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nugrdnnut

dixondale long-day onion recommendation

nugrdnnut
10 years ago

This will be my first year ordering onions from dixondale. We live 60 miles south of the Canadian border, so definitely a long day onion area.

We enjoy our onions cooked, sliced for hamburgers/salad, rings, and as greens.

Any experience/recommendations on variety is appreciated.

TIA

Tom

Comments (29)

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    Yes, definitely need long day variety, with 16 hours of daylight.
    post this in alliums forum to get some comments from onions growers.

  • barbe_wa
    10 years ago

    I've always had good luck with Copra for storage and Walla Walla for late summer and fall eating. I've always planted Red Wing for a red salad onion, but last year both the Copra and Red Wing bolted way too early. Weather, I guess. This year I'm trying Big Daddy and Red Zeppelin. Dixondale has been my favorite place to buy onion starts for many years.

  • nugrdnnut
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you for the replies... I know I don't have to order yet, but I am looking at 2 x long day sampler bunes (Red Zeppelin, Ringmaster, and Walla Walla), 1 bunch of copra, and perhaps 1 bunch of highlander.

    My plans are to plant every 3" in my raised bed, alternating larger transplant with smaller transplant, and harvest every other (smaller) onion for green onions, leaving 6 inches between larger onions to bulb.

    Does this sound okay?

    Any other suggestions are appreciated!!!

  • little_minnie
    10 years ago

    I do not order Red Zeppelin because it is a Monsanto onion but I have excellent results from Walla Walla, and Copra is great for storage. Big Daddy and Torpedo do wonderfully too. Walla Wallas get done early which is nice for succession planting. But being they don't store it is important not to plant too many.
    {{gwi:118548}}

    {{gwi:118549}}

  • nugrdnnut
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    little_minnie,
    Thanks for sharing your experience and pictures.

    Tom

  • hudson___wy
    10 years ago

    Nice looking onions Little Minnie!

    Dixondale Farms is a great supplier for onion starts - we've ordered from them for several years. We would recommend that you order a sampler (like you have decided) to see which onions from the long day selection do best in your area. Ring Master and Sterling did best in our area of the long day varieties. Super Star (intermediate day variety) always performs best at our location.

    {{gwi:109309}}

  • nugrdnnut
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Great... thank you Hudson.

    btw, I found your onion post looking for recommendations. You must eat a lot of onions, and/or sell them at markets!

    regards,
    tom

  • pnbrown
    10 years ago

    Big onions from little minnie!

  • ltilton
    10 years ago

    I do the thing about planting the starts closer and planning to thin them, but the onions have often gotten ahead of me, leaving too-close and therefore smaller bulbs where they aren't thinned.

  • nugrdnnut
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    pt well taken tilton!

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    A question to onion experts:

    I have seen in photos that onions bulbs are almost half exposed(out of soil)
    HOW DO THEY DO THAT ?

  • pnbrown
    10 years ago

    How do the onions do that, or the gardeners?

    IME, when the bulbs get large, that's what happens.

  • theforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
    10 years ago

    The onions grow out of the soil themselves. It's because the basal plate (where the roots come out) doesn't move much, if at all. So the depth the basal plate was at when the onion was planted is the depth it stays. And when the onion bulb swells it can only go when direction: up.

    Rodney

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    So the depth the basal plate was at when the onion was planted is the depth it stays. (Rodney)
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    That is hard to believe. If you stick the seedling or set 5 -6" deep into the soil, You can never have half of a 4" onion(just example) to stick out. UNLESS you plant the seedlings ONE inch or so deep.
    I used to do this: Make a furrow, then plant the onion seedlings on the top. After the seeding are established, then unhill them, removing the soil around them. .

  • hudson___wy
    10 years ago

    Tom
    "btw, I found your onion post looking for recommendations. You must eat a lot of onions, and/or sell them at markets!"

    It probly appears that we plant more than we do - we usually plant one wide row (4 onions wide) approximately 70' long. That gives us enough onions for a long winter storage, drying & freezing. We also like to bag some up for our kids that do not have a garden space and neighbors.

    It is fun to watch the reaction of neighbors that have grown or tried to grow onions for years when we give them a small onion bag of Super Stars (4-6" bulbs) grown right down the street from their garden! They think we know what we are doing :)

    We do not sell anything - that would make this hobby work - haha

  • pnbrown
    10 years ago

    Seyson, why would you plant onion starts six inches deep? Often, they are scarcely that tall overall.

  • theforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
    10 years ago

    Seysonn- You just proved my point. If onions are planted at 5-6 inches deep the onion bulbs won't grow above the soil surface. So you have to pull the soil away from the bulb. However, the bottom of the onion will still be roughly 5-6 inches deep.

    If the onion is planted 1-2 inches deep, which seems to be the ideal depth according to everything I've read about growing onions, the onion bulb will grow out of the soil by itself.

    The depth the basal plate is at when the onion is planted is the depth it stays.

    My apologies to the OP for getting a little off topic.

    Rodney

  • dirtguy50 SW MO z6a
    10 years ago

    We order the intermediate day samplers for our zone from Dixondale. Planted and fertilized according to their directions make massive 5-6" onions. Very happy with their products.

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    10 years ago

    Mine get planted 1" deep, give or take a cm.

  • little_minnie
    10 years ago

    Mine too. Don't plant too deep because it can lead to rotting problems.

  • digdirt2
    10 years ago

    You'd never plant onions 5-6" deep! Plant onions 1" deep max.

    Dave

  • kevenson64
    8 years ago

    We are also about 60 miles south of the Canadian border at 2900' above sea level in NW MT. We have had great luck with Dixondale's Ailsa Craig onion plants. They are a sweet large onion that do well in a raised bed but all your friends will want to share with you so grow plenty. This year I am also growing some Copra for long lasting, Sterling for a white onion, and Red Zeppelin for a red onion but you can't go wrong with Ailsa Craig. I plant these 4 " apart and rows 4" apart-space is limited in raised beds.

  • hudson___wy
    8 years ago

    You may be interested (if you haven't tried them already) in trying Dixondale's new "Highlander" onion. We grew it last year and it quickly became our favorite. Slender neck - it is the only onion we have grow where the leaves actually topped on their own in the garden before freezing temperatures! Good sized onion and it stores well too. We have tried most all medium and long day onions available from Dixondale. Highlander and Super Star have performed the best for us at our location.


  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Funny you mention Highlander, I got a bundle myself this April from them. Doing well so far.

  • Peter (6b SE NY)
    8 years ago

    I am happy with my long day sampler, but so far the Walla Walla are far in the lead. The white ones... ringmaster I think?... were really small and not doing well for the most part. The Red Zepplin look good but are behind on the bulbing to the Walla Walla. Already they are much bigger than the tiny onion set bulbs yielded last year.

  • Peter (6b SE NY)
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The sampler turned out ok. Nothing commercial size really but about the largest about the size of a baseball, most more like tennis ball. Good single use size. Still a big improvement from the super tiny onions from the set last year. I bought their recommended granular chemical fertilizer used per their directions... I think it was a waste of money and I will use organic ferts like everywhere else next year and I think they will do better. The Walla Walla did the best.

    I am considering growing onions from seed next year. I have a T5 grow light. Any advice on this? They seem not all that difficult to grow, just very slow, and I don't mind, it will be winter gardening for me. Or perhaps fall or winter sowing is an option?

    A few of the onions


  • nugrdnnut
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Thanks to all for your updates. My report for 2014:

    All plants grew well,
    40% of the onions were tennis ball size or larger,
    30% small,
    and 30% bolted.

    2015 report:
    only 2-3 onions grew to baseball size,
    none bolted,
    and no leaves/blades grew to more than 24 inches high,
    most were 18" or less. Although I added ~ 4 inches of compost, I did not fertilize. It looks like fertilizer is what is needed.

    Regards,
    tom


  • hudson___wy
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Highlanders getting ready to bulb in Wyoming!


  • Peter (6b SE NY)
    8 years ago

    Getting ready to bulb now? The solstice was almost a month ago?

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