Onions - Growing From Seed - deep pots

There are literally hundreds of varieties of onions grown in this world, but unless you grow your own you usually have access to only a handful of varieties from the grocery store.  If you rely on growing onions from ‘sets’, (the little onions available from nurseries with about a hundred per bag) your options are often still quite limited.  Growing from 'sets' has other disadvantages too; often they will produce a significant number of ‘doubles’ (meaning smaller onions at harvest-time) or they go to seed, 
which makes them tough and unpalatable.   

Here is a guide you can follow that will ensure your success at growing onions from seed.

Onions going to seed.

Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (USDA Zone 7b - Link to finding what zone you are in), we do best to grow what are called ‘long day’ varieties which include Cipollini (chip-o-leenie) both red and yellow varieties, Southport White Globe,  or White and Yellow Sweet Spanish. There are many more varieties to choose from; check your seed catalogs or go online to see a greater selection. (Be aware that, if you wish to save your own seed, you must choose Heirloom/Open Pollinated non-hybrid seeds. Those listed above are all Heirloom varieties.)

You will need:

• Sifted potting mix
• Sand (optional)
• Pots: 4"-wide x 6"-deep (1 pot per 25 seeds)
• Seeds; start with fresh seeds each year; onion seeds lose viability within one or two years.
• Greenhouse or grow-lights, or the ability to bring seedlings indoors if in danger of frost.
• Plant-mister  

When to start: About eight-to-ten weeks from the time you wish to transplant them into your garden. We always get the seeds started around the middle of February. By late April the seedlings will be ready to set out into the garden.  They are ready when you can see a clearly defined "bulb", 1/8" to 1/4" pushing above the soil-surface in the pot. At this stage, the sooner they get into the ground the larger your onion bulbs will be at harvest time.  It’s always a good idea to have a bed in mind that you’ve prepared during the previous fall since it’s difficult to prepare beds in the spring if you have a long rainy season like we often experience here in Oregon. The seedlings can handle a touch of frost at this stage but its no fun transplanting them in really muddy garden beds. Some people wait until early or mid-March to start seeds and still have plenty of time for the onions to ripen.

Pots: We've found that starting the seeds in pots that are 4" - 6" deep is best. Any shallower and the seedlings become root-bound before it's time to transplant them.

Soil/Sand: Start with a good organic seed-starting mix.  It doesn’t need to be a premium potting blend, in fact, if you start with too rich of a soil blend you can experience a condition referred to as ‘damping off’ which looks like mold growing on the surface and which causes the young seedlings to rot as they emerge from the soil.  One way to help eliminate this condition is to sprinkle a thin layer of sand over the seeds.  By keeping the soil damp but not too wet and having good ventilation you shouldn’t have this problem. 

Onion seeds can be started in a variety of containers.

Fill the pots with a sifted soil to about 1/2" from the top (tiny seeds find it difficult to germinate in soil with large chunks of material). Level out the soil, tamping them down with the bottom of another pot to create a level surface so that all of the seeds will be sewn at the same depth (otherwise they germinate unevenly). 

Seeds: You may want to actually count out the seeds the first time so that you can have an idea of what 25 - 35 seeds looks like because that is about how many would be optimal to sew in 4" pots.  You can adjust up or down depending on the size container you choose.  The idea is to not have an overcrowded condition that would produce weak and unhealthy seedlings.  Place the seeds in the palm of your hand and pinch out a few at a time. Gently drop them on the surface of the soil, distributing them as evenly as you can without becoming too concerned about accuracy.  It’s OK if some seeds are touching each other. Sprinkle a sifted layer of starting mix or sand over the seeds at a depth of about an eighth to a quarter inch.  Tamp it down again and water gently (a planter mist-er works great at this stage). 

Watering:  Keep the soil moist using either a small spray bottle or water them from below by putting water in trays and setting pots in them. Tiny seeds, until established can be washed away with more aggressive watering techniques. Make sure you label them with the name of the variety and the date you started them.  Then it’s time to be patient, and let Nature do her work.

The seeds will not require sunlight until they have emerged from the soil, usually about two weeks from the time they are sewn, so you can keep them indoors where they will not freeze, on a window sill or in a greenhouse if you have one. Once the greens are up, they will require full sun. If you don't have grow-lights or a greenhouse, be sure to bring them inside at night if it looks like you may have freezing temps.

Teasing onion-roots apart before trimming.

Transplanting: Each pot of seedlings must be teased apart. You will need to trim back both the tops and the roots before trying to stick these tiny seedlings into the ground. You trim the roots so they're easier to slip into the holes and you trim the tops so that the pruned roots can support the greens above.

First, dump the whole pot into the palm of your hand.  Next, separate the clump into several sections (maybe 10-12 seedlings in each clump).  Hold one clump by its 'greens' and gently tap the root ball until most of the soil has fallen away.  Tease the seedlings apart and lay them back in your hand so that the small bulbs are in a line (see picture below). Using a scissors or hand pruner, cut away all but about 2 inches of the roots.  Trim the tops to about the same length as the roots. Now set the clump into another shallow container with a little water in the bottom to keep them from drying out while you prepare the rest for transplanting.  Prepare only as many as you are able to set out in one session.

Trim roots and greens to same length.

In the bed that you’ve already prepared you open up small holes about 4-5 inches apart. Our onions are usually planted in beds two to three feet wide, with several rows in each bed.  

Make holes: To make the holes you can fashion a planting stick called a ‘dibble’ from a smooth branch or a ¾ in dowel with a point, or, just use a ‘Sharpie pen’ to make the hole.  Make a number of holes and then go back and drop a single onion in each hole.  Gently press the roots into the hole and pinch the soil around each one, making sure the part that was under the soil in the pot is covered when you transplant leaving only the green top showing.  You’ll get the hang of it after a few and will be able to transplant hundreds in no time at all!

Onions in a wide bed.

Now the focus becomes keeping the bed weed-free and well watered.  Once the plants have become established and the warmer, sunny weather settles in you’ll be amazed at how fast everything grows.  Feel free to thin out your onions when they are immature and be sure to use the whole thing, greens and all. 

If you have planted non-hybrid seeds, hold back a few onions to replant next spring to save seed. Onions are biennial meaning they don't produce seed till their second year. By collecting your own seeds you can begin the process all over again, and saving seeds, dear friends, is one big step toward greater food security!

Link to another post we wrote about onion-growing.

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Crocuses, Onions and Peas, Oh My!

First crocuses of 2014

The last of the fourteen inches of our February snow have melted though rivers are still running high from recent heavy rains. Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, it still feels like winter is hanging on a bit but just in the last few days we noticed crocuses blooming in our yard; always a sign of spring's approach.

Another sign of spring's arrival includes getting peas and onions started in the greenhouse which is what we did last week.

Here are links to articles we have written about the techniques we use to get a jump-start on pea and onion growing.

We continue to plug away at the old farmhouse renovations. Still lots to be done but we hope we can begin moving in by late-March. Here are a few pics:

An upstairs bedroom. All exterior walls have been retro-fitted with rigid foam insulation and 1/4" paneling. Should be very cozy! Painting begins soon.

We're creating our own kitchen cabinetry out of second-hand drawer-units and old solid-core doors for counter-tops. We're installing our own plumbing but have hired a great guy to re-do all the electric. Don't want to take any chances with faulty wiring.

We're re-sheathing the whole outside as the original siding is over 100 years-old and, in places, showing signs of extreme wear. The upright poles are framing for our wood-shed. We'll be heating exclusively with wood. All windows and doors have been replaced with double-paned glass.

Gratitude to Steve Rose for grape and basket-willow cuttings; Courtney Childs for grape cuttings and his sunny disposition! If they all root, it looks like we'll have plenty of canes to share--let us know if you're interested in starting some grapes in your own garden. And thanks as well to Al and Arlene Looney for their donation of walnut/laminate flooring; it will really tie things together nicely at the old farmhouse.

If you're local and would like to come join the fun, be sure to let us know! Here's a link to our volunteer (share-givers) info-page.

We hope that signs of spring are showing up in your neck of the woods!

A Variation on the Sharing Garden

The Haultain Blvd - "sharing" gardens

Slowly but surely, the Peak Moment video that Janaia and Robyn taped of us is making its way around the internet. We've had close to 3,000 views since it was first posted in early spring. We've begun to receive inquiries from people who would like to start a Sharing Garden in their own community.

Chris and I are fortunate in that we live very simply and have few expenses which means that we don't have to hold down regular jobs. We have no children at home. The Sharing Gardens is almost a full-time project for us. Here is the link to another Peak Moment video that offers a scaled-down version of growing food, teaching others about gardening, and sharing in the harvest. Perhaps an easier place to start if you're feeling daunted by taking on a whole garden project.

Your beginning can be as simple as sharing surplus from your own garden with neighbors, or if you have more than you can give away to them, find out when your local food bank meets and bring your surplus to them. They will greatly appreciate it since most food banks get the absolute dregs and leftovers to feed the people who receive food from them.

Would love to hear stories of how your adventures are going,

"Claiming the Commons - Food for All on Haultain Boulevard" (episode 185)

Illinois Sharing Garden

We recently received this enthusiastic email from someone who feels inspired to start a Sharing Garden in Illinois. Our response follows: Hello :0) My Name is Angelica T.  I live in Illinois. I just saw your video on youtube with Peakmoment. My Boyfriend and I have grown most of our own veggies for 3 years now. I work at a school in the Cafe so I have the summers off, unless I find a summer job. We are always talking about the unused land just sitting there with grass and lots if sun. I LOVE the Garden Sharing idea. I have Lots of spots in mind and would LOVE your help. Please tell me how to go about it. I think it might be to late this year but I could get the ground ready and fences up for next year. I have no idea on how I would go about applying for a grant or any of it. Oh Please help me. When I was young I wanted to change the world, if you were to help I think we might. Thanks for reading Angie :0)

Hi Angie - So great to hear from you! Your enthusiasm is like wind in our sails! The need for local communities to become empowered to grow their own food and save seed is becoming more important than ever. It is also imperative that we move beyond the profit motive when it comes to feeding the people of the world. "Sharing Gardens" give people a non-threatening way to build a sense of community, learn important skills, eat healthier, live lighter on the planet and have fun doing it!

We will help you as much as we are able.

Chris and I started small: the first year we did about 95% of the gardening, fence-building etc. ourselves. The second year is when we began bringing in more volunteer help. Don't know if your project will follow the same pattern but don't be discouraged if you have a small group involved at first. If everyone is aligned and committed you will probably get more done than if you have a large, loose group of people who aren't fully on-board.

You will want to find a local non-profit agency to be your "fiscal agent". This means you can apply for grants through them. They will then distribute the grant monies to you as you provide receipts for your spending. If you write a grant that includes a stipend for you and other coordinators, it is possible to be compensated somewhat for your time.

I would encourage you to find a site to begin developing (as you said...). Then you'll be ready for planting next spring. You might also wish to start a Blog or Facebook fan page so you can document your experience and keep others informed.

Be of good cheer! Keep us posted on your progress.

Llyn (and Chris)

Rural Community Gardens get "too little attention"

Young people exploring in Jackson's Garden, Montana

Dear Sharing Garden Coordinators,

First, I would like to congratulate you on your hard work, innovation, and obvious compassion for community.  Good work deserves good thanks, whether it happens in your own backyard or across the country!

Upon seeing your Sharing Garden featured in the most recent ACGA newsletter I was pleased to find a community garden project similar to the organization I am a VISTA Member with in Southwest Montana.  I was even more pleased to learn that your project operates in a setting equally as rural as my own!  (I hope that you will take the time to look into our project, called Jackson's Garden, in Sheridan Montana.)  Despite my best efforts, I have found evidence of very few gardens like yours and ours.  I'm not sure if this is simply lack of exposure, or if we really are as rare as I think.  But either way, it's a concept that I think deserves much more attention that it has received.

I believe that there has been too little attention paid to the rural community gardening.  Because of the the wider availability of land and prevalence of traditional skill sets in subsistence agriculture, the concept of small plot community gardening as it has been established in urban settings seems hardly applicable.  The truth is that the reasons for community gardening in a rural setting are different, though related, to those of urban settings.  And because of this, and many misconceptions about rural lifestyles, the community gardening movement tends to overlook us.

I believe, as I think you might, that a Sharing Garden, or Communal Gardening as we refer to our project, is the most applicable model to rural settings, and I'm quite convinced that this model needs to be promoted and shared with other communities.  While I see some differences in the way our two projects are run, the basic concept is the same - grow your food together and you grow more food, and build more community.  My observations lead me to believe that there are some very specific aspects of rural lifestyle that make this model not only possible but the most effective method of putting food on our community's table.

Yet sadly, community gardening advocates and researchers pay little attention to the communal or shared gardening method and rural community gardening in general.  Did you know that the last peer reviewed academic paper to appear on rural community gardening was published in 1999?  Since then, the research community, which has time and time again proven the benefits of urban community gardening, has done little more than mention our cause along side their larger concerns.

Jakson's Garden - Montana

There are few things that I think we, as advocates for rural communities, can and should do.  The first is that I think we need to reach out to similar projects and similar communities, and establish a network of rural community gardens through which we can share insights, ideas, troubles, and celebrate our unique and profound achievements together.  To this end, I have contacted the American Community Gardening Association and requested information regarding rural community gardens and sharing gardens and hope to begin bringing together similar projects in an online community soon.

But we also need to be outspoken advocates for this concept within the greater community gardening and food security movement.  In my mind and perhaps in yours, this method is all but proven to increase food security, build healthier people, and bring together communities - and we we need to share this!  In June, I will be presenting a case study of Jackson's Garden at Food and Agriculture Under the Big Sky, a joint conference of three research societies centering around food and agriculture.  I would like to use this opportunity to spark the discussion about rural community gardening.  You can help by sending me information on your organization and work that I can use as part of my presentation.  I sincerely hope that we will be able to engage the research community in a dialogue about the importance of rural community gardening.

What our projects do for our communities is no simple, easy to summarize thing.  I am constantly challenged when visitors to Jackson's Garden ask, "So what is this place???" - because the simple answer ("It's a community garden") just doesn't seem to sum it up quite right.  My hope is that by our continued dialogue and sharing of ideas, we can establish a concept as well recognized as that of the individual plot community garden.  But my greatest hope is that someday, sharing gardens like yours and ours will be a regular, recognized feature of the rural lifestyle.

I think that the seeds our communities have sown to protect their own food security can be harvested as part of a larger movement that will benefit many, and I hope you will agree.

Yours in Solidarity,

Marguerite Jodry
AmeriCorps VISTA
Ruby Valley Community Food Project
Sheridan, MT
(406) 596-0492