[gardeners] garlic/onions

Allen and Judy Merten (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 30 Sep 1998 21:55:04 -0500 

Hi Gardeners,
    Boy, this is a great discussion on garlic and onions, two of my
favorite flavors. I have a couple of publications on growing garlic and
onions in Texas from the extension service. They recommend that you
never plant garlic deeper than 1 inch, onions have different depths
depending upon whether you are planting sets, seeds, or transplants.
Seeds and sets are planted 3/4" deep and transplants, "Do not transplant
onions more than 1" deep".
    We grew Texas White garlic last year and harvested just under a
bushel, bulbs about the size of a tennis ball to baseball size. The
smaller bulbs did come from smaller cloves, about the size of a #2
pencil.
    We grew 1015y  and Red Bermuda onions. We planted about 160 1015 Y's
and 60 Red Bermuda's. They did great. The 1015's ranged from baseball to
softball size. The Red Bermuda's made two different shapes, some flat,
wide ones about 2" thick; and some big round ones larger than a
baseball. We also planted about 100 green bunching onion sets that my
dad gave me. They produced very well also. Some of the last ones that we
harvested looked like regular bulbing onions with a purplish tinge.
    I saved the bulblets and replanted them this fall, doing good again.
My dad gave me some more larger sets to plant also cause I ate all the
others. Most of the 1015's went into all the salsa that we made(9 gals).
The Red Bermudas went into salad, soups, potato salad and pickles.
    I'm going to try planting 1015 seeds on Oct. 15th this fall. I have
never tried planting seeds before.
    My dad raises his garlic in a big washtub every year. He told me
that often some of the little cloves on the out side of the garlic bulb
break off under ground and will sprout again next season. I planted mine
in rows last year before he told me about his wash tub.
    George, do you have gumbo soil? Back home on the Texas coast that's
the type of soil that we had. We never did grow very good bulbing
onions. Bunching onions and shallots did ok. My soil here is sandy loam,
acidic.
    I've taken up enough space and time, so I'm outa here.
Allen
Bastrop Co., Tx
Zone 8