country n news-its time

COUNTRY N NEWS-ITS TIME

yesterday as i was chopping up an onion
one that i bought at the store
my eyes were aflowing with onion tears
wishing
i had some of my country n 10/15 onions that i grow every year

hanging them in those onion chimes
to cut off one as i need it
knowing that those organic onions
dont make my eyes water when i cut them
plus
they seem to have better flavor

so each year at this time i get the onion planting itch
knowing what the end result will be in the late spring
lots of onions for the next 8 months

so if you live in this area central texas
now is the time to plant your onions
plant them from onion plants
sold like this in bundles of 25-50

these are readily available at this time of year
at most nurseries and feed stores

ive noticed for some reason that this years plants
seem to be larger and just look better

first you have to start with the right soil
remember put a $5 plant in a $50 hole

the bed i planted them in is 4 ft by 12 ft and is about
2 feet deep mostly raised
a few months ago i added 4 inches of my
country n compost plus organic fertilizer plus cottonseed meal
plus a sprinkling of green sand plus a soaking of
liquid humates and molasses
covered with a layer of pine straw and leaves

this was then allowed to ferment and enrich for several weeks

i raked all the leaves and straw off

then
i planted each plant about 1 inch deep
1 hookem horn width for me thats 6 inches apart
covered the base with soil
then
i watered them all in with a liquid organic fertilizer
johns formula
then
i covered the bed with a layer of pine straw and leaves
to provide mulch to keep the soil warmer

i usually dont use row cover on my onions
since the mulch seems to do the job keeping them alive
and growing

this bed has a 3 row of drip irrigation for the top
for deeper irrigation when the plants get larger
i have added 40 ft of underground perforated 2 inch pvc
which i can add water or a fertilizer solution directly about
a foot into the ground

now i have planted about 175 plants
anticipating a good harvest this year
like we had two years ago

then
as i went to sleep
i was dreaming of my
onion chimes
sweet music it is

these are one of the easiest plants to grow
try  it
in a pot in a barrel in a flower bed
make sure it gets plenty of sun
keep it fertilized

it will be all worth it in a few months
we also pull the green onions as we need fresh onions for
salads and cooking

bon appetite

the organicgreen doctor