That makes sense with the economy the way it is - there may be a lot of new gardeners and a lot of people just growing more than they normally do.
I never thought to research which onions store best. I've just grown Vidalia for the last three years. So far I've been running out before I have to worry about them rotting. I haven't been putting out enough.

I checked out Dixondale's website. I like the way they have made it easy by dividing up the US into sections. When will they mail yours Ceresone?

Ok, question.
Since this will be my first time planting some things, onions is one.
What is the best type for me since I will be growing mostly for my self. And how is the best way to store them so I can keep them. Next how do each of you grow yours?
I will have questions about several veggies this year. Potatoes is another.
Or do you want me to post these questions in another spot?
Thanks
Bonnie

Bonnie I plant just enough potatoes for a few new potatoes. I dig up the soil. Put the cut up pieces of seed potatoes down, and cover with straw. If you can scrounge some fall decorative straw bales from you neighborhood, that would be nice and partly rotten when you need it. I have a pickup and I'm not embarrassed to ask for them. I am no expert, but I gather you just want to try a few. You can reach in under the straw and pick new potatoes as you need them.

I so far have only grown green onions from the bundles of onion plants available in spring. Some of my onions get big enough to keep. Do you find these onions you grow taste better than store bought? I think green onions do.

Thanks helen.
I am going to try to grow all my veggies this year. and store what ever I can.
I am a vegetarian and this will help my food cost in a big way.
I have grow green beans and corn and a few melons before a long time before but not much of any thing else. My husband did most of it and that was back in the 80's.
So I really would like to grow most all of mine this coming year.
Well that is the plan anyway.
I can grow flowers all year round so I think I should be able to grow my food for the most part. Just need a lot of help along the way so I do it right.
Thanks Bonnie

helen, for them to keep well, you have to know the variety. Certain varieties keep well and others don't. The size of the bulb doesn't mean they will keep for any length of time.

Also they must be cured out of the sun in a sheltered warm and dry place for a couple of weeks before storing permanently.

I could never raise a good sized onion until I began growing the day-neutral ones, Candy and Super Star. I raise them from seed and plant out at the normal time for planting onion plants. Candy will keep better than Super Star. They are both very sweet onions. They are very easy from seeds but must be started 8 to 10 weeks before outside planting date.

For my main crop of potatoes, I do it the traditional way of laying out a trench (10 inches deep or so), dropping the small potatoes or pieces about 8-12 inches apart, covering with soil. When they are up well I begin hilling up the dirt into a ridge around the plants. If I am really on the ball, I then mulch the sides of the ridges.

I also have done the just on top of the ground way with deep mulch over and it works well. You must keep the tubers covered from the sun.

I saved the tiny potatoes from last year's crop and will use them this year for planting.

I had a complete failure with sweet potatoes last year. I don't know if it was the place in the garden or the variety.
I love Beauregard, but couldn't get them last year so did
Vardamon...won't buy them again.

I'm finding onions come in long-day, short day, and indermediate(?), depends on where you live. I think in our area, any work.
The Copra, and the Red Zeppelin are supposed to be the longest keepers. I heard years ago, that onions stored well in nylon hose--drop one in, tie a knot, drop another, etc-then hang them up in a dry cool place. Must work, because Dixondale sells webbing for this same purpose.
I planted seeds two years ago, and they were just too much trouble for the results, for me-trimming the tops back-and then the onions didnt get as big as I'd hoped that year. Glad it works well for you, Glenda.
I couldnt grow big onions either, till I learned to just barely tuck them in the ground, mostly to get the roots under.
My plans this year, are to plant what is least time consuming for the best results, thusly 3 beds Potatoes, 1 bed Sweet Potatoes, 1 bed Carrots, 2, or 3 beds onions-and less of the things I have to lug dishpans full to the house each morning. Perhaps that way, I can enjoy what I do get more--the perfect Tomato-(or 4), head of Cabbage, Green Pepper. My big harvest will consume a week ot two, and be done.I dont enjoy the garden sitting on my shoulders each morning when I get up, if you know what I mean.
As my daughter used to tell me "Works On Paper!"

I kept a couple mesh bags that had oranges in them to use for onions.
All this talk about storage made me go check on mine and I found two rotten ones and several that were starting to sprout. I have about 3 dozen left and should probably use them up very soon. I've been wanting to make an onion casserole. I've had that before at pot lucks but haven't made it myself. I think it has cream of mushroom soup in it.

When you hang your onions to store in bags. Do you have them where it is cool or warm? temps?
The seed potatoes need to have a least one eye, Right?
Also both onion and potatoes need to be in full sun?
Sorry for so much questions.
I'm sure I will have more as soon as I get all my choices make for what I will grow this year.
Also is it better for me to order my veggie seeds now or should I wait?
I am going to try to get a cold frame set up in the next few weeks.
Thanks for all the great info.
Also do I need to stagger the planting of these crops? Or just the things such as lettuce and that type of thing that I can't freeze or put up for the winter.
Sorry, Bonnie

Bonnie, I'm going to put a thermometer in our attached garage (oh, how I want a cellar) to check the temps. I think I can put pallets in front next to the house, and keep potatoes there, in tubs, and hang the onions from the ceiling. Wonder if the Jeep will smell?
The seeds catalogs will start ariving any time now, if I were you, I'd study them carefully, make a list, wait, mark some off, make another list--Oh wait--Thats what I do!! anyhow, I'd decide early, and get my orders in, just in case.
Most of my garden has shade in the afternoon, its not supposed to be ideal, but it is for me-keeps the hottest sun from cooking everything.
Yes, I think you're supposed to plant radishes and lettuce, fast crops, about every 3 weeks.Somehow, I dont get this done--and I've always preferred my potatoes to have 2 or 3 eyes per piece-but thats just the way my Dad did.He was born 1895.
I'm going to put lettuce, herbs in pots this year, I love growing the new colors and types of lettuce more than I do eating it.

Thanks this is all very helpful.
I do remember he (x-dH) put nitrogen? on our green beans before he planted them.
He hilled up the cantaloupe and melons.
we put the corn in square patch instead of long rows for better pollination.
I have never grown peas. I want to try pea/pods and baby peas. I seem to like those best as far as eating goes.
I have been looking at a few catalogs. I will continue to look and decide. I will more than likely be back to ask lots of questions when I decide on each item.
Do you keep carrots in same area as potatoes?
Thanks again Bonnie

Here are some more thoughts and my experience in my particular area of these rocky Ozarks, Zone 6, northwest of Springfield:

I can't grow carrots worth a darn; vowed to not try until I can have a raised bed filled with potting soil!

Peas: Green I won't bother with them...I think the frozen ones from the store are great

Peas: The sugar snap pod type, love them and do a few each year; most require a trellis or fence to grow up on.

Peas: Get them out very early, most don't do well when hot weather hits.

Corn: I have never tried the squares, may do some this year.

Green Beans or any other legume: Don't need any nitrogen; they make their own.

Cantaloupes and Melons: I hill them up too.

Lettuce: Plant romaine type, Cimmaron. It is a winner for me. Ceresone, great idea about the pots of different lettuces and herbs. I want to do a dark red leaf lettuce. Any suggestions anyone?

Onions: I plant them in those tiny cell things in trays my sis gives me from her old greenhouse days. Then you just pull up a plug (that's what they are; plug flats!), no roots to divide.

I lay out a very shallow trench, pull a handful of plugs, clip off tops and some of the roots. Lay them flat in the shallow trench about 1-2 inches apart. Come back and just cover the roots up to the base of the plant and firm gently with either the back of the hoe or rake. They will lay flat for a few days and then pop upright nicely. Only the roots are covered. Then I pick and use green onions to thin the rows until they are about 3 inches apart. The bulbs must have some light to make large bulbs.

Cellars: I have a wonderful one....never use it! It seems too damp to me. I know when it rains a tiny stream trickles across it and if we get some floods, water can stand for a few days. I guess that's why.

Anything would have to be up on stands.

Storing: I currently have potatoes in shallow cardboard boxes under my plant stand and dresser (seed storage in it) on the very cool on the floor back porch. I think sweet potatoes need to be in a warmer situation. Grandma kept hers upstairs near the chimney, but no other heat. I have kept them under a bed in a box. I am a country girl! I left some outside last year and they got too cold and didn't
freeze but were totally inedible.

Wow this is great! I think I hit the jack pot! You all have so much info stored in those wonderful heads!
I'm writing down all this.
So, potatoes need to be stored cool and dry. Onion's hang cool and dry. cool being not less than what temp? about 40?
As for a cellar. I don't have one, and to be truthful I really don't think I could bring myself to go down into there. I never have in any I have ever been around. So I will have to use other methods for storage. I have a garage that is attached to the house. a laundry room which can be heated or unheated.
When you cured your potatoes and onions before storage. did you put them on newspaper or a rack?
So I guess it is way obvious what I will be doing off and oh this weekend. Thanks to all I love all of this information.
Bonnie

Bonnie, one of my books says to store onions cool (40° or so), but above freezing and dry.

Carrots: Cool and moist (humidity around 90-95%)

Potatoes: Store in a cool, dark place (I just layer newspapers over my cardboard boxes)

Sweet Potatoes: Cure in a place that is airy and nice and warm (80-85°). I let them lay on the ground in the sun for a few hours, then move them under roof spread over something for 10 to 15 days. This is the curing period. Then store at around 50° at 75-80% humidity. Note: don't let the temp drop below 50° (that is what I did)

Do you have one of those humidity/temp things (I got a real cheap one at either Lowes or WM). That would really be a big help to know what the temp in each place is.

That's why I want to build a cellar! just below the house, is a valley, and right by the garden is a spot that can be dug properly for a cellar- I could not only have a drain in the floor, but a slight slope to the door-which would be a walk-in type, no going down into it. building? dug down enough to put drains below floor level on the outside walls, just like a house basement, and cover the walls with tar and plastic to ensure no leaks--then cover all but the front door area with several feet of dirt.
When you have a long time to think about it, you can plan--LOL
I have what I call a curing rack in my open shed. Plastic coated wire 1"x!", 6'wide, nailed to landscape timbers. I just set this on the sawhorses, spread produce out-and cure.

Yes, I need a therm/humidity thingy.
This was the first year I've grown carrots too, my bed isnt as raised as I want yet-but I did get good carrots.I also want to buy the things you cant see, to eat the things I cant see either!
Nematodes, I think they're called, I have something that eats on anything grown underground, and I understand these will take care of my problem. They help with peach borer, mosquitoes, fleas, etc. too.
Glenda, Territorial Seeds have a lettuce assortment that I love, they also have a only red mix, and I've found their mixes superior to any I've bought.

I decided I am going to have to invest in some vegetable gardening books.
I have flower books everywhere.
I do have several sets of those tall 5 shelf wire/coated racks in my garage and one in my laundry/pantry. yahoo! I did something right.
i will get a humidity/temp thing. Because I would sure hate to do all this work for food and then loose it all.
Nematodes. Yes I have been reading about those. I was thinking about getting some as well. I have a tree hat has a lot of caydeds and what a mess as well as they are damaging the grass. I think it would help in general to have that cycle of good v. bad to get rid of unwanted creepy crawlies.
I was looking at some potatoes at Ronnigers.com I think I will try the normal red, yellow that I eat all the time but I think I might try this one called purple majesty 70-80 days maturing. It is supposed to have almost twice the antioxidants as other potatoes. Which in my health would be a plus. I read that it is sometimes best to try a few types of potatoes etc to see which one will grow best for you in your area. I thought I may do that with a couple of things so I will have at least some vegetable to put up. An not leaving it to chance on just one type and it not grow well here.
I thank you all so much for all this wonderful information. I have been writing all this down so I won't need to ask the same thing over.
You know I was thinking (sad moment) last night that 25 years ago I could never find very much to talk to my grandfather about. He was native american and very quite. He always had a huge garden (16 children). Now I wish I could turn back time and ask so many questions.
Thanks' Bonnie

Bonnie, I wish you had talked to him too! What interesting things he could have told you. Was he Cherokee?

Did you know the University of Missouri has lots of gardening publications online. Try:

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Publications MU

Thanks for the link.
I have been spending the day off and on looking on line about storage and crops etc.
I think my head is starting to spin.
Yes, he was full cherokee and his wife as well. They raised 16 children in a home with one bathroom indoors. Before that it was the old stand by out house. I get cold just thinking about it.
He could not write so made his mark "X" for all his needs the bank and anything else. his Soc. number is only 3 digits. That sort of boggles my mind when I seen it for the first time.
From every thing I have read today. You know I would think you could grow your carrots in a large tub or pot.

When I hear stories like that I always think of our children of today, who think that each child must have his own room and each bedroom must have its own bathroom!

I don't know why I didn't think of planting carrots in a container.....sometimes I need others to point out the obvious to me! I have lots of half 55 gallon drums that we have used for various cattle feeders and waterers. If I would plant in from the sides about 6 inches I think they would work. I also have a half whiskey barrel that I put annuals in that I could use. It will be fun to just try a few that way.

I'm ahead, for once!
My expermintal carrots from fall planting are still happy in their big pot. I'm mulching, and watching. Each freeze we have, I'm testing one or two--so far they're still growing, and doing like they're supposed to, getting sweeter.
This year, I have 4 blueberries in huge pots,plus 2 in the ground.I had several tomatoes in pots, carrots, cucumbers, melons, several herbs and still wondering what else to try!
Thats along with a big garden.
This is my hobby, my outlet, to me, the best place to be!
Clean house, Oh, is it THAT time again? But my garden, Thats me!!

Where do you get those half 55 gallon drums? I've seen some black plastic ones in a cattle field down the road from us and was thinking "plant containers" when I saw them. lol
I tried to find awhile back whether asparagus can be grown in containers. It seems like it would be easier to keep the weeds out if it was in a pot instead of in the ground but I didn't find anything encouraging about growing it that way unless I used a very large container. I have a little bit planted in the ground but it gets too much shade now. It's sort of under a shrub. Asparagus is expensive at the grocery store and sometimes picked too late so it's tough. I'd rather grow my own.

Mid-Am in Cabool, Mo. has blue plastic barrels to sell, havent bought for several years, but I think it was about 5.00 then. This is, I guess, a cheese plant? these make 2 planters, cut in half.
Perhaps others know where to buy them, closer?

Ceresone, what do you use for potting mix. I use expert mix for flowers, but it is quite expensive if you need lots. Also, I would be more careful of the ingredients in soil for vegetables - vermiculite in the past has had some bad reports. I guess you would wash your veggies well though. Since I got my big bargain, I have planted some pansys in well rotted cow manure mixed with used potting mix. If they don't do well, I will have learned something. I know there will be weeds. I read on the container forum about making potting mix out of pine bark fines, perlite, peat moss and fertilizer. I have all the ingredients except the fertilizer and the persistence to follow through on the project.

Several of my pots I used cheap potting soil mix, then I added lots of compost, little peat-little of this and a little of that, till I got it looking good.some I used leftover miracle grow potting mix from the pots on the deck the year before (they get babied).Couldnt tell the difference.
Easy to weed what few weeds come up--they are along the path to the garden.
Oh yes, important step--you dont need soil top to bottom on these huge pots, theres a lot of rocks in the bottom, better drainage--less expensive soil.

That is some of what I read too. Rock broken clay pots in bottom.
They did say however that to take into consideration that the planter needs to be deep enough for the root system. Some plants have shorter roots that others.
Christie if you were going to cut a barrel I would make sure what depth you would need before cutting so you may need to cut one end shorter that other? Depends on what you grow.
Helen would the rotting cow manure count as your fertilizer?
I did a couple of tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets with holes in bottom and some around the sides about 2 inches up. that seemed to work well for me so I could move them in the hot part of the summer so they did not get so much hot sun in the afternoon.
Christie also check some of the factorys and busnesses aroound you for the drum. My brother works for a company that will let him have them.
My mother was telling me that they used to keep the carrots in the ground with a lot of leaves piles on the and snow until they needed them. Then someone would take the fork down and dig a few out. Wow wonder what they considered a few? They would keep and wye and when the ground started to really freeze at that lever they would dig them and store like potatoes only w/more moisture, damp bag. she said they would dig them most years around mid january.
I wonder if you filled the barrels now for spring use. Maybe I could use some old hay and leaves in the mix and it will break down some before spring. Thoughts?
Ceresone, Yep sounds like me. I only do my hose thing after the sun has gone all the way down or if it it bad out and can't go out.
Really don't like being in the house.
Bonnie