe plants have me super psyched, especially if I"m willing to buy 5 bunches or more of one kind. Very temping!! lol

 

[Arielle]

* Here I go again, crashing another thread. Sorry about that! lol

Happy to have your i nput!!!!!

The scallions are in small 4" pots right on top of the sash in a southern facing window southern facing window.

The onion pots are on a table beside the window so they actually don't have full sun but I feel like I live in a fishbowl with the wall to window ratio (my entire east wall is nothing but a giant picture window and flanked with more windows) and my walls are off-white so it's nice and bright whether the plants are directly hit by sunlight or not. I had a rose bush in here last winter that was in full bloom mid-February...it was a little insane.

I'd been saving seeds from fruits and veg I was picking up at farmer's markets and such to plant in the spring and figured I toss the onion roots in pots to see what happened. I rarely use a whole onion at once (unless I'm making soup) because I'm only cooking for my two babes and me and they're not exactly the biggest onion fans and this way, even if I only use half, I can at least toss the rooted side in some soil to grow more instead of feeling like I'm wasting it (even when it's going to compost). I'm kind of kicking myself for not having figured this out sooner. I have another that I had set out to dry and it's ready for a pot. Even before getting it planted, the green shoots are already coming up.

WOw, love all that sunlight. WHite/offwhite walls and ceilings certainly bounce the light around!! Sure hope you have delightful views!!!


My south side I shouded by deciduous trees. THe sunniest months are yet to come now tha the leaves are off those trees. So oddly, the northside is my sunnyside and that means indirect sunlight at best.

Will be a surprize to see what those vegie seeds develop into next year. Something useful if not quite the original parent plant.

Would love to see a pic of your onion sporuted set up if possible. I cant quite imagine the set up.

Please dont kick yoursef!!. Better late than never!! THese days I eat garlic./ onion and mushrooms everyday. SOme literature suggests that these are high potency anti- cancer foods and boy I"m willling to eat a little every day if that is all it takes to keep the C word out of my life.

 

[keesmom]

NIce to hear from you!!

I'm surious if you tried to keep the copra or the super stars for winter storage, or did you use as needed right out of the garden?

I saw one onion seed seed in particular, a red, at JOhnny's, that is pelleted; bet that makes planting much easier with seeds. THe plants have me super psyched, especially if I"m willing to buy 5 bunches or more of one kind. Very temping!! lol

I have both kinds in storage. It's only November but all are still good.

 

[islandgirl82]

Crashing? You're talking about onions aren't you???? Not crashing, conversing.

Fair enough but as I had mentioned to Arielle before, I broke the rules and never made the proper "new member intros" ... just started invading threads (I hadn't figured out how to until afterwards).

 

[lazy gardener]

If I posted a thread, and did not have any one join in, I'd feel shunned! Perhaps I'm missing the boat when it comes to thread etiquette.

 

[islandgirl82]

Funny, I thought I was lacking the etiquette by not at least saying "hi" anytime I join in on a conversation. Thoughts hit and just come out...with or without a proper hello. lol

 

[islandgirl82]

Happy to have your i nput!!!!!

WOw, love all that sunlight.  WHite/offwhite walls and ceilings certainly bounce the light around!!  Sure hope you have delightful views!!! 


My south side I shouded by deciduous trees. THe sunniest months are yet to come now tha the leaves are off those trees.  So oddly, the northside is my sunnyside and that means indirect sunlight at best. 

Will be a surprize to see what those vegie seeds develop into next year. Something useful if not quite the original parent plant. 

Would love to see a pic of your onion sporuted set up if possible. I cant quite imagine the set up. 

Please dont kick yoursef!!. Better late than never!!  THese days I eat garlic./ onion and mushrooms everyday. SOme literature suggests that these are high potency anti- cancer foods and boy I"m willling to eat a little every day if that is all it takes to keep the C word out of my life. 

I have the same issue with sunlight on the southern side...two towering linden trees block much of the light but the leaves are gone so the inside of the cottage is much brighter.
My set up isn't much but it's working. I think I may need to put the onions in larger pots though.

The scallions have been there since late summer and I had initially kept them in shot glasses of water but I wanted my glasses back and figured even though they were happy then, they might as well have some soil to call home.

This onion cutting has had a little longer to dry out but you can see that hasn't stopped the sprouting

As for my view from my wall o' windows? No room for complaints.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: It ti definitely early yet! lol THought maybe you had a few years of storage experience under your belt. Many varieties to try for winter storage!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: What a view!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THe cherry reds make me think of the Carribean, but the blue greens surely scream ocean!!

OH I can see the tiny nub of green growing above the drying section of the bulb-- is it trying to put up a shoot already??

I would think a small pot would be alreight, just like an amarylllis is kept in a small pot. Maybe I'm wrong.

I envy alll that sunlight!!

 

[islandgirl82]

What a view!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THe cherry reds make me think of the Carribean, but the blue greens surely scream ocean!!

OH I can see the tiny nub of green growing above the drying section of the bulb-- is it trying to put up a shoot already??

I would think a small pot would be alreight, just like an amarylllis is kept in a small pot. Maybe I'm wrong.

I envy alll that sunlight!!

That is a shoot already!

I'm not sure if there's enough room in the pot for it to grow fully...I'd rather have too much space than not enough but I won't worry about it just yet.

The pink photo was sunrise before the clocks were set back and the second was on one of those lovely foggy days.