I've always been told that onions (1015Y) will begin growing their bulb once the plant has 13 leaves on it. Most of mine have 12 currently. Yesterday at my daughters teeball practice (it is held at a local catholic church), I was looking at the garden they have, and very few of their onion plants had more than 8 leaves, yet already had good size bulbs forming. Am I doing something wrong?

go to http://www.dixondalefarms.com/learn ...if you can't find the answer, email them ... i get my local feed store to buy from them...their website has a ton of information...i fertilize with 21-0-0 every 3 weeks until the onion bulbs then water/water/water...the best onion they have is the Texas Legend...a breed of the 1015 ... i thought it was 9 leaves to bulb...just fertilize and water/water/water...they'll grow

I don't remember ever having an onion with 13 leaves . I just pull the dirt back to expose the bulb as it grows and clip the flowers when they show up .

I guess you're correct. I thought it was 13 to form a bulb, but Mr. Frazier says that a perfect onion has 13 leaves. I suppose I could've just called and asked him, my wife is from Carrizo Springs and has known the Frazier's her entire life.

I'm just going to adopt the "water, water, water" motto for my onions going forward. I'm either going to have some awesome onion bulbs or some delicious huge green onions. Either way it's a win win.

Beat em with a broom.....at some point. Not sure when

that's tomatoes, not onions~~~!!!~~~

clipping the flower will cause the onion to rot...water will go down the leaf tube to the bulb and it will rot...so any onions you see blooming, pull'm and eat'm

I read that the more you water the onion, the bigger the bulb will be. I'd rather believe there's a happy medium, but I don't know how much water is too much. Anyone have any watering guidelines? My soil is super sandy, so I know I do need a lot of water.

Dixondale Farms instruction...stick your index finger in the ground...if it's dry up to the 1st knuckle, water...

have you grown cantaloupe / watermelon in that soil...always heard sandy soil grows them good

Yes, great for growing melons. However, to get back to watering, conventional wisdom is that too wet a year can result in melons tasting bland. I know some say to stop watering tomatoes a few days before picking. I've never read anything about onions and overwatering.

last year i grew the biggest onions i've ever grown...over 50 onions 16" around and the rest 12+...it was a wet spring and i watered them...the south side of my raised bed was lower than the north side so the drip irrigation excess flowed south and that's where the majority of the BIG onions were...so i say water/water/water, especially with your situation with sandy soil...

Never had 'em rot but I clip at the top of the stem right under the flower .

Never, ever heard of that. Are these ISIS onions?

NOW YOU'VE HEARD OF IT from Dixondale Farms

Most of the onions that bolt will have the flower stem through the middle of
the onion. that is a layer of the onion and when cutting the stem, it does
open the onion up for anything to land in the middle of the onion. I would
say yes, it would cause rotting...or the onion would have insects or dirt.

Thanks so much,
Mary Caddell
Customer Service/Office Manager
Dixondale Farms

Not doubting your word , dude . Just saying my experience has been different .