I can't take this anymore! That's it! I'm starting onion seeds today!

you go grrrrrrrrrr!

I guess I should try that. I have never started onions in the house. I have many times planted seed in the garden, but the onions don't get very big doing that. They are best used as green onions.

I won't be able to plant them out until April. Is it too early to start?

I just checked my notes from last year and started onion mid Feb and planted early April, so yes go ahead. Make sure your grow light for onion is under 12 hours. If over 12 hours they'll start to bulb too early.

Reviewing my notes I see every other day records of rain, rain, rain, rain......

Here is a neat interactive chart from Johnny's for correct planting dates depending on your last frost date.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ass...pdf/seedstarting.zip

Thanks, Snotz! OG site has that chart, but didn't fill in the dates like that. I wondered about the light/day length and bulbing triggers for my onion seedlings last year. I will have to set the timer this year. Is 12 hours enough for other seedlings though? Usually 16 is recommended.

By the way, where did you get the name? I had a dachshund that would have fit!!!

This afternoon, I brought some of my soil mix inside to thaw. Onions will be planted within the week. Hurrah for February!

Cool chart, by the way. Except they have me planting peas while the ground is still likely to be frozen...

I buy Promix by the bale and keep in a 33 gallon covered garbage can. It's always ready to go. I have been known to buy in winter and they wonder what I'm growing, I just say "a legal crop".......

http://www.premierhort.com/ePr...ro/BXMycorisePro.htm

The sun cleared the little snow we did have, I cleared a bit of debris out of the area that's going to be my new bed full of tomatoes this year - I took the tape off some saved boxes, and flattened them out over the area of the bed....

Felt a wee bit of "gardening" was happening...

Question to you onion planters....I have sets - do those go out later than than the seed you lot are talking about?

Jez onions could have been started in January!

Onion seedlings and sets both go in at the same time- as soon as the ground can be worked. I personally plant onion sets, potatoes and any seeds before any seedlings/plants for safety from late snows.

Careful there Paul--the "no peat" police may be looking!!!

As far i am concerned, Onions are the toughest to plant. Great care to take with unexpected outputs. You all seem quite satisfied with your results. I hope i be that lucky as well

quote:

Originally posted by WileyR:
Careful there Paul--the "no peat" police may be looking!!!

Wiley I also burn COAL to heat my house.

quote:

Originally posted by LuckyCarrots:
As far i am concerned, Onions are the toughest to plant. Great care to take with unexpected outputs. You all seem quite satisfied with your results. I hope i be that lucky as well

At the risk of repeating myself... onions are very easy to transplant if you have started them in soil blocks. Guess what? I will be starting mine in soil blocks!

quote:

Originally posted by Liz1:
At the risk of repeating myself... onions are very easy to transplant if you have started them in soil blocks. Guess what? I will be starting mine in soil blocks!

At the risk of making you repeat yourself (and hijacking the thread, ta-boot)... how do you usually make your soil blocks. I'm always tempted to buy one of the ones from the seed catalog, but I just can't make myself spend the money.

Aha. In steps the soil-block evangelist.

Mix together 3 10-quart buckets of peat and ½ cup lime (to offset the acidic peat). Set aside. Mix together 2 buckets perlite, 1 cup blood meal, 1 cup rock phosphate, 1 cup Greensand , and combine those ingredients with the peat/lime mix. (This is Julia Child of the dirt, here) Add one bucket garden soil and 2 buckets compost, mix it all together, and there you have it. Or reduce the proportions to what you need. It's an Eliot Coleman mix, but I add biochar.

And Kimm1, spare me grief on the peat please. (You gotta head this guy off sometimes.)

Wet the mix, using about 1 part water to 3 parts mix. This holds together well in the soil blocks, which amount to spring-loaded cookie cutters. We got ours from Johnny's for about $30 for 2-inch blocks. It eliminates the need for pots and, while messy in mixing, it's absolutely superb at starting transplants. Better than anything I've tried in 40 years.

In the big greenhouse we laid down plywood on the shelves (any rigid surface will do) with thin plastic dropcloths atop that (to keep the wood dry), followed by a 6-sheet thickness of newspaper. Atop that we set the soil blocks closely spaced but not touching, in groups about six blocks wide and as long as needed. Between these clusters we laid drip irrigation tape (“Irrigator” hose, again from Johnny's, it's cheap), all connected to a timer. Water from the drip hose soaked the newspaper and spread out to bottom-water all the soil blocks – much like the capillary mats that cost an arm and leg.

You can do the same thing in a grow-light situation on shelves, maybe with lipped baking sheets. It's a nice system; cheap, easy, and highly effective.

D*MN,I love to share this stuff, and learn from you folks.