The onion transplants are 1/8 to 1/4 inch if they are a little small to me that is better. Just keep them watered good and they will take off. Also most of the time when they are smaller they give you more per bunch. I would say most average around 3/16 inch. They have great seed and prices great customer service. Ship at cost and ship most orders in one week or less. But sometimes it will take 2 weeks when in the peak of the season. Yes the site is out dated and a little hard to navigate. But use it and you will get used to it. The seed are fresh with very good germination rates. They move a lot of seed. You will be happy with them.

I ordered Texas 1015 seeds from a Texas based company. I believe I get 200 seeds for a total cost with shipping of about $5.00. I am going to sow them in DIY newspaper pots about 2 -2.5 inches in diameter. I plan to sow 10 seeds per pot. Is that about the correct density? Any other suggestions?

Mrdoitall,
Spent some time on the website - placed an order - I thought I had a good source for seed - this source is a good one !! :). Tks!

Like I said, I've been ordering from them for years. They run a very good company. You will be happy with the seed you get from them.

I pulled down another bag of our storage onions today - proof is in the pudding - they say. I can't complain nor am I disappointed with these Dixondale "Super Star" onions! They are storing wonderfully - IMO

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lltilton -- my onions from seed in pots are growing nicely -- are chive sized already. Thanks for the inspiration to try this!

bomber095 -- you just need more recipes that call for onions! I grow about 250 onions for 2 people and only give a few away under duress. We start eating them in May as scallions, so about 1/5 of them go that way.

A great way to use onion sets: in late Feb or early March, if it looks like I'll run out of storage onions before May, I throw in some sets, which are always available at Southern States that time of year. They'll be big "spring" onions by April, and fill in the gap nicely (and also impress the heck out of my neighbors that I've got onions that early -- those I give a lot away of, since people appreciate them so much.)

This has been an awesome thread -- thanks for all the info and seed/plant ordering ideas.

- Sharing onions with family and friends - Here we are - a few days from March and the onions are still storing well. We packaged several today to share that look and feel as firm and fresh as the did last September. I suspect that they will start showing sprouts during March though (several already have) as they did last year. Not that we won't continue to use them - they just won't fall into the quality of sharing category - any longer. Fellow gardeners that live in cold climates as we do - if you can figure out a way to cure your onions - you should be able to grow, store and enjoy fresh garden onions most months of the year!

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This post was edited by Hudson...WY on Tue, Feb 25, 14 at 11:19

I made an impulse purchase a few weeks ago from Walmart, was on the way back to the auto service area and there was a display of onion bulbs, each bag had 50 bulbs and was $1.68, I bought 3 bags. But other than labeling them as 'sweet' onions, no variety name was a given.
I am planting them today, many of the bulbs have already sprouted.
Since they are not labelled by variety I'm hoping they will grow well in my area.

Hudson, It is worth to experiment. Few years ago I planted some of those (also called onion sets). I planted them some time around Christmas . Also planted some early spring. That was back in Georgia. They grew nicely, BUT a lot of them bolted. I have had better luck with seedlings. I think onions are biennial. So the second year they flower and produce seeds. For that reason, some of those sets realize that its their second year and should go for flowering. Because of that I would only plant the very tiny ones.

I only plant the dry bulb onion set like the bag ones from Walmart for green onions. Because they are 2nd year onions and 90 % of the time they just bolt and go to seed. If you want big onions for storage you need to use the plants or seed.

I didn't know that, thank you.

I agree - dry bulb onion sets are for green onions. But I don't even purchase them anymore because the seedlings are great for green onions too so I just order enough seedlings for green onions and storage onions. Neighbors are quite impressed when you give them a bag of onions that were grown next door that are bigger and better than what you can find in the grocery store!

I also agree with you Seysonn - that it is worth it to experiment! That is probly the best way to improve produce. We always plant mostly what has grown the best in prior years but always try new varieties to confirm we currently are growing the best for our area. Last year we planted 5 different varieties of onions and verified that none of them are better than Super Star. I have already purchased 4 more new varieties in addition to Super Star for 2014 to see if they can out produce and store longer than Super Star. We will see - if one does - it becomes the variety of choice for the following season.

Is it too late to order sets and plant for this year?

Well, in your area you may have done better planting earlier (maybe even in the fall) but I would never miss a year just because I was late :)

You'll want to make sure you get short day onions (most ordering places will divide their onion types by short, mid and long day types). And go with either sets or plants, as it is too late for seeds.

While some mail order places are already sold out, I can't imagine they all are. Try Dixondale -- they sell so many onions, and to people all over the country, they must have some left.

If you can find sets in a store near you, you'll save the shipping time (and postage costs).

Hey, even if you don't get huge onions this year, you'll learn a thing or two, and you'll at least get spring onions with all that wonderful tasty green.

Dixondale is linked at the end of the article linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: growing onions in texas

Thank you Elisa :)

Dixondale is great place to order from but a little high. I order from Morgan County Seeds They have bunches of onions for 2.00 to 2.40 per bunch I got 4 bunches for $14.65 to my door shipping and all for the same onions at dixondale it would cost $23.50 You would need to call Morgan County Seeds to see if they have any to sale. with them you have to put your order in Dec. Jan. to get on the list. You then tell them when you want then delivered to your home.

OR you could order from Johnny's selected seeds and get 4 bunches for $73.25 (includes shipping). Do you think maybe they're not really in the home garden market??? (Price goes way down if you order, say, 30 bunches of the same kind.)

My problem is that when I got my onions from them (before their prices went sky high) I had problem free onions, and the past two years, from other cheaper places, I've had issues. Trying a new place this year -- fingers crossed. Also trying my own seedlings -- could be the real answer.

I went to a local hardware store and they had some onion starts in bunches, there were 3 different kinds but I chose the 1015 (so named because one is supposed to plant them then, obviously I'm seriously late).
They are thin, some as thin as a 10 gauge wire and sort of dry looking. Got two bunches at $2.99 each.

This post was edited by lucille on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 5:20

Sounds great lucille -- just get them in the ground asap and see what happens.

And congratulations -- you beat the Johnny's price! :)

The problem with onions (seeds, plants , sets) is that you need to know that it is the right kind for your latitude : Down Texas you should plant SHORT day types. Up here in WA, I will have to plant LONG day varieties. Our days are 16 hours on June 22. And by then onions are not done yet. So the average daylight is about 14 hours during onion growing season, plus the temperatures are much cooler. It is likely that the garden centers in each location sell the appropriate variety but not for sure.

Seysonn, the 1015 is famous down here. Texas A&M developed it, its other name is 'Texas Super Sweet'.
Pretty sure it will be OK here :)

Lucille, .. that is perfect. I was just speaking in general. When I started growing onions years ago I have no idea about day length sensitivity of onions.

BTW: I have grown Texas Sweet in the past. Really nice white and sweet onions. Then I was in GA.

Seysonn,
Thanks, I've grown onions in the past. The 1015s do very well but they do not store for a long time. I'm hoping they will be able to be frozen if I harvest enough.

This post was edited by lucille on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 20:40

I live in North Alabama I have grown Copra Onions for years. They're a long day onion. I just have to set them out earlier than the short day onions so they can get as many leaves on them before it starts getting too hot. Each leaf equals one ring on the onion. The copra onion gets baseball size and some a little bigger down here. But if it gets too hot too soon they don't do as good. If I plant them to late they want bulb. I have to protect them with row covers. They're a great storage onion. This year I have added Walla Walla to see if I can make them grow down here. Walla Walla is also a long day onion. I grow Candy and Red Candy onions but they're Intermediate-Day Varieties that grow fine down here. I have grown the Texas Legend, Yellow Granex, 1015 Yellow Texas Super Sweet and Red Creole short day onions.

The cycle is complete - our new onion starts for 2014 arrived last week and we planted them out today. We are still eating last years harvest so the Super Star onion has now stored for 7 months! We won't complain about that!

I ordered some onion starts from two sources other than Dixondalefarms.com this year for comparison based on comments I have read on this forum - I have to say that I was very disappointed - the transplants were not near the quality that we get from Dixondalefarms and the transplants from other sources were much smaller with less quantity per bundle - although the bundles were a little cheaper - it wasn't worth the savings - IMO!

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Your post is why I hate recommending any source to anyone... Because I have no control of what they send you... My onions looked great this year... Maybe it because I get them so early... I get them the first day they have onions available to ship...If that's the onions you got this year I would be very happy getting them in the mail this late in the year... Just trim off 1/2 the green onion part and 1/2 the roots and plant them out... They will take off when your weather warms up some and should do fine... But you can bet I won't be sharing any more seed or plant sources on this forum again...

Looking great Hudson.
Maybe you should start a new thread for 2014 season. This has been a populare thread and thus has gotten very long and has reached a limit.

seysonn

LOL I'm glad I looked back at the start of this tread. You need to go back and look at your May 16, 2013 onion plants They look more dried up than this years plants...

Mrdoitall - Please keep recommending!! Morgan seed has become one of our sources for seeds etc that I would never have known about had you not recommended them!! I did order one bundle of onion transplants from them and they were actually pretty good - I was not disappointed with Morgan County Seed Onion transplants as I was with the other source - I highly recommend Morgan County Seeds! I also ordered Rhubarb starts and seed potatoes that are awesome and they have great prices on bulk seeds - which I ordered. I find them very friendly and eager to help whenever I call them - they are a great source & they only charge the exact shipping costs - thanks so much for recommending them!!

I agree - the time of year the starts are ordered/shipped make a difference. Last year I order the starts from Dixondalefarms on the last possible shipment date (May 13th I think) - this year I ordered them to arrive April 15th. There was a big difference! This year they arrived green and appeared to have just been pulled from the field - last year the tops were dried out as you mentioned and can see in the photo from May 16th and the starts appeared to have been in cold storage a week or two before they were shipped to me.

Although the onion transplants form Morgan Seeds were as good as Dixondalefarms and appeared to have been just pulled from the field - Dixondale may be a little more generous with the bundle count - depending on the year - which may equalize the cost some. I think they are both good sources for onion starts though and one should order from either or both sources depending on the variety and preference.

This post was edited by Hudson...WY on Mon, May 5, 14 at 3:57

It is a good thing onion plants can tolerate colder temperatures! We want to plant them in late April or Early May so they will get some size before freezing in the fall. We timed it perfect as I was able to work the soil and get them planted before this spring snow storm that may have delayed planting for a week or two!

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>> Your post is why I hate recommending any source to anyone...
>> .. But you can bet I won't be sharing any more ... sources on this forum again

Fine. But without you I never would have found Morgan and without someone else I never would have found Dixondale. You pays your dime and you takes your chances, but someone has to let you know where the show is.

Mrdoitall
"Your post is why I hate recommending any source to anyone... Because I have no control of what they send you..."

I am reporting back to you from you comments back in May - you were right - even though the onion transplants from one supplier were smaller than from another - they appear now to all be on the same plane. The photo shows the Highlander that had larger transplants next to the Ailsa Craig that had smaller transplants - they were planted on the same day. Other than the fact that the larger transplants are a little easier to handle and the advantage of purchasing transplants from the same supplier - Three months later their appears to be little difference between the plants. FYI

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A little late, but thought I would mention that in May I used my last storage onion from the 2013 harvest. Not a bad storage run. Of all the varieties I grew (list mentioned previously) the Red Zeppelin reds stored the longest.

This year from Dixondale I ordered:
Copra
Walla Walla
Ringmaster
Sterling
Red Zeppelin

I ordered fewer sweet varieties this year because I could not use them up fast enough last year and lost many to sprouting. To make use of them rather than lose them I dehydrated onions for the first time with fantastic results. The house smelled wonderfully during the process and surprisingly I never got tired of it, although it made me hungry all the time.

Crop this year is decent, not quite as good as last year but a much poorer growing season is likely to blame. The Dixondale starts are still easily outperforming anything else I have ever planted. I counted only three plants total that failed. This year I planted every tiny little extra bonus plant and they all produced for me as well, although on the smallish side, giving me an extra 75 or so which are great for giveaways to the older folks I know that do not need or want large onions.

At time of writing I have only harvested Walla Walla and Copra, the rest are still maturing in the garden.

Sterling appears to be the largest - consistently softball-sized. Walla Walla are the most inconsistently sized (but oh the wonderful, tasty onion rings the big ones make...). Once again my Red Zeppeling reds are consistently smallish, but they stored so wonderfully last winter that it does not bother me, and will not stop me from ordering them again in the future. Copra consistently sized up between baseball and softball, very acceptable for me for a storage onion as the big ones always spoil early.

By the way, this year for fun I thickly seeded some Granex onions. Not a long season onion so never does well here regarding sizing up. Harvested them as pearls and pickled them. Turned out wonderfully.

Next year I also want to try growing Cippolini and Tropea...

-Tom

Tom - have you tried growing Yellow Granex from Dixondale? When you seeded some Granex - I assume you grew them from seeds? Just curious how large a Dixondale short day onion transplant would bulb in your long day area?

You may consider growing the new Highlander variety from Dixondale next year - we are excited to see how they store - they have already bulbed up as large or larger than any onion we have planted. I need to post a current pic of the onion - it is getting big with still a few weeks to go. We have pulled a few to eat - they have a good flavor - if they cure and store well - they will be a regular!

I have not tried Yellow Granex from Dixondale. Guess I do not see the point although I do tend towards experimentation. Last year I purchased some Granex seed not knowing it is short day (why do stores carry seed racks with vegetable varieties that are not applicable to local growing conditions, season length, etc.?). Anyway, for 2013 I started Granex seeds indoors and transplanted the plants in spring. Onions did not get any larger than golf ball size. Only tried this once, so I do not know if issue was related to being a short day variety or other. They tasted good though. This year it was either toss the leftover seeds or plant them so I direct seeded with the intention of harvesting as pearls. Worked well enough that I actually may do again.

Due to inconsistency of size, I may abandon the Walla Walla as I did Ailsa Craig. Will likely substitute with Highlander to give them a try. This year I dropped Ailsa Craig and doubled up on Copra, which I think will work out great. I am more interested in consistency of size and storeability than I am in getting really large onions.

Neglected to mention my total onion count: I purchased six bunches from Dixondale and expect to have a total harvest of approximately 480 onions. I also harvested 25 pounds of French Red and Zeebrune shallots, and 30 pounds of yellow potato onions. They are curing on the porch next to the onions. Harvested all the walking onion topsets to control spreading. Will pickle some of them and fall-plant some for spring green onions. I also plan on pickling garlic bulbils that I harvested two weeks ago and are still curing.

Will be interesting to hear how your Highlanders store compared to other varieties. Please keep us posted...

-Tom

This post was edited by soilent_green on Thu, Aug 14, 14 at 20:58

I'm growing onions for the first time and now I'm addicted. Didn't realize how much I would enjoy the upper greens in salad. Will try another variety next year.

edit:correct pic

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:109299}}

This post was edited by goodground on Sun, Aug 17, 14 at 13:21

I grew them from seed. Here is a pic prior to transplanting outside in April 2014.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:109300}}

Goodground - do you cut back the roots or tops before you transplant the seedlings.

yolos- I did not prune the roots intentionally, only what got damaged pulling them apart. I pruned seedling tops several times prior to transplanting so plants stayed erect. After transplanting, I did not prune the tops any more.

Last year, when I toured the grow outs on SSE's Heritage Farm, they had an onion field with numerous trials. One variety really stood out from the others: "Newberg", an open-pollinated development from Dr. Kapular of Peace Seeds. The bulbs were spherical, very large & consistent, with no sign of doubles or splitting. That it performed so well despite heavy weed pressure was especially noteworthy.

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"Newberg", on SSE's 2013 grow out

So I started 144 plants this year, and so far, they are growing nicely. While I've started bunching onions from seed before, this year was the first time I've started my own onion plants for bulbs. There were a few problems... I started them later than the recommendations for my area, and the seedlings were very late getting transplanted due to wet weather. Still, I'm pretty happy with how they are turning out... most are about 3" wide at present. I'll post photos after the harvest.

This was the first year starting plants indoors with a new light setup, 6-bulb hi-bay reflective florescent fixtures. The light was intense enough that the onion plants remained fairly short until I was able to put them outside, I never had to trim them back.

Zeedman - the Newberg is growing nicely for you! My garden could certainly trial for heavy weed pressure - haha. Yes - please post some photos on harvest - your onions have done very well from planting seed - especially if they were late - they have bulbed up nicely!

Onions have always been my best crop but this year they were the best of all time. I order from Dixondale. I must have grown around 3000 onions. Almost all of them are jumbo, over one pound. I think they did better this year because of the wet spring. I shared my plant order with 2 friends who did not get the results I did. The trick to onions is simple: lots of manure worked in, plant shallowly through plastic mulch with several drip tape underneath, and weed a couple times.
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Here is a link that might be useful: seed saving class in MN

Also I did one bed this year with 2 onions in each hole. Those did very well for spring onions. I had more than I needed was all. I grew Walla Walla, Red Torpedo, Red and Yellow Cippollini, Ringmaster, Big Daddy, Copra and wanted Mars red onion but the only one they had was Red Zeppelin which is a Seminis variety. The Copras were way bigger than normal.

Nice onions Minnie. How did your Torpedo and Cippolini do? Been thinking of growing those myself next year just to try something unique. A nice little shish kebab/grilling onion like the Cippolinis would be kind of nice to have.

Harvested all my onions yesterday morning before the rains came. Had not a drop of rain for 7 weeks and just finished up with 1.5 inches in the last 24 hours. All my rainwater catch tanks are full once again, should last out the rest of the season. :-) Was getting pretty crispy around here.

Was not impressed with Ringmaster and will be dropping them from my list. Too inconsistently sized for me and a fair amount of doubling. My Sterlings turned out wonderfully. I now consider my main crop onions to be Copra, Sterling, and Red Zeppelin, and I will simply order larger quantities of these three to keep my quantities where I want them to be. I also plan on trying Highlander next year as well, and for fun I will try Tropea/Torpedo and the Cippolinis.

-Tom

Your onions look awesome Minnie! 3,000 is a lot of onions!! Your onions are very large!

You may consider trying a few of the new "Highlander" from Dixondale. Take a look at the Highlander onion thread where I posted some photos of the onion - we usually stick with Super Star - but Highlander will become another regular if it stores as well as Super Star. Highlander grew very large for us and matured early.

We also tried Red Candy Apple this year - It also matured early but without bulbing up very large - most are the size of a baseball - which is OK - if they store well. Here is a photo of the Red Candy Apple from Dixondale.

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Highlander

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Red Candy Apple

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Ailsa Craig

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wow hudson & lil minnie... nice Harvests!

I am also going to drop Ringmaster. It is actually really mild but it just isn't a seller. The Cippos did great and the torpedoes even better. Torpedoes sell really well at market. I bunch them in 3-4 and sell for $3. I only have about 10 left of those. The Cippos are boxed and waiting. I use them for sauces for sure. I usually sell braids of them, or try anyway; no one buys them. This year I cut all their tops. Maybe I will braid some other onions.
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This pic is from last year.

This was my first year at growing onions and it went better then I thought. I started the seeds in garden last October and then in April I moved them to there final location. Right now there in the final curing stages. This October I will do Walla Wallas again, and then a long storage type and then a long storage red onion.

Walla Walla Onions
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Nice onions NickRose - that's impressive that you started them from seed!