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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Trimming Leeks and onions
  • Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:40:21 -0400


On Mar 21, 2010, at 9:20 PM, rosnide3 AT vt.edu wrote:

In theory trimming makes for huskier and therefore better plants. There has been
some research to suggest that trimming is bad. An abstract can be found at
http://www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=194_12



From the abstract:

"Leaves of a portion of the seedlings were cut back either one month before transplanting (75% defoliation) or at transplant (25% defoliation)"

75% defoliation?? Good grief, I never cut mine back anywhere near that hard. I'm not surprised that set them back.

The 25% sounds more like it; but that was done at the same time as transplanting. I don't cut them back when transplanting, either; I figure one major shock is enough for one day. But I do, most years, cut onions back once or twice earlier in the process of growing them to size: the first time I'm pretty much just taking the tips off; I'll do it again if they get really tall much before I'm likely to be able to plant them out. I think it does make the plants a little sturdier; they seem to put on more leaves in response to the trimming; but I don't always get to it and am not sure it makes much difference either way.

I suppose I really should try trimming some but not all of each variety; but I've already got so many variations of things which I need to keep track of that I don't know if I'm actually going to do this.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale







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