Potatoes What To Do?

[Worth1]

Robert they look great, every one of mine have broken through the soil.
Now if you dont know it you need yo start hilling up and putting a big pile of leaves on top of the soil.
This will help keep the soil below 70 degrees a little longer so they will produce more potatoes.

Worth

[twillis2252]

Great seeing all of you in the southern climes getting the potatoes and tomatoes started and growing. My garden is in zone 6 and plan to plant potatoes peas spinach and onions middle of March. I am envious and raring to begin!!!

Worth, I am a new member last month and have read many of your posts. Agree and appreciate all you have to say. Feel like I have known you for years! Keep up the great work!

[AlittleSalt]

I agree Worth. That's why my onion pictures have leaves all around them.

I just took the soil temperature out in the middle of the garden. It is down to 58F after the almost 3 inches of rain we got Sunday through Tuesday. It was up to 62F

The soil temperature in the onion bed is 49F. You can feel the difference just touching the ground.

[whistech]

Robert, the potatoes are looking great! I bet you have a bumper crop. Looks like your onions are doing very good also.

[AlittleSalt]

Since I mentioned onions growing with oak leaves around them - I thought I would share a few pictures. The first picture are second year onions I planted.

Pictures 2 and 3 would probably enjoy growing in a shaded octopus garden. They are Oxalis Triangularis. I never would have thought they would be growing in February.

Picture 4 is Elephant Garlic

Picture 5 are onions that are coming up from seed that I didn't plant myself. The wind did it.

[Worth1]

Everything looks great Robert I am glad you crawled out of your death bed to take pictures as I know you have had the flue or something.

It is funny you are trying to keep your onions cool and I am hoping mine warm up some.
I read on a university sight some place they wont bulb up unless the soil temps and so on stay at around 60 or 70 degrees? no matter what the length of the day was.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

The flu/black plague/common cold...whatever it is - is getting better. Finally no headache today after 8 days.

I only have the two smallest onion beds covered with leaves. The main onion bed and the two rows in the garden are growing without leaves.

What made me think about trying the leaves and cooler ground is I've noticed over the past couple years - the onions companion planted under the tomato plants always get more leaves than those in the onion beds. The onions also smell and taste stronger. I figured, "Why not try it?"

Through internet research - I didn't find squat supporting my findings. I will know how some of them taste before too long because they're growing where I'm going to plant all those Tomatillos.

Oh, and tomatillos grow very FAST in solo cups.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

The flu/black plague/common cold...whatever it is - is getting better. Finally no headache today after 8 days.

I only have the two smallest onion beds covered with leaves. The main onion bed and the two rows in the garden are growing without leaves.

What made me think about trying the leaves and cooler ground is I've noticed over the past couple years - the onions companion planted under the tomato plants always get more leaves than those in the onion beds. The onions also smell and taste stronger. I figured, "Why not try it?"

Through internet research - I didn't find squat supporting my findings. I will know how some of them taste before too long because they're growing where I'm going to plant all those Tomatillos.

Oh, and tomatillos grow very FAST in solo cups.

Yes they do because the soil is heating up.

As for looking and finding your results sometimes it just isn't out there because people have just kept following instructions.
This is why we have to experiment to see things for our selves.
My onions are growing in just about every environment I can think of.
One of them being sandy loam and pea gravel.

Worth

[whistech]

Robert, for what it's worth, according to Dixondale, onions need 200 heat units to put on a leaf and every leaf makes an onion ring. The more leaves you have before the onion starts to bulb, the bigger the onion will be.

Here's a couple of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oALQHr15d2Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g1-dAMjs0k

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by whistech

Robert, for what it's worth, according to Dixondale, onions need 200 heat units to put on a leaf and every leaf makes an onion ring. The more leaves you have before the onion starts to bulb, the bigger the onion will be.

Here's a couple of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oALQHr15d2Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g1-dAMjs0k

Thanks Arlie that is the same thing Glenn Drowns was saying about sweet potatoes Heat Units.
Right now I am trying to get my onions to grow as fast as they can and watering every other day or as soon as the soil is dry 1/2 inch down.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

Looks like I'll be removing oak leaves.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Looks like I'll be removing oak leaves.

I thought you might be doing that, put them on the potatoes.
Worth

[Worth1]

It just dawned on me I need to start bringing in the three onions in a can in at night to get more heat units.

Worth