My Onion harvest

Had a great Onion harvest. Texas Sweets, Wala Wala, jumbo sweet and Red.





Mr. Biggie




Cantaloupe and red and yellow Lunchbox peppers



And... a few Peppers ready for the grill.

Great job on the onions! The rest of the plants look so healthy.

sanderson wrote:  Great job on the onions!  The rest of the plants look so healthy.

Thanks. I way over planted on Onions. Over 300 I think.    We'll give away a lot of them.  I agree, the pepper plants look healthy but their not producing like they did last year. I suspect they may have had a slight overdose of Nitrogen.

I'm not at all happy with my tomatoes. Some of them are turning brown and producing golf ball size fruit. Also having a huge problem with blossom end rot on both tomatoes and peppers. I try to water on a regular basis and give them extra calcium. 

I'm trying not to complain though. All in all, it's been a pretty decent season so far considering all the heat we've had.
My water bill has gone up about $20 a month with all this heat and not much rain.

Nice plants, Mr. Booker!  Here it is the same.  Super cold/wet/hot/repeat.

Not sure what is going on out there.  Some peppers have set fruits, no cukes or pole beans.  Squahand melons have minis on here.  Just a super strange summer?

Been curing my onions for a few weeks now and only had one go bad. Made some great Kabobs yesterday loaded with onions,  red..yellow and orange bell peppers, Onions, Polish sausage and Onions.  Did mention Onions.  

  Doing Teriyaki marinaded chicken Kabobs today with peppers and.. Yup.... You guessed it  Un-Yon.

sanderson wrote:

I just bought two have-a-hart traps to get the groundhog. Canceled the " Nuclear Option".
OR... As George Bush would say, "Nuke-U-ler" option. . (what'd he say.?)

I'm married to a Missourian so I learned to drop a syllable, or add one, transpose R's and vowels, so I am bi-lingual.

Just feed them for a couple days without setting the trap. If they eat the food, then set the traps. Happy trapping.

OK, so I have mostly small “Candy” onions that are harvested and now cured.  Should I cut the tops off?  And store in the basement?  Or in baskets up here?  They are very tasty.  

Garlic, same question.  I usually put that in the basement...

What do you recommend?

MrBooker wrote:

sanderson wrote:  Great job on the onions!  The rest of the plants look so healthy.

Thanks. I way over planted on Onions. Over 300 I think.    We'll give away a lot of them.  I agree, the pepper plants look healthy but their not producing like they did last year. I suspect they may have had a slight overdose of Nitrogen.

I'm not at all happy with my tomatoes. Some of them are turning brown and producing golf ball size fruit. Also having a huge problem with blossom end rot on both tomatoes and peppers. I try to water on a regular basis and give them extra calcium. 

I'm trying not to complain though. All in all, it's been a pretty decent season so far considering all the heat we've had.
My water bill has gone up about $20 a month with all this heat and not much rain.

 Read upon this to be sure  ....

It sounds like you have a case of common blight on your tomatoes . Cut down the watering , only water from the bottom of the plant not over the leaves and treat them for blight ? Space out the plants even if it means cutting a few to the ground ...they need air movement

Scorpio Rising wrote:OK, so I have mostly small “Candy” onions that are harvested and now cured.  Should I cut the tops off?  And store in the basement?  Or in baskets up here?  They are very tasty.  

Garlic, same question.  I usually put that in the basement...

What do you recommend?

 I have had a good 40 pounds of red & brown onions this year , harvested them nearly a month ago . 

Where possible I left the stems on them as they dried on a wire rack.  Then plaited them in 15 inch or so lengths and hung these  in a dry cool airy place . Those onions that didn't plait got the the bits of stem snipped off and stored flat  on a wooden bench and used in the kitchen first . 


 A few brown onions and a dozen or more of the red onions produced seed stems , as you can't satisfactorily store such onions so these ones were the very first of the onions used . Just cut the stem off  stand them on a wooden board and use them first of all in the kitchen with the reds being the first of theses to be used . For some reason the seeding red onions seem the be the first of the seed stemmed onions to rot .

 Storing baskets of onions might not be the best way for long term storage if there is little or no air flow in the middle of the basket .

plantoid wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:OK, so I have mostly small “Candy” onions that are harvested and now cured.  Should I cut the tops off?  And store in the basement?  Or in baskets up here?  They are very tasty.  

Garlic, same question.  I usually put that in the basement...

What do you recommend?

 I have had a good 40 pounds of red & brown onions this year , harvested them nearly a month ago . 

Where possible I left the stems on them as they dried on a wire rack.  Then plaited them in 15 inch or so lengths and hung these  in a dry cool airy place . Those onions that didn't plait got the the bits of stem snipped off and stored flat  on a wooden bench and used in the kitchen first . 


 A few brown onions and a dozen or more of the red onions produced seed stems , as you can't satisfactorily store such onions so these ones were the very first of the onions used . Just cut the stem off  stand them on a wooden board and use them first of all in the kitchen with the reds being the first of theses to be used . For some reason the seeding red onions seem the be the first of the seed stemmed onions to rot .

 Storing baskets of onions might not be the best way for long term storage if there is little or no air flow in the middle of the basket .

OK, will do, thanks, Plantoid!

WAAA! I have never had an "onion harvest" in my entire life, and this year is no exception so far.

I have ONE bulb onion that was started from seed indoors.  The rest didn't make it.

Onward with onion experimentation!  I plan to plant a few seeds directly into Mel's Mix this Fall (with some compost and bone meal added), start some from seed in covered plastic containers outdoors during the winter, supposedly to germinate at the appropriate time, and start the rest from seed in early spring.

donnainzone5 wrote:I have ONE bulb onion that was started from seed indoors.  The rest didn't make it.

Onward with onion experimentation!  I plan to plant a few seeds directly into Mel's Mix this Fall (with some compost and bone meal added), start some from seed in covered plastic containers outdoors during the winter, supposedly to germinate at the appropriate time, and start the rest from seed in early spring.

Same here. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!

My first...and my first year I planted them.  I bought actual plants, dry but viable.  Starts?  

They are lovely and small..cool by me!  Sweet/Hot oniony

donnainzone5 wrote:I have ONE bulb onion that was started from seed indoors.  The rest didn't make it.

Onward with onion experimentation!  I plan to plant a few seeds directly into Mel's Mix this Fall (with some compost and bone meal added), start some from seed in covered plastic containers outdoors during the winter, supposedly to germinate at the appropriate time, and start the rest from seed in early spring.

 Onion seeds  have a tendency to " damping off " if the soil around them is too moist . it's unlikely for them to germinate over winter in cold damp ground unless the ground is 60 oF  they need fresh air not foetid air  under a plastic cover . 

 Here in the UK we sow them in March under glass  where they will grow un moved , or at late  August  in a sheltered bed or deep seed tray  , prick them out when they are 1 &1/2 " tall  then transplant them into single 3 inch dia  pots or well spaced out in 4 inch deep trays  so they can make good roots . Harden them off in early April outside then individually plant out at the end of April .

Damping off ..plants are developing a rot or  mould close to the ground where the stem comes up in a loop . Any slugs or their eggs that hatch  in the seed growing medium will also see your seedlings decimated .

 I have grown both from seeds sown on New Years day in 4 inch deep seed compost trays  grown on a well lit window north / easterly cil with out strong sunshine or room heat and also from purchased and self grown onion sets ( small onion bulbs ) 

 To grow you own sets  sprinkle sees at the end of may  in a sand tray that's 4 to 6 inches deep  cover with 1/2" of sand  grow them on the shade side of a north facing wall and keep them barely damp.  When the seedlings become 1/2 to 3/4" inch sized bulbs , lift them , dry them in a warm place but not in super strong boiling hot sunshine or in a glasshouse ats the will cook them .

 Once well dried , snip off the dried stalks and store the bulbs in a dry light airy place on open  racks not in nets or baskets ,  ready for planting next year . 

 Remember onions love sunshine  once they have got their roots down & they need some water but not soaking every day or they will bold and run to seed .


 Obviously things will change according to the weather zone you are in , what I've said is for our British United Kingdom weather . So read your seed packet labels .

Funny, I did try seed onions 2 years ago: planted 16 in a square.  One germinated.  I let it go really long.  Total bust!  I did have great luck with the starts that I got from my local nursery this spring of a variety named “Candy”.  It is smallish, but very tasty and sweet/hot/pungent.  They did great, all survived.

Will do again! 

This spring was the first time I bought some starts from Home Depot.  Yellow Granex, short-day.  I did not plant them very deep as I have seen photos where much of the mature onion is above ground.  Here are 2 of them inter-planted in the pepper bed in June.  I'm still eating smaller ones harvested later in the summer.  I will try them again next spring, maybe a bit deeper!