Thank you so much for organizing the onion order again this year! Please let me know if you need any help!

My order is as follows:

1 Short Day Sampler
1 Intermediate Day Sampler
1 Red Marble Cippolini

:)

P-mac, I've got you down. As your enabler, I'm obligated to encourage you to plant more!

Pam, I've never used Preen, but I am aware there is a special formulation for vegetable gardens, and it is important to use that one, not the lawn one. This year I will likely use corn gluten as a pre-emergent, although I may skip it and repeat last year's method. Using a tool Chandra calls the Spacemaster, I planted my onions in perfect 4" on center grids. Because they were evenly spaced I could easily weed with my onion hoe, and skip chemicals altogether. I use the Wolf Garten snap on tool series, so I can have the right hoe for the job.

Onions don't like wet feet, so I would support raised beds, especially if you have clay. My soil is extremely sandy, so until water reaches the clay pan 3 feet down and backs up, I don't have drainage problems. I'm not much help there.

You are very welcome to be included in our group order, but let's evaluate if that's the best thing for you. Dixondale Farms has recommended ship dates, based on zip codes. I've included the link below. Growing onions includes several rolls of the dice, but I suggest you stay as close to your recommended ship date as possible to increase your chances of success. Dixondale Farms has been doing this for a long time and I trust their judgement. If your zip code ship date is the same as ours, the group order will afford you a cost savings of $2.25 for three bunches or #3.45 for 4 bunches. The second shipping cost means you don't save much, but I have a penchant for the fun involved in group activities. (Why didn't III think of Groupon? I've been putting people together for years for free!) However, if your zip code ship date is not the same as ours, I don't believe any cost savings big or small is worth reduced performance.

I'm going to hold off including your order on my spreadsheet until I hear back from you.

I'll try to find the thread where Chandra posted a pic of his Spacemaster. I have two, one with 3" centers and one with 4". Casual gardeners laugh at me for spacing so carefully, but I feed my family from my garden, so maximum yield per square foot is important to me. The Spacemaster also empowers my very small children to assert their independence in gardening. I can say, "Put one bean in every third square" then walk away and empower them. Last year, my then three year old planted my entire bean and cucumber crops without supervision. He also worked one side of the onion bed while I worked the other. It's a great exercise in counting and patterns. When I use them, planting goes much faster, and everything fits in the alloted space. Last year I planted 1020 onions, so time spent was important to me. I digress. Let me go see if I can find that thread with a pic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ship dates by zip code

Here's a link to Chandra's Spacemaster. All my beds are 4 fee wide, so I built mine to be 4' by 2'. As I mentioned above, I have one each with 3" centers and 4" centers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chandra's Spacemaster

trees4ok,

Great to see you! I've got you order. See you in February!

Seedmama

Pam, With raised beds, it all depends on how well they drain. Because we have dense red clay here, almost all our raised beds still have a high clay content even though the clay has been heavily amended with organic matter. Some years the onions and potatoes do fine in those raised beds, but some years those raised beds drain too slowly anyway and the onions and potatoes rot. That happened last year. I lost all the potatoes and about half the onions in raised beds in the big garden because it was very wet in the fall and winter through mid-spring.

As a hedge against those raised beds that stay too wet in rainy periods, I've built two raised beds in the Peter Rabbit Garden up by the potting shed on higher ground. Those raised beds have more of a soil-less container blend in them so that they drain very well. They drain so well that they are great for cool-season crops that mature before the typical summer drought sets in. In July and August, though, it is hard to keep anything alive in those raised beds during drought because they drain so quickly. I tend to use them for cool-season crops that I harvest by late June or early July and then leave them fallow in the dead of summer, and replant them in late summer with cool-season crops for fall and winter.

So, I think you'll have to watch your raised beds and see how they do. My raised beds with clay are fine in an average year, but too wet if there is a prolonged rainy period. Last year, they kept getting hit by 2 or 3" of rainfall in one day and stayed wet forever. They'd start to dry up and get hit by another 2-3" rainfall. (sigh) That's why I hedge my bets by planting half the onions and potatoes in the big garden's raised beds and half in the other garden area's more-quickly-draining raised beds.

In the worst rainy years, I move onions and potatoes to containers with a soil-less mix that drains well.

The problem is that sometimes in January and February when you start planting, your weather is so erratic that you cannot yet tell if the growing season's precipitation will be average or wetter or drier than average. A lot of guesswork is involved.

I normally use corn gluten meal as a pre-emergent. It is only effective for 4 to 6 weeks so you have to reapply it, which I usually don't. After the inital 4-6 weeks, I just hand weed and then mulch with grass clippings to help keep the weeds down. It is sort of a constant battle with weeds but with close equidistant spacing like Seedmama mentioned, as the onions grow, their green tops shade the space between the onions pretty well so keeping the weeds down gets easier as the plant tops get larger. With onions, the key is to stay on top of the weeds from the start because otherwise while you're busy with other things, the weeds are taking over the onion beds before you know it.

I've never used Preen so cannot comment on it, but do know there is one specifically formulated for veggie gardens.

Dawn

Seedmama: First things first. I'm sorry I wasn't clear about the group order. It's a great idea for people who live close. I love the detailed instructions (Feb 14 between 6 pm and 7 pm, and please note this is Valentine's Day). I believe you thought about each potential problem and figured out how to deal with each before it happens. I'm in awe! I live halfway around the country - nearly 1,500 miles - and Dixondale gives me a different planting date (early April, which I may ignore). I'll place a separate order.

You planted 1,020 onions last year? Good grief! That got my interest! How did you use over 1,000 onions in one year? How and where do you store them? If each onion weighs one pound, that's half a ton of onions. I think there is an interesting back story here.

We consume a lot of onions but I don't have an estimate. This will be my first year to grow onions and I don't know how successful or unsuccessful I'll be. With luck, I'll be slightly successful this year, will make mistakes and learn from them, and will have a better crop in 2014.

Most of my soil is sandy over blue marl clay. although I have a band of good soil in one area of the garden. My goal is to grow nearly everything in raised beds but it takes time to built them so I do a few more every year.

I have two gardens - the original "Big Garden" is a 60' x 60' fenced area about 300' from the house. We have bee hives in and near that garden so part of it is dedicated to bee food plants, especially early stuff -- like henbit. This is where I plant low maintenance crops that don't need daily monitoring or picking - potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions. Also fruit trees, blueberries, figs. Because the big garden is a long hike from the house, especially in the heat of summer, I decided to make several raised beds closer to the house - I call this "the kitchen garden." Last year, I built 8 raised beds in this garden, this year I'll probably do at least 4-6 more. I haven't fenced in this garden yet - last year, the deer didn't bother it, rabbits caused more damage. Talk about digressing ...

Thanks for the info about corn gluten meal- I heard about using it years ago, forgot. Read several articles tonight. Will probably give it a try.

And thanks for the link to the thread about Chandra's Spacemaster. It's a nifty tool and I may make a couple. I like the 4" and 3" spacing, and especially how you use it so your children can help you plant.

As I read the thread, it became clear that this gardening world is divided into two groups: the self-described "anal obsessive compulsives" and the free spirits who probably have excellent eyes for detail and know instinctively how to space plants. Digressing again ...

Dawn: I know you get hit with incredible weather - 12 inches of rain in a day, followed by no rain for months. 9 degree temps in November, weeks or months before we have a light frost. (Still waiting .... we may have 29 degrees on Sunday night, I doubt it). I believe your 9 degree day was followed by a few 80 degree days. It's hard to imagine ...

I think I'll plant about 75% of the onions in the Big Garden - it's further from the Bay and on higher ground, so less risk of flooding. The soil is better and I have a LOT of compost to dig into that garden this winter. I'll plant the rest in the raised beds closer to the house. I'm dividing crops often now. If a disaster hits one garden, this may reduce the odds of getting completely wiped out. Hopefully.

In addition to the onions listed above, I think I'll try to grow one of two bunches of the little specialty ones - probably Borettana Cippolini. Although they are "long day," I read a review by a person from VA who was delighted with them, canned half, consumed half. She lives in the mountains so her growing conditions are different but she's "intermediate" too.

Take care,
Pam

Hey Pam - don't forget that onions can be chopped and frozen for use in cooking. That's most probably how Seedmama and others used their plentiful harvest. I know growning season 2010 was that for me. I just this end of the summer used the last of mine. And I've got to say I love the convenience of having them all prepped to just pull out of the freezer! Give it a try - you'll be convinced!

paula

Paula - Good point. I froze *many* bags of peppers this year. It's been great to have them prepped and ready to use.

Pam

Pam,

I'm glad you are going to order directly, although you are certainly welcome. There are so many factors impacting success, and since timing is one of them, I want you to have the best. I once had family in your neck of the woods, so I took a look at the Dixondale zip code indicators and decided it might not be the most reliable source after all. The Bay can really impact the weather.

I have a really great basement which allows me to store many food items for much longer than would normally be expected. The basement's design was driven by the desire to be leak proof and structurally sound. Serendipitously, it has given us a great environment for both temperature and humidity. I share my harvest with those in need so it all works out in the end.

I, too, have a "Big" garden with beehives nearby, and a kitchen garden. I really like being able to step out just before dinner time to snip herbs or put a salad together. I office at home, so the big garden is a great place for me to go mid-day so I feel I've had a break.

I grew both types of Dixondale cippolinis last year, and was pleased with both. As the catalog suggested, they did not reach their full size potential of 2" at my latitude. However, they did grow to about 1.25" which made them perfect for kabobs and also snack size for my 4 year old.

I do chop and measure peppers and onions and put them in the freezer. Last night I took advantage of our outdoor temps, emptying the chest freezer into laundry baskets and setting them outside on the balcony. I did a quick defrost, and had the chest reloaded before the dinner dishes were finished. I set enough frozen tomatoes, peaches, peppers and onions in the fridge to make six batches of salsa today, assuming my coffee ever kicks in. I'm hoping to take advantage of this week's cold weather to defrost all my freezers.

Take care!

**bump back to the top**

I count 36 bunches total for now. Don't we need to get at least 60? And looking at the calendar, we only have 12 more days until the deadline of January 9 to get the monies to Seedmama.

Paula

luvabasil and jcheckers, your payment has arrived. Thanks!

Add to my order, please:

1 Yellow Granex
1 more Texas Legend (TXL)
2 Whire Bermuda
1 Short day sampler

That makes my total of 13 bunches. Several work friends wanted in on our deal. Thanks!!!

Paula

Thanks Paula, I've got you down. Thanks too for including the new total of 13 so I can easily double check my input.

I've reduced my own order. We now sit at 50 bunches. Mmm, mmm, good. oops wrong vegetable.

Seedmama, Thanks for the info about cippolini onions - I'm inclined to try both varieties.

"I'm hoping to take advantage of this week's cold weather to defrost all my freezers."

Hmmm, I'm curious about the "all my freezers" comment. Two? More than two? ;-) I need to buy another freezer soon. Since our freezers have to be elevated, I'm undecided about a chest v. an upright.

I'm also curious about your basement but doubt I could replicate your conditions. We live on a floodplain so our house is on pilings 10' above ground. The pilings were driven 28', through two 6' oyster beds. When the house was going up, we decided to enclose the area under the house to make a garage and work rooms. This is great 99.5% of the time but the garage leaks a little when the land floods so everything is off the ground - hanging from hooks, on shelving, etc. The freezer sits on wooden pallets about 2.5' above the floor. We have a whole house generator - thankfully, the freezer is on the generator circuit.

The main problem in the garage is high humidity, especially in summer. Plumbing lines run along the ceiling in the garage. In warm months, water drips from the ceiling onto the floor. Humidity is not a big problem in winter (no dripping water) so I've stored sweet potatoes, winter squash, onions, and garlic down there. This year, I am storing the sweets in a bedroom with heat vents closed. I wish I'd divided the sweet potatoes, put half in the garage, half in the cool bedroom, see which works better. Sounds like another project for next year. ;- )

Burning questions: storage tips? How many freezers? Chest or upright?

Take care!
Pam

Seedmama: I placed the order with Dixondale, asked them to ship the plants a month earlier than the usual date for my zipcode.

Candy
Red Candy (we'll see if I have any luck with this one)
Super Star
Texas Legend
Borettana Cippolini
Red Marble Cippolini

I didn't realize how much the price dropped with each additional bunch until I went through checkout. Free shipping too! We may drown in onions, but no complaints about the price.

Take care,
Pam

Seedmama,
Please put me down for 1 ea. of the following:
Texas 1015
Texas Legend
Southern Belle Red
Thanks!
mo
(thought I posted this earlier, but must have hit preview rather than submit)

Pam,

I have four freezers, two upright and two chests. The uprights are easier to find things in, but the chests keep things at a better quality for much longer. I use Sterlite tubs and plastic CD crates from Dollar General to keep things organized. The CD crates are perfect for holding things that were frozen flat in quart ziplocs. I store a lot of things in the quart ziplocs: freezer jam, broth, soups, corn off the cob, berries, okra, 1# portions of ground beef, pork chops, fresh fish, tomato sauce, peaches, jelly juice, shredded cheese, chopped peppers and onions. I could go on, but the key is to freeze them uniformly flat so they will store neatly and I don't have to battle falling bundles when I dig. Once frozen, they fit neatly into the CD crates. For similar items frozen in gallon bags, and for oddly shaped loose items, I use the Sterlite tubs.

I also have a dedicated collection of gallon ziplocs labeled 'Ice'. As I use items from the freezer, I fill the space with gallons of ice cubes. When I need ice for putting up food in the summer, I'm good to go, and keeping a freezer full helps it to run more efficiently. The empty bags go back into the freezer to be filled again the following winter. All my freezers were gimmees, hand me downs, etc. so I haven't had to think about which I'd prefer. However, I do think losing the chest would hurt more than losing the upright, so that's probably my answer. It's a trade off between quality and convenience, and with the crates and tubs stacked neatly in the chest it really isn't that hard to dig around. My mental organization system probably helps too. I know that I always store cheese on the far left, meats next to that, fruits next and vegetables on the far right. That way, it's mostly just about unstacking vertical columns. My mom, who wrangles a 10 foot chest freezer has a mental organization system too, although none of us can tell you what it is. When she sends me to the freezer to get something, even with a detailed location description, I've been known to say, "I was just about to take out the trash/change the baby's diaper/wash the car."

In my basement I store my canned goods on some metal shelving I acquired at a going out of business sale in Texas in the mid 90's. Each 4 foot wide shelf unit came with about 30 solid flat metal shelves and a huge number of clip on dividers. As I fill the shelves with pints and quarts, the dividers help to keep things tidy and easy to find. I wish I could find more of this shelving, at a price similar to what I paid for it. In the meantime, if I must use wood, I've been searching for plans to build something similar to IKEA's IVAR storage systems. I prefer shelves that are 30" deep, but for the sake of out of the box convenience, I may someday break down and get the IVAR.

We can with the Mormons twice a year. As my collection of #10 cans increases, I will probably build one of the can rotation shelves found with a Goole search. Conceptually, they are like the soda can dispensers that fit in a fridge, but reach floor to ceiling on a wall and hold the large cans.

I do everything, including storage, as affordably as possible, but it must be functional and built to last. If not, it's not a value in the long run. One exception would be a couple hundred milk crates I got from Target's back-to-college collection a few years ago. They are cheaply made, and won't last forever like true milk crates, but I got them for $.75 each so I'm happy going into my sixth year with them. I use those to store potatoes and sweet potatoes, nestled in some sort of "filler" I have no idea what it is. It seems to be something between long strings of wood shavings and coir. I love telling the story about how I acquired the filler. One day, when I stopped at a new to me Starbuck's to pick up coffee grounds, I noticed a couple of crates near the dumpter. I asked the manager if I could have the filler that was sticking out of the crates. He agreed, but on the condition that I take the crates and their contents as well. I knew the crates would be good compost bins, so I agreed. Once I looked inside, I had to go back in to confirm he knew what he was giving away. The store had been shipped 6 of those ginormous clay pots often seen in Starbuck's and the manager didn't like them, so he had ordered them sent back. Corporate wouldn't pay to ship them back and they were too heavy for the trash company to haul off. They had been sitting by the dumpster for over six months. It was no easy task loading that all by myself, but now I have 6 gorgeous pots.

Back to storage. I've traditionlly stored onions and winter squash on commercial wire shelving acquired at the scrapyard by the pound. Last year, my Fairy Dawnmother gave me some of the net onion socks from Dixondale and I liked them. I will likely get more of those this year to free up my wire shelving.

The basement really has been a blessing, but I don't think IIII could replicate its storage conditions if I tried. It's just been luck. There is an area at the foot of the stairs that stays around 50 degrees all year round, so we keep wine there. The wall next to the mechanical room gives me the temperatures I need to start seedlings. Although we did build with systems to keep the basement dry, I couldn't have engineered a better humidity arrangement. Unfortunately, that means I have no tips there.

I'm embarrassed to say that after I cured the garlic on the back balcony, I never got around to storing it. When I've needed some, I've been running out to grab. With last week's forecast of 9 degrees, Seedpapa loaded it all up and took it to the basement, although I haven't been down to put it in a permananent home.

Our freezers are on the generator circuits too, although they almost weren't. Between the time our house was wired and the time the finish out was done, the lead electrician on our home had to go to prison. Some little something about it being illegal in Oklahoma to kill man outside a bar. The replacement lead did the best he could, but lots of details were in the original guy's head, including which circuits went to the generator. Fortunately, Seedpapa and I knew our job well enough that we caught it before they left the job.

I'm not sure what else I can tell you about my food storage, and that's probably far more than you were asking. Is the pipe dripping in the summer from condensation? If so, I wonder if insulating your plumbing pipes would control it? Best wishes in choosing your new freezer.

O-n-i-o-n-s !!

Katie and I are going together to get 5 of the Intermediate Day Samplers and 2 of the Red Torpedo Torpea onion bunches...check heading your way tomorrow...thank you, Dana!

Sharon

Ok I also had some coworkers decide they would like some. Please add

2 short day samplers
2 intermediate day samplers
1 Texas legend
1 white Bermuda
1 red creole

To my existing order of
1 short day sampler
1 intermediate sampler
1 red marble cippolini

Thank you! Sending additional funds today!

Hi Seedmama!

I'd like to order:

1 - Red Candy Apple
1 - Texas Legend
1 - 1015Y Texas Super Sweet

Hubby's coworker would like:

1 - Red Candy Apple
1 - Candy
1 - SuperStar

I'll put a check in the mail to you tomorrow. Let me know if you need a courier for the Edmond area.

I see this thread is getting really busy as the deadline approaches.

Wow, Seedmama, your description of your basement and food storage systems makes me sound like a slacker. Before I read it I thought I did a lot of food storage, but my storage cannot hold a candle to yours. And I have only three freezers, but also a smaller family than yours so I expect I'll be able to continue getting by with just three freezers. : )

OkieTim is going to be mad at you because now I'm seriously craving a basement....and not likely to get one either, but that won't stop me from occasionally asking him "wouldn't it be nice to have a big root cellar...".

Finally, I never even knew you had a Fairy Dawnmother and I am shocked I didn't know she existed.

Signed,

Your Fairy Dawnmother....who did order more mesh onion tubes when she ordered her onions because you can never have too many of those.

Seedmama, thanks for doing this. I'd like 3 bunches of the Short Day Sampler. Sending check today.
Donna

Seedmama, thanks for doing this. I'd like 3 bunches of the Short Day Sampler. I have looked through your message and I do not see an address to which to send my check, nor do I see whose name should go on the check. It is surely there somewhere but I do not see it. I'll get check yo you as soon as I have this info. Thanks!
Donna

Dear Fairy Dawnmother,

Yes, I have monikers for most everyone. Some I share, some I don't, tee hee. No one can ever accuse you of being a slacker. You run garden circles around me. Please tell OkieTim I am very, very sorry, because you just aren't inclined to take on huge new projects for him without your friends instigating it. LOL

All,

Here's a quick status post. PLEASE check my work.

p-mac, 13 bunches, payment received
mrsfrodo, 5 bunches
carsons_mimi, 6 bunches, payment received
jcheckers, 6 bunches, payment received
trees4ok, 10 bunches, 2 payments received
justsaymo, 3 bunches, payment received
daleok, 3 bunches
draej, 3 bunches,
shankins, 7 bunches payment received
luvabasil, 5 bunches, payment received
seedmama, 15 bunches, outta my mind, but down from last year

I have received all payments sent. We are good to go! Thanks everyone!

Where the heck is the "like" button on this page? LOL!

KUDDO'S TIMES 100 to you, Seedmama! Another "WELL DONE" planning for our upcoming gardening year. Woop-woop! YEA!

I've scheduled a week off of work so I can plant, just so I make sure to have a great harvest.

Thank you, Seedmama! When I mailed that check I felt like my gardening year had officially kicked off, and I have you tho thank for it!

Donna

Sounds like I just missed the boat. Last year I just bought from the local feed store. What would be the runner-up compared to ordering from Dixondale?

Charles

Hi Charles,
That's a tough question, considering the reasons we order from Dixondale. I've been giving this some thought and unfortunately I haven't come up with a suggestion I can feel good about offering. That doesn't mean there aren't other ways to get great onions, and a feed store might have a great solution for you. Ordering is the best way I know to sway the odds in my favor. I'm sorry I didn't have a better suggestion, but I didn't want to leave your question unanswered.
Seedmama

Thanks Seedmama.

Charles,

Are you located near OKC? While looking on Sunrise Acres' 2013 availability I saw they had Candy Hybrid and Desert Sunrise onions listed. Good luck! :)

Thanks trees4ok. No, I'm near the Red River. Actually, I'll be growing things in two places, 1) near Durant, OK, 2) about 20 miles south of Texoma, south of Whitesboro, TX.

Hey, Charles - is there any way you can call local suppliers to ask if they carry Dixondale onions and when they may be receiving them? I would think that maybe both sides would want to accomodate. I'm just speaking from local experience when I first joined this group and realized the value of Dixondale onions along with their timing. Worth a try - I would think.

p-mac, that's a good idea. I'll call around. I went to the Dixondale site to see if they published a list of their sellers, but didn't find anything.

Charles

If you have an Atwoods near you, they carry Dixondale onions every year.

Leslie

Leslie,

Nearest one is in Madill. Not quite on a route I sometimes take up into OK, but close enough to swing that way. Thx for the tip!

Charles

Charles - Leslie gave you a good tip. I'm rural NE Norman and our Atwoods usually has them by the end of February. You could call and ask them when they expect their delivery (I would think - I actually did this about 4 years ago). My atwoods usually still has some varieties available thru mid-to-late march, but they're often pretty picked over so best to get there as soon as they get the shipment.

Hi Seedmama: Thanks for sharing your creative food storage solutions - so many good ideas! You describe these explicitly so they are easy to see in the mind's eye. I'm sure I'm not the only person who learned new tricks.

CD CRATES & STERLITE TUBS: I love the idea of using CD crates for food that can be stored flat and frozen in quart ziploc bags. I love these creative ways of using objects differently. We use Sterlite containers for so many purposes, don't know what we did before we found them. Trash bags I think.

ICE: You can't have too much ice! In addition to ziplocs, we fill large strong plastic jugs (like those that hold 3-5 lbs of honey) with water and keep them in the freezer. We have a rainwater catchment system that provides all the water in our house. Drinking rainwater at home makes drinking chemically treated water when we are on the road impossible. When we are preparing for a trip, we toss several bottles of frozen rainwater in the car and we're good to go. No more heavily chlorine treated water in hotels. Ever.

Your thoughts about pros and cons of chest v. upright are helpful.

And I do like your freezer filing system - life is easier when you know where a particular type of food is stored (cheese on the far left, vegetables on far right, fruit and meat in between). When I was growing up, we had a chest freezer. Over the years, I got tired of crawling over the top, hanging suspended on the edge and digging through the containers on the bottom, trying - unsuccessfully - to find a container of [fill in the blank] and getting very frustrated. I didn't want to repeat that experience, but having an efficient freezer filing system is probably the answer to a prayer. (Maybe our moms are related. ;- )
I checked out IKEA's IVAR system - I see why you like it. When I googled images of "IKEA IVAR system," I found other IKEA-related sites - IKEA Hackers, IKEA fans, etc too. Who knew? (Not I).

You cured but failed to store your garlic properly? For shame! The few remaining cloves from last year's garlic are stored in a small bowl on the kitchen counter. Last year, I planted hardneck garlic varieties (Rocambole and Purple Stripe). I didn't know that the proper and preferred varieties for warm climates like SE VA are softnecks (artichokes and silverskins). This year, I planted different varieties so should have a better harvest (and longer storage) next year.

I can identify with your electrician story too. The guys who built our house were on work release from the regional jail (repeat offenders). They were good carpenters, careful and precise. They also had serious alcohol and/or dug problems Your story is more entertaining. Ours is just sadly familiar.

RE: dripping water. Our humidity is wicked high. DH created a system so the water drips into a large container (old cooler), then is transported via a hose to a kiddie pool that sits outside the garage on a concrete pad. Our dogs use the pool to cool off in the summer - the infusions of cold water make this a better experience for them. This system works for now.

You have devised so many creative solutions to common but vexing problems. Thanks for sharing. We've had company since last Thursday so I haven't had much time to spend online. Our company leaves tomorrow so I'll head over to the Dollar store tomorrow afternoon. I want to check out the CD crates.

Thanks again!
Pam

Bump and Question, Has there been any discussion about where we might meet this coming thursday? Last year's meet at Lowes worked out well for me. Thanks

Keith

Seedmama - This has nothing to do with onions, but when I saw you comment about #10 cans, I wondered if you had seen these.

My son has the free standing ones for his basement, and I use the Pantry Plus in my pantry. Not for home canned goods in jars, but great for cans.

I have an upright freezer, a chest type, a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer, and a refrigerator with a top freezer, and a dorm room size refrigerator. You make me feel better.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shelf Reliance

All,

I have sent a detailed message to all participants regarding our scheduled pick up, as well as the back up plan if needed due to weather delays. If you have not received this message, please email me directly.

Seedmama

Soonergrandmom,

Thanks for the link. There was a time when building shelving myself out of wood was hands down a cost saver. With the current cost of wood, that's no longer an automatic default. Thanks for the link! We are scheduled for our semi-annual canning next month.

All,
Onions just arrived, so we are go for tonight. See you at the bat place at the bat time. :-)

I bought 300 Dixondale onions yesterday. Where I live is off the beaten path for Dixiondale, but I now have 300 Bonnie and 300 Dixondale, plus the onions I started from seed. Maybe a few will survive.

Larry, I have over 10 bundles of the Dixondale's. If your's don't make it, I'll probably have enough for both our families!!!

Thanks again, Seedmama, for all your hard work organizing this!!!! You are very appreciated!

Paula

Ellison's in Norman has a fair amount of Dixondale onions as os today.

Ellison's in Norman has a fair amount of Dixondale onions as of today.

Yesterday was a wonderful day!
I got onions, met a real person, and found out what Spring Fling was.
Awesome.
Thank you so very much, Seedmama!
Luvabasil

This post was edited by luvabasil on Fri, Feb 15, 13 at 9:29

Larry, I bet they all grow and you'll be trying to figure out what to do with 600 onions.

Paula, Ten bunches? Trying to set a record, huh? : )

I am only planting 7 bunches. My onions arrived either Monday or Tuesday but since the ground is so wet from this week's rain, I haven't planted them yet. Sunday is supposed to be a pretty nice day, so I hope to plant them on Sunday afternoon if not before. With clay soil, it pays to wait a few days for it to dry out some. It was drizzling when I woke up. I don't know why it always has to rain the week that the onions are due to be planted, but it does.

Dawn

Dawn - remember my "newbie" days when I only hoped to grow 60 or so onions? HA! I added to my order this year hoping we'd have enough for a group order....and now I have way too many onions. That's okay...it gives me bait to drawn in others (insert wicked laugh!) I expect to actually end up planting about the same number as you...or close.

draej - please check your personal e-mail!

Paula