Re: [gardeners] garlic/onions

Allen and Judy Merten (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Thu, 01 Oct 1998 01:17:58 -0500 

Hi Catherine,
    Thanks for the tip on the onion seeds. I had thought about planting them in
the garden and letting them grow until May or June. Will that work? I had
thought about buying some 1015 transplants and comparing the seed grown onions
with the transplants to see if there is any difference come harvest time.
    Onion transplants are so cheap, I paid $1.50 for 200 plants last Jan. I just
wanted to see if seeded onions that don't have to deal with transplant shock
would do any better than transplants. It sounds like you are an onion monster
like me. I love onions, eat them raw, cooked what ever. Read not to long ago
that they are actually a health food.
    This place has the richest soil to garden in of any that I have experienced.
About the only thing I haven't gotten a good crop of is spinach.
    You are near Atlanta, Ga. aren't you? Did yall get lots of rain from
Georges? Do you have the red soil that is so common across the south? My land is
located on two hills. Half of it is sandy loam, light brown, about 3-4 ft deep.
The other half is red, mixed with iron ore and gravel and the soil is shallow.
Under the thin soil is a yellow clay that ACME brick makes bricks out of about 4
miles from our place. I just leave that part thick and wild.
    I believe I'll sign up on the other list.
Allen
Bastrop Co.,Tx.
Zone 8

Catharine Vinson wrote:

> Allen wrote:
>
> I'm going to try planting 1015 seeds on Oct. 15th this fall. I have
> never tried planting seeds before.
>
>    Allen - I'll bet you'll have good luck with it. Starting with seed also
> significantly cuts down on the possibility of infecting with nasty pink rot,
> etc.
>
> I brought back some 1015 seed from F'burg a couple of years ago. They
> produced superb green onions (I was too greedy to let any go on to form
> bulbing size.) I started some in plug trays with individual cells and some
> in a single flat. I ended up happiest with the plug trays: plant several
> seeds in each cell. When you transplant, don't bother to separate; just
> plant the individual "clump". Thinning for eating will take care of spacing,
> etc.
>
> Catharine