Onions and Garlic for Next Year

[Lorelai]

Hi all!

We had pretty good success with our onions this year, though our garlic crop is dismal at best. We planted some white and yellow (not sweet) varieties, and the garlic is pretty standard. The onions did well, but a lot of them were smaller.

Anyway, I'm hoping for some opinions for next year. Or, whether we should be getting onions and garlic in the ground this fall... I'm a little confused on that front. I'm primarily looking for onions and garlic that will store, though I do like to use them right out of the garden too. That works for us. I'm also looking for varieties that will do well in northwest Washington... if I've got this right, then we need long day onions? Or something like that? Thoughts, suggestions, opinions? What to plant and when?

Thanks!

 

[digitS']

Laura, I should know something about your gardening environment (been gardening since before there was dirt, not all that many miles away, about as far north) but I really don't. Just your winter hardiness zone has many scratching their heads. Zone 8 . . . so, where's that? Coast of South Carolina? Many would find it hard to believe that your next largest city just up the road is Vancouver, BC. Gardening is really very local.

We have a TEG member who lives on Vancouver Island. I hope he checks in soon and can give you some ideas. Also, there were some TEG regulars from the Seattle area. I think your very difficult summer has kind of "put the skids" on these gardening folks, I am sorry to say.

Fortunately, Washington State really has you covered!

gardening.wsu Notice that when you click that link, you go to "Gardening in Western Washington!" Sometimes it is hard to believe that WSU is actually in Eastern Washington .

They even have some advice on: Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardens for you!

Just to the south of you is the Skagit Valley and they are having some kind of Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms event there in a couple of weeks. I bet that would be a good place to make connections and get to know something about the growing potential for your part of the world. And, even tho' it is over there and I am over here - I make good use of Osborne Seed Company in the Skagit Valley. By the way, they offer a good variety of onion seed. I bought some from them this year!

I usually grow Walla Walla Sweets and used to sow seed outdoors near the end of August. The plants would overwinter . . . The problem was that altho' I could always get the plants thru a subzero winter, they would often bolt to seed instead of growing bulbs the next year. You don't have that problem with subzero winters! Why don't you check to see (right away) if you can sow onion seed for a crop next year!

Steve