Planting time....

[Colonel26]

I’m a few weeks late, but still in plenty of time. I put the tater onions in the ground this afternoon. By January/February the tops will be up and by April or so they’ll be fit to pull a few for green onions. Then by June the tops will start to die back and we’ll dig them up to eat and dry for more seed.

The big ones will make 10-11 small sets and the little ones will make 2-3 big onions. We always try to save a mix for next years crop. I just about lost all my sets a couple of years ago so last year and this year I’ve replanted everything that grew.

And since it’s a knife forum, here’s the Camillus 89 I used to cut back the dried tops.

[jmh58]

Good luck Wade.

[Mumbleypeg]

Looking good Wade! Onions do very well here too. I plant what are called short day onions. If planting from seed they’re planted here in October but usually planted as “slips” (pencil size plants) in January. They get about softball size by June/July, so sweet you can eat them like apples, if you’re so inclined.

Ken

[Colonel26]

Looking good Wade! Onions do very well here too. I plant what are called short day onions. If planting from seed they’re planted here in October but usually planted as “slips” (pencil size plants) in January. They get about softball size by June/July, so sweet you can eat them like apples, if you’re so inclined.

Ken

I’ll have to look those up. I’ve never heard of them. Thanks Ken.

These aren’t sweet. But the flavor is very complex. Cooked they almost have a meaty flavor.

[Mumbleypeg]

They’re called short day onions because they start to “bulb” when there is 10-12 hours of daylight. Look up varieties 1015Y, White Granex, and Red Burgundy. From what I understand they can be grown in the north also, they just don’t get as large in size. 1015Y is our favorite , it’s a yellow onion with really sweet flavor. They store well too.

Ken

[tongueriver]

I tried to find hardneck garlic to plant this fall but every place I tried on the internet was sold out.

[Colonel26]

Unfortunately Kentucky seems to he too far north for short day onions. Although I am barely over the state line from Tennessee. I'll have to look into it a bit more.

Cal I was not aware of the difference between hard and soft neck garlic. It's been several years series I've raised any garlic. I need to start another bed here on the new place. What garlic I raised in the past was given to me by an elderly church member. She put out a bed of it and just Let it reseed itself every year. She had a constant supply at all times.

[DM11]

Good looking onioon patch Wade. Ken that's an interesting onion. Cal I use Keene organic garlic they still have one hard neck varity left. I plant Romanian Red and have for years.. I still donrt have it planted yet. Every time the ground gets dry enough we get a little rain. The weather looks good for the next week so hopefully soon. This will be the latest I've ever planted garlic. As long as I can get it in before the ground freezes it'll be okay.

[tongueriver]

Thanks for the tip. Hardneck garlic is maybe the analog to long-day onions. In other words best for northerly latitudes. I have grown some outstanding garlic when I lived in Montana several years ago but I let it go. Too late here I think to plant; it has frozen every night for more than a month. Maybe I can track some down to buy and plant NEXT October. I could maybe (!) live out my life without garlic but it would be a sadness. Live without onions? Impossible!!! That reminds me- I have some Egyptian walking onions still alive out in the back corner. I will try to get it going next Spring and if there are enough bulbils in the Summer, I will share.

[Mumbleypeg]

I read that many folks “confined to quarters” have taken up home gardening, and home cooking has made a comeback too. As a result garden plants (like garlic and such) have been in short supply this year. The article said suppliers are trying to adjust accordingly where they can but in some cases the supply can’t be increased significantly in just one growing season. Labor restrictions are another factor negatively impacting the ability to increase supply. Like the virus, it’s a worldwide phenomena.

So it’s not just toilet paper!

Ken

[tongueriver]

I read that many folks “confined to quarters” have taken up home gardening, and home cooking has made a comeback too. As a result garden plants (like garlic and such) have been in short supply this year. The article said suppliers are trying to adjust accordingly where they can but in some cases the supply can’t be increased significantly in just one growing season. Like the virus, the shortages are worldwide. Labor restrictions are another factor negatively impacting the ability to increase supply. It’s a worldwide shortage.

So it’s not just toilet paper!

Ken

Maybe there is a silver lining, here. Getting more people to garden and cook is good. I have done so all my life.