All the Dirt on Gardening

Garlic, onions and shallots are planted in late-fall here. Sometimes as late as New Year's Day with pretty good results, depending on how early the first freeze arrives. Shallots with onion If yours isn't in the ground yet, there is still time. Our garlic seeds are in but the onions still remain. We are in zone 7 so short season varieties are the best choices for us. It's based on sunlight hours: short day, 10 to 12 hours; intermediate day, 12 to 14 hours; and long day, 14 to 16 hours. Dixondale Farms catalog just arrived yesterday in the same mail as the shallot seeds from a new vendor I'm trying. Dixondale has a good, online reference for planting at http://cdn.dixondalefarms.com/downloads/OnionPlantingGuide.pdf Park Seed Shallots can be confusing: You can purchase small shallots now and plant them over the winter to harvest in the spring. Or, you can plant seeds now that will become those small shallots. If you plant the seeds in the ground they will...

Oh, these glorious break out days when it is not freezing or too wet to be in the garden. Finally, yesterday, the red onion sets could be planted in between cutting limbs, weed pulling and moving compost. Crocus are blooming, daffodils are making flower buds, hyacinth buds are visible nestled in the center of their emerging leaves and tulip shoots were hiding under the oak leaf mulch ready for sun. All sure signs of spring. Enthusiasm can lead to planting too many things too close together for their health resulting in poor root growth (lack of water and nutrients) and poor air circulation (diseases like mildew and mold). A 1927 book on vegetables has been posted onto the online Soil and Health Library. Specifically, take a look at the chapter on onion root growth . One onion's roots grow a foot wide and over 3-feet deep. Flower bulbs need similar growing room and depth in order to thrive. So, when the spring planted bulbs arrive, give them plenty of root room.