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  • From: Richard Moyer <ramoyer AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Starting Onions in Ground
  • Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2013 12:49:46 -0500

Bill and Pam,
Thanks for this thread.  (This list archive includes HT onion seeding and transplant production; just reviewed that a couple of days ago.)

In reviewing my 2012 market year, we could have sold many more onions in Aug, Sept and Oct, at a good price.  We sold out before then.

Those of us locally who seeded onions last fall in HT, then transplanted out in spring, we grew many huge onions.  But we had a glut at the market.  And the larger they were, the more readily they rotted before some growers could sell them all. Record heat and ample rain in July, after very dry June, exacerbated curing and storage.  Those who moved all their onions fast at wholesale prices came out the best.  But our market motto is "always fresh, always local", and I'd like to supply bulb onions into the fall.  Med-small onions still sell well.

I seeded my onions in the HT later this year, in Dec, except 2000 'Candy' seeds yet to be planted.

And I was looking at buying more Candy seed this morning, as we had the most requests for that, and it's described as a 'day-neutral' onion, that could bulb up later than the ones you are mentioning Pam?

Bill, you mention growers that aim for Aug/Sept harvest.  I'd like to shoot for that (we have drip irrigation), to even out the onion supply at our market.  But need to find onion seed, growing, curing and storage methods that work for 'late' season production.  Our driest months are Sept and Oct, so we time some of our other crop maturities then as well. 

Any other growers doing late season bulb onions, at 37 latitude or thereabouts?

Thanks,
Richard Moyer
SW VA



Message: 2
Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2013 09:50:07 -0500
From: Pam Twin Oaks <pam AT twinoaks.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Starting onions in ground
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
        <CANA=oL=Fm_PFJp7jKRm-w_a4a5eTopTwXJ5kKzWX8E+GH1WPrQ AT mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Chris, a lot depends on your latitude, and when onions start bulbing.
Different varieties have differing numbers of daylight hours to trigger the
start of bulbing. (Temperature is a secondary trigger). First, make sure
you choose varieties suitable for your latitude. Then figure out how to get
big plants before the bulbing date. If bulbing starts in April, as it does
here at 38N, there's no hope of big onions from seed sown in January or
later.

Are you talking about bulb onions or green bunching onions or little
scallions?

What works for us, for bulb onions, is to sow in the hoophouse 11/10, then
transplant outdoors as soon as we can 3/1-3/7. Harvest is in early June. If
your latitude is similar, that will work for you. If not, it probably
won't! In Georgia they transplant outside in October - that wouldn't work
for us because the winters are too cold. Sounds like you are probably north
of 38, given that you are thinking about starting onions now. I can say
that sowing in the hoophouse and transplanting out works very well, I just
don't know what the dates should be for you.

Pam

--
Pam Dawling

Author of Sustainable Market Farming, Intensive Vegetable Production on a
Few Acres
http://www.sustainablemarketfarming.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SustainableMarketFarming
http://www.newsociety.com/Books/S/Sustainable-Market-Farming
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End of Market-farming Digest, Vol 120, Issue 3
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