Re: [gardeners] Vidalia & 1015Y Texas Sweet
margaret lauterbach (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 28 Mar 1999 08:17:49 -0700
At 08:02 AM 3/28/99 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi Allen,
> I have ordered 2 bundles of 1015Y Texas Sweets (of 50 to 75 sets
>per bundle), that are to arrive this week. Along with them, I ordered 3
>bundles of Vidalia sets (50 to 75 sets per bundle). Both varieties
>cost $6.95 per bundle from the Territorial Seed Company. Since I called
>a second time and increased my order, I have two shipping costs of $3.75
>for each of two separate shippings. I figure that is nearly $42.00 for
>approximately 300 onion sets, including shipping costs.
> Meanwhile, my husband found Vidalia onion sets at the local grocery
>store for $.60 a bundle, including tax. He knew we liked Vidalia onions
>from buying them in the grocery store last winter, so he got me 5
>bundles containing 65 plants per bundle. That was a total of $3.00 for
>325 onion sets.
> They may not be of the high quality that Territorial Seed Company
>sells, but I have the "cheap" Vidalia onion sets planted in a raised
>bed, about 6 inches of space between each set. I plan to pull some of
>them for eating in late spring, in a pattern of "every other one," as
>they grow, so as to leave more room for the remaining onions to grow to
>a large, mature size.
> For the EXPENSIVE ones coming later this week, what is the closest I
>can plant these sets if I do not intend to "thin them" by pulling "every
>other one," before they reach their full, mature size? Allen, and
>anyone with experience "planting onions close together," I would
>appreciate opinions you might have on this plan.
> I am labeling the onion sets in the garden, so as to see if the
>EXPENSIVE ones are better quality than the cheap (less than a penny per
>onion set) onions. For the 1015Y Texas Sweet onions, I may have to
>order from a seed catalog, but never again pay the higher price for
>Vidalias IF the grocery store onion sets produce the same quality
>onion. Next year, I also plan to try the Candy pelleted onion seeds
>from Stokes.
> This year, I will have in excess of 600 onion sets. I have
>limited space, so I am interested in planting as close as "success" will
>allow. I have an American Harvester Food Dehydrator, and plan to dry
>some onions. Does anyone have advice as to the probable success one
>might have drying onions? Most of the onions will be frozen in
>appropriate size portions for chili, soups, and other uses. I will
>store in a dry, cool place, only the amount I think we can eat before
>they spoil.
> I hope my husband's grocery store Vidalias are as good as the
>EXPENSIVE ones, so I can buy them there each year, but IF they are, I am
>going to be really SICK to know I paid that extraordinary price for the
>ones I ordered. I still don't have another less expensive source for
>the 1015Y Texas onions, though.
> Thanks for any advice anyone can give me.
>Marguerite Ruch, on the shore of Truman Lake in Missouri
>
I was pretty mystified by this post until I checked the Territorial
catalog. You have bundles of seedlings, not sets. Sets are small dry
onion bulbs that, when planted, yield large onions (God willing), but
they're generally not sold in bundles. When you get your seedlings, you
can use scissors to trim off stray long roots and the brown tips of the
onions before you plant. Good luck, Margaret L