SESE has large potato onions for sale

I got a similar letter, sceleste. I can't wait! (I'm also wondering how much gardening space to reserve, as the orders are by weight and I'm not sure how to translate that.)

Here's a neat article about garlic to read while you wait:

http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/dying-to-go-green/Content?oid=1168446

Megan, if memory serves, I think I got about ten to fifteen onions or so in an order of small-to-medium onions. If you plant them five per square, three squares - four at most - should be plenty to reserve. It will depend on the size of the bulbs you receive, and how many of them have divided into smaller bulbs.

Of course, my memory doesn't always serve me well these days so I just weighed an onion that I think would be equivalent to one of their medium-to-large undivided potato onions and it weighed 3.6 ounces. I think my original estimate should be close.

Thanks Ander. I got those plus a beginner's mix package of garlic. I think I can find homes for them!

I got my first order of the 8 oz potato onions. Second order will hopefully be right behind it! YAY

If you want big onions::::::::
as the onions start growing---remove some of the soil on top of the onion to expose
the bulb more to sun and air.---not a lot. Just little at a time as the onion grows bigger.
Exposing the top of bulb will make it grow bigger.

That's true for regular onions, Carolyn, but I don't recommend it for fall-planted potato onions. The directions that came with mine say to plant them deeper than normal to keep them safe through the winter. Large potato onions divide into sets over the winter.

It might help for the single sets, though, when they green up in spring and start growing large. I'll try it and see. Thanks.

Ander...It's still warm here in my neck of the woods...what you reccomend the temps be averaging when I plant the potato onions? Do you think it would be ok to plant garlic at the same time?

Hey MM,

I think SESE doesn't know what to do with us out here! I didn't get instructions with my sets either. Megan, who lives on the east coast, got two detailed pages of information that she was impressed with.

I planted mine last weekend-just because it wasn't raining!

HA! Boffer I think you are right...

I am so ANXIOUS to DO something in my garden....and I have quite a bit invested in these onions and garlic...I just don't wanna mess it up. We are having BEAUTIFUL weather over here on my side of the mountains 70-80 and sunny and gorgeous. I have no idea when it will start to get cold.

Seems like Summer took its sweet time getting to us up here (June was a joke) and then fall seemed to be on its way and then it bolted? HUH?

I moved here in June of 2009...and all I have heard about the weather since I got here is..."Well this ain't normal." LOL...I'm still waiting for "normal".



Ahhhh!!

boffer wrote:Hey MM,

I think SESE doesn't know what to do with us out here! I didn't get instructions with my sets either. Megan, who lives on the east coast, got two detailed pages of information that she was impressed with.

I planted mine last weekend-just because it wasn't raining!

It was actually 4 pages... 2 pieces of paper printed on both sides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_onion
http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/potato-onions/

in case any one is interested in reading more about potato onions

Boffer, and Middlemama, I don't really know what to tell you. I have always planted my potato onions in November, because "that's the way Grandma did it".

I made an order way back in early summer, and that order arrived a couple of weeks ago complete with directions as Megan received. I made a late order which hasn't yet arrived, so I am still holding my first order. I plan to keep both of them until November before planting. (SESE has never shipped my onions this early, so I'm not sure what's up with that.) I think the problem is as Middlemama said, "This ain't a normal year."

You don't want your onions to make a lot of top growth before cold weather hits. They will grow a bit throughout the winter, but I think if they get too much growth they are more likely to be damaged by low temps.

You'll have to figure out the best time to plant for your weather. Here, in November, we expect to have had a freeze or two, but the ground is not frozen too hard for planting. I think if you hold them as long as possible, but plant them before the ground freezes hard you should be fine. Boffer, you can let us know next spring if your planting date was right for your area. Good luck, all.

Still coming to you from beautiful Utah! (Here for one more week.)

THANKS ANDER!!!

Is it safe to say you have colder weather than me because you are 6 b and I am 5 b?

If that is the general idea then maybe I will wait till Nov ish as well and then Boff and I can compare results. I may be out there planting in the snow!! FUN!

middlemamma wrote:THANKS ANDER!!!

Is it safe to say you have colder weather than me because you are 6 b and I am 5 b?

It is the opposite. The higher the zone number, the later the frost dates.

OH!!!

Thanks Chopper.

So I guess I will plant here in the next couple weeks... Whew...that was a close one.

Umm....ok...one more question...which end goes up?

middlemamma wrote:Umm....ok...one more question...which end goes up?

Root end down. The root end is where it all comes together. The top, or stem end (where the stem will come out) is more elongated and sort of twisted together. That twisted together stuff is the remnants of where the stems from the previous year withered away.



The shallots in this photo (the big one is an onion, I think?), the ones still in their brown papers are sitting root end down. The one cut in half and laying on its side, the root end is to the left and the stem end is to the right.

I didn't explain that very well but I hope it makes a little sense.

I checked in with dear hubby this afternoon and he said we received an email that our second shipment of potato onions has been shipped. He said our temps are forecast to be in the high 30s tonight, so we could probably plant them any time after they arrive, but I'll probably still keep them until late October at least. We've already prepared the bed - we are planting them in a bed rather than a box, and we added lots of rice hulls to keep the soil loose. (All my boxes are currently full of other things such as tomatoes and fall-planted broccoli.)

I wouldn't worry too much about the exact planting date. As always, it all depends on the weather, and these onions are hardy. If you lose several over the winter, try a different planting time next year.

Middlemama, if you and Boffer didn't get planting instructions, did anyone tell you the instructions said to plant them deeper than regular onions? That's the first I'd heard of that. I always plant mine like regular onions and cover them with a light mulch, but we may have milder winters than you.

I don't know how I missed this thread, but this looks like something that would work well in any garden. I'll check into it further and hope some can be had in the spring.

Thanks Ander...that makes perfect sense. I will try a little deeper on some and see what I get.

Quiltbea, they still have them available at SESE. I ordered some mid September and I have tham now.

Okay. I ordered a small order of potato onions in spring from Southern Exposure and they delivered them to me much earlier than usual for planting, but that's okay. They keep well.

Then I ordered a large order of potato onions in late summer. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Utah, Hubby tells me my second order of onions arrived. Yay! I also ordered a packet of Tropic tomato seed and they came in the same delivery.

I was a bit disappointed with that second order. I thought the onions in that order were supposed to be medium and large onions along with the little ones, but they didn't look much bigger than the ones that came in the order of small to medium ones, there were just a lot more of them. But that's okay, they'll grow big in next year's garden. With the crazy year of weather we've had I'm just thankful they had any at all to sell.

Now this week Hubby walks in with the mail, and there's another packet from SESE. I open it, and there's another duplicate order of the larger order of onions and another packet of tomato seeds. I phoned them yesterday. They told me someone had written "sold out" on my first order and they thought they hadn't been delivered, so they shipped the last order when they realized they still had onions and could fill it. My credit card had not been charged twice. I offered to ship the duplicate order back if they would refund the shipping cost to me. At first they said yes, do that, but then they discussed it and decided that by the time I shipped them back, they paid the return cost, and then they tried shipping to someone else, they were afraid it would be too late for planting, and they also weren't sure how to work the shipping refund, so they finally told me they thought it was too complicated and just to keep the extra onions at no charge. This is a $21.50 order of potato onions plus a packet of tomato seeds. I'm sorry that SESE is taking a loss, and I feel guilty about keeping them, but I really can't afford to pay for another order, and I'm not going to pay $4.75 out of my pocket to ship them back, so I think I'll spread the free ones around to friends and family and try to get several people growing them. (Anybody need any Tropic tomato seeds? I've got plenty.)

I thought SESE was very nice to handle it this way. They have always been a good company to do business with even if someone in shipping got a little mixed up this time.

Apparently it is my life's gardening mission to get people to grow potato onions.

LOL! That is really funny, and also very sweet, Ander. I bought the medium/large potato onions myself (along with some garlic) and per their instructions I've been holding to plant them until Thanksgiving. I just peeked and they do not look very big... but much bigger than the measly onions I managed to grow this year.

I have been holding out yet as well. Even though our lows have been between 32-38 we have also been up to 55 during the day still. I think I may plant the first weekend in Nov.

Do I water them through the winter Ander? Or just plant and let the winter do it's thing?

I have two 4X4 boxes for these and my garlic. I am going to do a square of onions and then a square of garlic through both boxes. Partly because I have different kinds of garlic and I would like to keep track of which variety I plant where.

I am SO EXCITED about these onions...and I think for sure Ander this is your gardening mission!!
Just think if all of us who are growing them are successful we can share with folks on the forum next fall! Maybe it will be a SFG epidemic! POTATO ONIONS TAKE OVER THE SFG WORLD!

LOL..I guess I am feeling goofy tonight...Where is my wine?

Glad to see you posting, Jennie. I had missed seeing your posts lately.

I'm not sure what to tell you about watering your onions through the winter. Usually when I plant them in the ground I don't. Nature takes care of it. But doing it SFG style is new for me, too. I guess if you don't get enough rain or snow in the winter you'd better play it safe and water them occasionally.

Hi all! I found you good folks through a web search while I was trying to figure out what went wrong with my potato onions Ordered some from Territorial Seed last summer, planted them in the fall when I put in my garlic. The tops have fallen over and started to die back but no onion bulbs...they look like 'green onions'.

I was wondering how the AL/FL panhandle people's PO were doing? Have y'all harvested yet?

Anyone with pointers please chime in...I'd appreciate any advice y'all have!