Author: Don
You’ve heard of The Old Farmer’s Almanac for guidance to all your gardening needs. Well this year I plan to follow my neighbor, and long-time gardening guru, Raymond Jones, for similar guidance on my central Texas garden. He started this season with tilling a 13-13-13 fertilizer into his loamy soil, and then planted onions on January 25, using onion sets that can be planted without worry of frost damage. He tells me consistent nitrogen and water are required for large sweet onions. He uses a 33-0-0 fertilizer when planting, and then repeats it every 30 days. He also floods the plants with water every 4-days, because onions need 30 inches of rain per year. I’ll be using a natural fertilizer, like fish emulsion, applied once a week.
Pest problems include thrips, which can be controlled with insecticidal soap, and onion maggots that will lay eggs at the base of the plant. One control is to cover your newly planted crop with fine mesh netting secured to the ground with dirt.
Connie Jones showed Raymond how…. Just ask him. Love the pictures and the daily emails about cooking and growing what we love to eat. Thank you!