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Q I have planted onion sets for a few years. The onions grow well, but they send up flower stalks and never produce large bulbs. How do I grow large onion bulbs?

A Your experience with onion sets producing flower stalks and never forming bulbs is common.

Onions take two years to complete their biological life. When you plant onion sets, they’re beginning their second growing season; they often put their energy into producing flower stalks, rather than forming bulbs. Onion sets are best used to produce green onions (scallions).

You are more likely to get onion bulbs if you plant seeds. Start them indoors, then transplant them into the garden when they are 3 to 4 inches tall.

Alternatively, you can direct-seed them in the garden; plant seeds about a quarter-inch deep and maintain good soil moisture.

If you plant directly in the garden, plant more seeds than necessary, and thin them while the plants are small. Use thinned plants as scallions or transplant to other areas.

Thin onions to about 4 inches apart, or place transplants at that distance.

In the Bay Area, onions can be planted in spring or fall. In coastal areas, plant seeds directly in the garden in January or February for fall harvest, or in October for harvest in late spring. In interior areas, plant in February or March for fall harvest. Seeds started indoors can be transplanted into the garden a month after those dates.

If

the weather turns very cold when the onions are 6 to 10 weeks old, that can stimulate their production of flower stalks, even for plants that are growing from seed. If a freeze is forecast when the plants are in this vulnerable period, use row covers (lightweight plant-protection fabrics sold in nurseries and online).

Once a flower stalk has begun to grow, breaking off the stalk will not help the plant produce a bulb. An onion that has produced a flower stalk will never form a large bulb.

Harvest and use onions as soon as you see flower stalks developing.

Another key to producing good bulbs is to pay attention to whether the seeds you plant are for “short-day,” “intermediate” or “long-day” varieties. Short-day varieties form bulbs with 12 hours of continuous daylight. Long-day varieties require 14 to 16 hours. Intermediate varieties are in the middle.

In the Bay Area, we have about 14.5 hours of light on the longest day of the year — not enough to trigger bulbing in many long-day varieties. For best results, plant short-day or intermediate varieties.

Day-length requirements are not always specified on seed packets. Many seed catalogs and online seed sources do specify, or you can ask at the nursery where you plan to by your seeds.

Additional information about growing onions is available on these University of California websites: www.ipm.ucdavis.edu and http://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/onion.pdf.

Terry Lippert is a Contra Costa County Master Gardener.

Master Gardeners

The Master Gardener programs are UC Cooperative Extension, county-based volunteer organizations dedicated to providing research-based gardening information to home gardeners. And they love sharing information and answering questions.
Contra Costa Master Gardeners, 925-646-6586,
9 a.m.-noon, Mondays-Thursdays. http://ccmg.ucdavis.edu
Santa Clara Master Gardeners, 408-282-3105, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. http://mastergardeners.org/scc.html
Alameda County Master Gardeners, 510-639-1371 or 925-960-9420. http://acmg.ucdavis.edu
Solano County Master Gardeners, 707-784-1321. http://cesolano.ucdavis.edu/Master_Gardener
San Mateo/San Francisco Master Gardeners, 650-726-9059, ext. 107, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. http://ucanr.org/sites/MGsSMSF.
California Master Gardener website, http://camastergardeners.ucdavis.edu

Many of us walk through our front garden every day, in all seasons, and yet, apart from perhaps jazzing up the front door with some marguerites in pots (replaced by cyclamens in winter), we often don’t make the most of this precious bit of green space. It’s surprisingly easy to let it become a place where bins and car or bikes stand in full view, where junk lies around waiting to be taken to the dump, and where you haven’t yet got round to doing something about the dusty shrubs inherited when you bought the house.

Here are three good reasons to give the front some tlc. First, by the addition of some thoughtful planting and screening, you – and your visitors – will have the pleasure of a verdant journey, with a background of buzzing insects or calling birds, to the front door. Second, a well-tended front can add value to your property and maybe even clinch a sale and encourage your neighbours to green up theirs, too. And, third, you can make a significant improvement to the local environment and especially the issue of flooding by rethinking the amount and type of paving you have, and by introducing a generous covering of plants.

A recent survey for the RHS showed that although those surveyed were generally environmentally aware (more than half had compost bins, wildlife areas and water butts), only one in 10 realised that planted gardens can help prevent flooding, and one in five had 75% or more of their front garden paved over. A survey on parking, published last month by the RAC, found that 7m front gardens are concreted over (car ownership has risen from 2m to 28.5m since 1950). Paving can increase the amount of rainwater that runs off by as much as 50%, overloading storm drains and causing floods; soil and plants, on the other hand, slow down the runoff, eventually returning the water to the water table. Plants, especially trees, help to cool the atmosphere and filter polluted air. They also provide places for wildlife to feed and live.

Since 2009, any front garden bigger than 5 sq m has to have planning permission to be paved. But even if your garden’s smaller, it’s important to think minimal hard landscaping – a path to the front door, somewhere to park the car – and to make sure it’s permeable. The simplest and cheapest surface is gravel but there’s a whole range of products, from brick pavers with in-built spacers to matrix pavers that contain an aggregate such as resin-bonded gravel (for advice and options see pavingexpert.com and planningportal.gov.uk). To avoid the car park look, designer Charlotte Rowe suggests breaking up surfaces such as resin-bonded gravel with lines of setts interplanted with low plants such as thyme. “I use a pale shade, which gives a softer look, rather than the orangey shade you often see.” Kent-based designer and lecturer Peter Bonney has used sleepers for the wheel tracks, with planted shingle, Derek Jarman-style, in between.

Fronts throw up some particular challenges. Here are some tips:

Soil Often compacted, dry and dusty. Add plenty of organic matter before you start (50-litre bags of BQ organic soil improver, £5.98; 900-litre load, from £55, from compostdirect.com).

Shade If the front is shady, stick to plants that thrive in shade and offer an interesting mix of foliage shapes and shades, such as camellias, box, hart’s tongue ferns, Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’, epimediums and sarcococca (for more suggestions, see the RHS plant selector), and don’t bother with grass.

Clutter Screen the bins and bikes, either with off-the-peg willow or wooden screens or boxes, or slimline sheds (frontyardcompany.co.uk, totalgardens.co.uk, greenfingers.com). Alternatively make your own wooden shelter and top it with a living roof (for living roof ideas see livingroofs.org). Paint the wood a neutral colour or a shade that matches the front door.

No soil In tiny urban fronts that are concreted over, it’s still possible to plant up the space by using pots. Use the biggest ones you can afford – the heavier they are, the more difficult they are to steal – which will provide better growing conditions and allow you to include one or two showy plants in your display. Plant some climbers too, including edibles such as beans and climbing nasturtiums. If you have room for window boxes, choose the largest ones you can fit.

Focal point In a small front garden, it’s more peaceful to have one focal point, which could be water, a piece of furniture or simply a large, shapely terracotta pot (unplanted). Framing the front door with a pair of pots containing a clipped evergreen (such as bay, box or the underused honeysuckle Lonicera nitida) sharpens up the entrance to the house. Feed in summer, and keep free of weeds.

Trees These will give scale, screening and a habitat for a variety of wildlife. In a small garden you may have room for only one. Choose a variety that will give interest during at least two seasons – crab apples and Amelanchier lamarckii both work well – and for fronts of every size check out a tree’s eventual height and width before planting. Don’t site trees where they might block light from ground-floor rooms.

All-year interest Include evergreens and clipped plants for structure through the winter months. Put in scented plants such as winter-flowering sarcococca and Daphne odora close to the path, which you will appreciate every time you pass. On sunny urban front walls, try the more tender but utterly gorgeous Trachelospermum jasminoides for summer scent.

• Front Gardens: How To Make The Most Of Them, a one-day course by Peter Bonney at West Dean College, West Sussex, takes place on 15 September.

With the growing interest in eating fresh, locally grown produce, many area people are considering gardening for the first time.

Before you break ground, it’s important to have the proper tools on hand, said Pat Stewart, who is about to launch her new gardening company, Down To Earth.

“I grew up around gardening,” Stewart said. “My dad came from a farming family and always had a huge garden that provided plenty of veggies for our family and friends. My mother and maternal grandmother both had green thumbs and all the flowers and shrubs to prove it. While I can appreciate the beauty of the flowers, my real fascination and love has always been in seeing something go from a seed to a plant to something edible.”

Stewart said that of the many tools available for gardening, there are at least five that are necessary.

“These are the ones I absolutely could not do without,” she said of the tools listed on page E6. “Several years ago, I became completely smitten with the Wolf Garten tool system. They have interchangeable heads that can be used on long or short handles.”

1. Protective gear (hat and gloves): Even with a full head of hair, your scalp can get sunburned. Plus, a ventilated hat with a nice brim protects your ears and neck and keeps you cooler. My favorite glove for the garden is a snug-fitting goatskin pair. They cost a bit more than cloth gloves, but they are tough enough to protect your hands yet supple enough to still allow for some dexterity.

2. Wheelbarrow: I love the double-wheeled ones, because they are less likely to tip over with a heavy load. It will be the workhorse that carries loads of soil amendments and tools to the garden and piles of weeds and multiple baskets of harvest away from the garden.

3. Stirrup hoe/pendulum weeder: This gem almost makes hoeing fun (almost). It makes short work of weeds, even when the soil has gotten a little hard. An added benefit is the way it cultivates the top inch or two of soil.

4. Garden rake: Great for tilling, getting loose weeds and clumps/rocks out of the soil and leveling tilled soil. You can turn it over and use the top ‘bar’ to smooth out your row or top off a hill without dragging too much dirt away.

5. Trowel: My dad always told me to dig a $5 hole for a 50-cent plant. A good trowel helps you do just that. For me, metal is a must for digging just a little deeper, breaking up some hard soil and even occasionally whacking an unwanted bug.

After more than 50 years of gardening, Bill and Syvella Nickel have learned how to cultivate their yard to its maximum potential, yielding more than 300 jars of vegetables each year.

“I’m not a gardener for show and tell. I’m a gardener for raising and eating,” Bill said.

Through the years, Bill and Syvella have learned new tips to maximize the output of their tomatoes, peas, beans, cabbage, carrots, kohlrabi, zucchini, papaya pear squash, beets and many other vegetables.

While the couple’s five raised garden beds aren’t the largest gardens in town, years of learning and testing new techniques have led to a generous annual crop that produces enough to keep the couple well stocked year round.

The large output of produce drastically cuts down on the couple’s food bill. Besides canning the regular produce items, one of the Nickels’ favorite things to can is homemade vegetable juice.

Last year, the couple canned 47 quarts of their own juice made from homegrown tomatoes, celery, beets, carrots, peppers, onions, tomatillos, cabbage and garlic. This year’s goal is to can 100 quarts.

“We love to use our juicer and make it,” Syvella said. “There’s no recipe; we just throw things in until we get it just right.”

“One batch, I have to put in the hot peppers,” Bill added with a grin.

“It sure gets your attention first thing in the morning,” Syvella added.

Syvella has been cooking her whole life. Growing her own vegetables and fresh herbs means that she gets to constantly experiment with new recipes.

“She doesn’t even allow dry mixes in the house,” Bill said. “Everything she makes is from scratch.”

Over the years, the Nickels have looked for ways to be more successful in their endeavors. One technique that has worked well for them was to move away from one large garden area to several different smaller gardens throughout the yard. The smaller raised gardens are just the right size so they can easily walk around the beds and harvest from all sides.

They also use every small section of land available to them. A previously unused piece of ground behind the shed has become the site of the zucchini and squash patch. When the peas were harvested, the couple dug out the plants and immediately planted beans, getting two crops from one small piece of land.

“He doesn’t waste any space,” Syvella said. “He doesn’t leave any ground unused.”

To replenish nutrients, the Nickels regularly compost. During the winter months, Bill will dig trenches through the beds and fill the trenches in with compost materials.

“He likes to play in the dirt,” Syvella said.

Not all endeavors have been a success. Bill admits to not having much luck growing cauliflower. In fact, he remembers one year he and his son both planted cauliflower with drastically different results. While his son planted the vegetable and pretty much just let nature take its course, Bill spent the summer nurturing the plants, tying them up and doing everything the books said to do.

At the end of the summer, Bill’s cauliflower was very small and not healthy looking at all while his son’s was large and looked great.

“I don’t know how he did it. All I know is that after all that work that I put into it and to have his look so good I decided that was it for my cauliflower days,” he joked.

Of all the challenges we gardeners face, drought is the one most out of our control. At sometime in your gardening life, no matter where you live, drought likely will affect you too. For many, that time is now.

It’s a helpless feeling: no rain in sight, soaring temperatures and plants and lawn are struggling to survive. And you have been restricted or even banned from any outdoor watering. So what’s a gardener to do?

First things first. Understand that in times of such scarcity, sacrifices will be required. Prioritize the plants in your landscape or lawn based on what’s most important, and work back from there. The most easily replaceable parts of my landscape and garden will either have to go without or get served last.

Fortunately, you can buy some time by making the most of what water you have.

Warm-up water: One of the best sources of water for keeping plants alive comes from inside the house. I call it warm-up water. It’s all that water that otherwise would go down the drain as you wait for hot water in your kitchen sink or in your bathtub. For every one minute of warm-up time, two-gallons or more of water perfectly suitable for any plant could be collected by simply placing a bucket under the spigot. I know many people who kept their entire garden alive through such trying times using this method alone. It adds up quickly.

Gray water: This is water redirected for use in the garden from a washing machine, dishwasher, sink or tub. It can be perfectly suitable for irrigating your plants and beds. But before you undertake this approach, check with your local ordinances. Depending on where you live, it may not be legal to divert this type of water for irrigation. Another consideration is that gray water can contain harmful disease pathogens (from a kitchen sink or garbage disposal) and/or harsh detergents or chemicals (as from a washing machine or dishwasher). Good sources of gray water come from dehumidifiers and air-conditioning condensation drains.

If you want to consider this option for your garden, do your homework. Plenty of online references will serve you well.

Rainwater harvesting: Get a rain barrel, or even a cistern capable of collecting and storing up to thousands of gallons. Again, check with local laws about rainwater harvesting. Not all states view it the same way and there may be restrictions on what you can do, especially in the southwestern United States.

Mulch: During a drought, it’s important to conserve any moisture that is in the ground. Evaporation will draw out water near the soil surface faster than ever. Yet, a generous layer of mulch (approximately two to three inches deep) will serve as insulation, allowing more moisture to stay in the soil and be used by plant roots.

Any mulch will help, but I prefer the type that improves the soil as it breaks down. For me, that means only natural sources such as shredded bark, wood, leaves, grass or straw, etc. I also like knowing it’s free of unacceptable chemicals, such as arsenic from pressure-treated wood. To find sources of contaminant-free mulch, consult the Mulch and Soil Council’s website. (Full disclosure: I’m its spokesman.)

Planning ahead: Although you may already be in the midst of drought, you can develop several habits to ensure that the next time you’re faced with such trying conditions, your plants and lawn are more suited for the challenge. First, select plants and grasses that are native or adapted to your area. They’re far more likely to endure the heat and drought. Second, when you do water, do so deeply yet infrequently. This trains roots to grow deeper as they seek water sources farther in the soil.

Joe Lamp’l, host of “Growing a Greener World” on PBS, is a master gardener and author. For more information visit www.joegardener.com.

It’s been a brutally hot summer, with a severe dry spell early on and drenching rainstorms later in the season.

Now that we’re into these dog days of August, all this gardener wants to do is curl up with a good garden tome and dream of more temperate times.

Even in this era of e-books, when I read I enjoy the real thing in my hand. There’s something about the heft and smell of paper and about the ability to make margin notes, or the gift-giving possibilities that render an electronic version of a book less suitable.

So here’s a couple of the better gardening books that have lately landed me in my green wicker porch chair with a tumbler of iced coffee at the ready.

“Northeast Fruit and Vegetable Gardening”

With mounting concern over where our food comes from, how it’s grown and what’s possibly in it, interest in vegetable gardening and small orchard production is exploding. This is true even among longtime ornamental gardeners, and especially among the younger set.

Charlie Nardozzi’s “Northeast Fruit and Vegetable Gardening,” subtitled “Plant, Grow and Eat the Best Edibles for Northeast Gardens” (Cool Springs Press, $22.99) enables any and all of us to plan and plant the vegetable and home orchard garden we’ve always dreamed of.

Nardozzi covers location and design, building soil, growing from seed or sets, garden maintenance, trouble-shooting pests and disease, harvest/storage and much more. The book is chock full of clear, colorful photographs (check out the close-up of a tomato hornworm on page 79!).

The second half delineates the easiest and best known vegetables, herbs and fruits grown in the Northeast, from artichokes to winter squash, from basil to parsley, and from apple to strawberry. The book thus serves as guide and guru to the beginner as well as the experienced vegetable and fruit gardener.

“Beginners Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Techniques to Help You Get Started.”

No matter what type of gardening we indulge in, no matter how long we’ve been at it, we all continue to need a little help along the way. “Beginners Illustrated Guide to Gardening” is written to assist anyone who wants to know more about gardening, but it’s especially helpful to first-timers.

I’ve been gardening for 60 years, and I learned a tip or two with this softcover book by Katie Elzer-Peters. (Cool Springs Press, 2012, $21.99)

In color-coded sections, she covers the basics (what does the term “organic” mean?; what are the proper names for tree parts?) as well as some advanced information.

There’s a primer on tools, a briefing on lawn care and information on doing well by annuals, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. All accompanied by unambiguous, vivid photographs.

The author addresses mulches, weed and pest control and how to read a plant tag or seed packet. Her “Success Tips,” “Know the Lingo” and “Just Grow With It!” in each segment are invaluable.

Each section relates what the reader will learn, what she’ll need, and tips for an “Instant Green Thumb.” The book is easy on the eyes, and rich with helpful details to hoist the gardener of any skill level a bit higher on the learning curve.

Pundits opine that to keep our brains youthful we must try new things. One of the best ways to incorporate innovation with a minimum of trepidation is to read up on it first. Grab one of these books and while away an afternoon or two during the August doldrums.

Does your group need a speaker? Colleen Plimpton speaks at garden clubs, libraries, women’s clubs, resorts, museums and historical societies. Visit www.colleenplimpton.com under “Appearances” for additional information and topics.

“To enjoy butterflies in your garden or yard, you just have to put in the right plants,” Kathy Coward of Just for the Birds said. “You need plants for the caterpillars and the butterflies.”

Female butterflies lay their eggs on plants that the caterpillars–once they come out–can use for food. These host plants provide the sustenance for the caterpillars and should be placed somewhere in the garden that the homeowner does not mind seeing plants without leaves, as the caterpillars eat the leaves and strip the plants bare.

“Nectar plants should be planted close by so that you can see the adult butterflies sipping the nectar,” Coward said. “Butterflies like sunny locations where there is little wind. They also like to sunbathe, so having a bowl of moist sand with rocks around it will help them out and give you a good view.”

To add to knowledge to butterfly watching, Just for the Birds offers a great selection of books that identify the different species of butterflies that thrive in the Houston area and in the rest of the country. The store also has reference guides that show host plants and the caterpillars that feed on them. Moreover, butterfly houses, feeders and gift items with butterfly motifs are available at the shop.

“Enjoy the warm days by appreciating one of nature’s great gifts: the butterfly,” Coward said.

For more information, contact Just For The Birds at 281-288-9019, visit 209 Main St. in Old Town Spring or view the shop on the Web at http://www.justforthebirds.com.

 

About Just For The Birds

Just For The Birds is a small, independently owned shop located in the restored, turn-of-the-19th-century railroad town of Old Town Spring. Kathy Coward is the owner. She began the business in 1994 out of a “labor of love.” She is very knowledgeable with birds and birding and was the president of the oldest and most respected Piney Woods Wildlife Society from 2001 to 2005. Just For The Birds offers a collection of gifts for bird lovers of all ages, along with products for wild birds, squirrels, butterflies and bats.

CHICOPEE, Mass. (Mass Appeal) – Invasive Plants can be a pain, but what is the best way to deal with pesky plants? Ed Sourdiffe is a Master Gardener and he told us which plants you should avoid planting in your garden.

Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association

Master Gardeners are ready to help you with your gardening problems. Whether it is unusual insects infecting your favorite tree, brown leaves on plants, tomatoes with splits, acid soil, or compost that won’t smoke, we can give you guidance in solving your gardening dilemma.

The Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association is a non-profit organization. It is comprised of trained Master Gardeners who must graduate from a demanding study program and volunteer many hours of working with the public to receive a Master Gardener Certificate. Our program originated at the Cooperative Extension Service of the State University System. In 1989, the program ended at UMass due to funding problems, and a dedicated group of graduates organized and continued the program independent of the University.

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HOT SPRINGS – They may not know each other well when they begin, but by the end of the growing season, the participants in June Palmer’s community garden are friends and are trading gardening tips and tricks.

“I guess this is probably the third or fourth year I’ve had the garden,” said Palmer, who hosts the fenced 50’ x 50’ area between her home and art studio on Happy Hollow. “I have been here seven years and didn’t have the garden for at least a couple of years.”

This year’s spot is packed to the gills with thriving green plants, despite the higher than average temperatures this summer.

“We’ve had more heat than usual,” agreed John Grover, a longtime gardener but first time utilizer of Palmer’s community concept. “On the other hand, we haven’t seen any hail really, which kind of evens things out a bit.”

Palmer sets aside the center plot in the garden for flowers. Flowers draw the bees and such that pollinate the various vegetables. Franz Brown is caring for the flowers this year.

Surrounding the flowers are plots tended by other gardeners and by Palmer as well. In a very short period of time those in attendance at the garden have amassed an impressive array of seasonal vegetables for a picture.

“I guess I have seven gardeners this year – two of them women; three if you count me,” Palmer said. “People pay me $25 for the water is all. They take care of their own space and can plant whatever they want. The only stipulation is that it has to be all organic; no pesticides or herbicides allowed.”

Rowan Christopher, another of Palmer’s gardeners this year who is a Master Gardener to boot, said that he delivers for the Meals on Wheels program in town and has been able to add some of the fresh vegetables from his plot on a weekly basis.

“These folks will get first crack at a plot next year,” said Palmer, who said she has little problem filling her spaces each spring. “I guess if someone is interested in getting a plot, they can give me a call.”

If you would like to get your hands dirty and grow some of your own vegetables next year, but don’t have the space, give Palmer a call at 745-7739.