New England February 2017

Happy, happy  imbolc to one and all! We are on the downward slide toward spring!

camprn wrote:Happy, happy  imbolc to one and all! We are on the downward slide toward spring!

I know. Our official spring starts around March 20th I think. That's why I love to see Feb 1st come. Then, I can legally say, "Spring is next month".    I was able to buy all my seed locally two weeks ago. Can't wait for the onion bulbs to come out. Wal-Mart says they will get their onions this Saturday.
MrBooker.

I sowed leeks today.

I'll be starting Stuttgarter onions from seed today. Does anyone know if I need to grow them to set size and then remove them to plant next year? Or should they grow to size this year? I don't have the packet as they were a swap.

CapeCoddess wrote:I'll be starting Stuttgarter onions from seed today.  Does anyone know if I need to grow them to set size and then remove them to plant next year?  Or should they grow to size this year?  I don't have the packet as they were a swap.

This is what the back of the Baker Creek seed packet says about sowing Stuttgarter "Sow seed indoors late winter. Sprinkle on soil surface, barely covering, and keep moist until the thread-like seedlings emerge. Grow in full sun, and cool conditions, with afternoon temps under 75 degree Fahrenheit. Set seedlings outdoors 6-8weeks before last frost of spring into rich, finely worked garden soil."
Last year I started onions 11 weeks before last frost. They bulbed, but were small (though this also could have involved insufficient watering on my part.) This year I am starting 3 weeks sooner - 14 weeks before last frost.
I'm not sure what that means you should do, but it's more information to use to make a decision.

I would be interested in knowing how you folks start your leeks and onions. Do you start them in flats or individual cells? Do you transplant them up as they get bigger?

Last year I started mine in my MacGyvered self starting containers. I sowed them rather thickly and did not transplant them into larger pots as they grew. After I transplanted them to the SFG, the leeks grew OK but they were not really thick like those I see in the stores. If I recall correctly we ate the onions as small green onions. I probably set the leeks and onions out into the SFG too late and harvested the leeks too early. This year I will set them out earlier. I may try Winter Sowing to get them started but I will start some indoors as a backup.

This will be my first year starting Onions from seed so I may not know what I am doing and maybe different varieties have different planting information.  But my research says, start onion seeds inside 10-12 weeks before planting outside.  Transplant the onion seedlings outside 4-6 weeks before last frost.  The following chart was copied from Dixondale Farms (a very popular place to purchase onion seedlings).  They ship the seedlings based on the following chart so that should be a fairly accurate guide about when to plant them outside.

Based on your zipcode, you would plant out the seedlings about April 10-16.  I think.  So you should plant the seeds inside about 10-12 weeks before that date. I think.

If you follow these guidelines, then you should have fully developed onions this year according to Dixondale Farms.
  
Here is the link for the following table.
http://www.dixondalefarms.com/shipping

They have great information at this website.

trolleydriver wrote:I would be interested in knowing how you folks start your leeks and onions. Do you start them in flats or individual cells? Do you transplant them up as they get bigger?

Last year I started mine in my MacGyvered self starting containers. I sowed them rather thickly and did not transplant them into larger pots as they grew. After I transplanted them to the SFG, the leeks grew OK but they were not really thick like those I see in the stores. If I recall correctly we ate the onions as small green onions. I probably set the leeks and onions out into the SFG too late and harvested the leeks too early. This year I will set them out earlier. I may try Winter Sowing to get them started but I will start some indoors as a backup.

I start my onions and leeks in 4 inch pots (yogurt cups etc) planting the seeds very thick inside the pot.  The roots are pretty tuff and can be easily separated.  But Camprn is the leek specialist so maybe she will be along shortly.

Here are my onions and leeks in the self-watering containers last year.

Thanks everyone! I've never had a problem getting onions started. I just have never been able to grow a large ball onion. They're always so tiny even if I start from sets.  Anyway, I sprinkled a bunch of seeds in this little container of used and moistened MM, lightly covered with more mm, spritzed, and it's now in its little Greenhouse on Miss Lilly's heating pad where they will stay until they sprout. The lid is up just to get the photo.


TD, no up potting necessary. As Yolo's stated they can be teased apart easily when it's time to plant them out.

CapeCoddess wrote:I'll be starting Stuttgarter onions from seed today.  Does anyone know if I need to grow them to set size and then remove them to plant next year?  Or should they grow to size this year?  I don't have the packet as they were a swap.

Check on myfolia.com .

https://myfolia.com/

trolleydriver wrote:I would be interested in knowing how you folks start your leeks and onions. Do you start them in flats or individual cells? Do you transplant them up as they get bigger?

I use a recycled styrofoam meat tray from the grocery store. Fill it 3/4 way with MB8 + a little more compost then push it firmly into the tray. I sprinkle the leek seed on top, add water, and place it on the radiator cover for extra warmth to promote germination.
The next few months they live on the window sill and grow. looking like grass. I will give it a trim off the top(1/4 inch) a few times before transplanting into another container to allow more room for root growth. Sometimes I will put them in a nursery bed in the garden until they are large enough to be planted in a 6 inch deep hole.

Ugh! Mid-winter! I am starting to hate my coat! Cabin fever is setting in.

Sorry, can't commiserate with ya this year, camp.  It's been a regular old fashioned winter on Cape Cod and I'm very grateful!

yolos wrote:
Based on your zipcode, you would plant out the seedlings about April 10-16.  I think.  So you should plant the seeds inside about 10-12 weeks before that date. I think.

If you follow these guidelines, then you should have fully developed onions this year according to Dixondale Farms.
  
Here is the link for the following table.
http://www.dixondalefarms.com/shipping

They have great information at this website.

April 10th???  No can do...got an appt for a total hip replacement that day.  Hopefully they'll be planted out by April 9th and be OK.     Along with all my cold starts!

Thanks for the neat chart & link, Yolos!

CapeCoddess wrote:
April 10th???  No can do...got an appt for a total hip replacement that day.  Hopefully they'll be planted out by April 9th and be OK.     Along with all my cold starts!

Thanks for the neat chart & link, Yolos!

Owwwee!!!! Good luck.  My mother had hip replacement also.  The key is physical therapy afterward.

Good for you, CC!  Actually good timing too!  You will do great!

yolos wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:
April 10th???  No can do...got an appt for a total hip replacement that day.  Hopefully they'll be planted out by April 9th and be OK.     Along with all my cold starts!

Thanks for the neat chart & link, Yolos!

Owwwee!!!! Good luck.  My mother had hip replacement also.  The key is physical therapy afterward.

I pray all goes well with your hip replacement CC.

Mrs TD had two full knee replacements. Both tiimes she recovered really well. She forced herself to do the exercises leading up to the surgeries and was faithful in doing the physical therapy (up here we call it physiotherapy) after.

Thanks, you guys. It'll be fine.  I'm looking forward to being pain free again.

trolleydriver wrote: Both times she recovered really well. She forced herself to do the exercises leading up to the surgeries and was faithful in doing the physical therapy (up here we call it physiotherapy) after.

Oh awrite... ...I will do the same...but only because Mrs TD did well. I wasn't looking forward to the 4-6 wks of pre-therapy but I'll do my best.  Recovery should be faster than normal as the doc is doing an 'anterior' replacement as opposed to posterior.    

And I figure gardening before and after will be very helpful. It will MAKE me move!  Especially at that time of the year, as SR alluded to.

http://awaytogarden.com/grow-onions-from-seed-with-seed-breeder-don-tipping-of-siskiyou-seeds/

Yolos,   I appreciate the Dixondale link.  Very helpful information, when I called they patiently and politely answered my questions too.  Made my first-ever onion order.  Six years of sq. ft. gardening and could never quite put all the information together to figure out how to grow onions in my area till I went to this site. Thank You Very Much!   p.s. The Dixondale folks were very appreciative when I told them I'd give a shout out here on the forum.

Heads up, New England...snow storm a'comin.  Tomorrow I'll be able to commiserate with camp. 


Yippee! My Stuggarter onions sprouted this morning.  They are now off the mat and in the window. Look how tiny...they look like worms: 


Also got to pick a bunch o' greens (kale & collards) for my smoothies for the next 2 days: 



It's so warm today - 50s - that I was out turning my new compost pile this morning. Who knows how long it will be buried under the snow...

You guys better enjoy it Now!  White stuff on the way!

Edible blooms in the SFG. . http://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening/celeste-garden/best-edible-flowers-growing-and-eating

So far so good...I still have power!  But a lot of my friends do not:
https://www.eversource.com/nstar/outage/outagemap.aspx

Prayers and good vibes to you all!