wow...you have ur hands full; God has certainly blessed your gardening talent; His food tastes sooooooooooooo good; i know, He has also blessed my garden

Anyone planting a fall garden this year? It's tough in this heat, but the payoff is good.

absolutely; too early yet, but broccoli / cabbage / cauliflower will go n the ground as soon as i can find the plants;

i'm still getting sweet slice cucumbers since spring; delicious stuff; peppers of course, they just start in the fall;

i luv to garden; i plant it, He grows it

For sure
After my excellent tomato crop finally burned up I dug in about 2 inches of rabbit poop and planted okra about 3 weeks ago, Water ever day but the plants are looking very good. Guessing they will start producing by next week!

Skills

onion time; looks like the 1st shipping date is Nov 3rd; get your feed store to order from them like i did in Nacogdoches; the freeze last year knocked them back, but i still had over 100 good ones, softball size

https://dixondalefarms.com/

Boy I sure missed when they would start producing. Finally got my first pods today That heat was brutal and I guess they just shut down till it cooled off

broccoli / cabbage / brussel sprouts / cauliflower ; planted some at Murvaul also

Dixondale Farms

Soil Preparation Tips for a Bountiful Harvest

Many onion gardeners often overlook a crucial step: preparing the soil before planting their onions. The growth of your onions largely depends on the quality of the soil they are planted in. Follow our best practices below to ensure that your soil is in its best condition before the onion season arrives.

Select a Sunny Location: Opt for a spot that receives full sun. Ensure you monitor your soil to identify the area that gets the most sunlight.

Soil Preparation for Optimal Growth: It's important to prepare the soil to make it friable (crumbly and well-aerated) and to ensure proper drainage. While onions can grow in various soil types, they thrive in sandy loam soil, which offers excellent drainage and a loose texture. This enables the onions to move the soil easily when they begin to bulb. Tight soils like clay or silt resist water infiltration, particularly when dry, and can easily become compacted, hindering the onion bulb expansion during the bulbing process.

Enhancing Soil Quality: Onions thrive in loose soils with ample nutrients. You can enrich your soil by adding composted cow manure, garden compost, organic matter like grass clippings or leaves, or peat moss. These additions not only provide essential nutrients but also improve soil texture.

Soil Testing: Always conduct a soil test before planting. This helps determine if your soil lacks essential nutrients or minerals and what the pH level is. You can easily perform a soil test using a digital meter or have it done by your local County Extension office. Onions can grow in various pH levels, but they prefer a pH between 6.2-6.8. If your soil is too acidic, add ground limestone; if it's too alkaline, incorporate peat moss.

Balanced Fertilization: Even if your soil analysis indicates substantial amounts of phosphorous or potassium, these nutrients may not be in a form readily absorbed by the plant. It's crucial to add a balanced fertilizer such as 10-20-10 to provide the nutrients necessary for your onions to establish a healthy root system. Simply dig a 4-inch trench between two rows of onions and sprinkle ½ cup of 10-20-10 per ten linear feet of the row. Cover the trench with soil and then plant the onions 6 inches from the trench. Onion roots will expand to absorb these nutrients, fostering a strong root system.

Weed Control: Effective weed control is essential to prevent competition for nutrients between weeds and your onions. Prepare your rows in advance and pre-irrigate the area to encourage weed growth. These weeds can then be tilled under before planting. Using a pre-emergent herbicide such as Treflan or corn gluten can provide about four weeks of weed control during the early growth stages.

Great info Onion King. I'm more of a balance guy with a 13-13-13 at the start. And for the newbies getting started with onions this year. DD recommends using 21-0-0 ammonium sulfate to maintain growth most in of TX. Easy to find at most feed stores for about $20-25 per 50lbs. That will last you a while. If you're in a lower Ph area like crapyetr you can go with Calcium Nitrate. Not as easy to find and as cheap. Realistically if your Ph is on point, which most aren't, you could skip the Cal N for the most part and just go straight Urea which is 46-0-0 and cheap.

There's an easy way to check the pH levels at your home.
If your soil bubbles when you add vinegar to it, then you know your soil is alkaline.
If you soil bubbles when you add baking soda to it, you know that your soil is acidic.

here's a bunch of info that's interesting

https://www.healthygem.com/hacks/clever-gardening-hacks/43/?utm_source=ba&utm_campaign=ghl-d-us-r-0-0-231101-hg-ba-d5&utm_medium=msn.com&utm_content=Plant+Bananas+All+Over+Your+Garden%2C+Look+What+Happens+A+Week+Later-ba&utm_term=hp&utm_cpc=0.074000&a0v5la7bquf89=9578d6574888d274d13118787baa7508&uy3ubftvh0u6o8=3fdcc4c7562c3e5ac76df26252c46c21&cusduxj27i=2091576&xnfrr0ncac=698&zsmoi87pih9=trace.mediago.io&lzzgnpz8d=fd2c78e45533ef29df88e75fbc16275a

Crapy I'm a slacker and just got my onions ordered a couple days ago. Supposed to ship the week of the 27th. Dixon typically ships earlier than expected ship date though. My feed store and nursery don't bring them in early and only the 1015 when they do. Thankfully a few of us order together and it gets the price down. Not crate price but close to. LET'S GO! Going to be a great winter and 2024 gardening year baby!

fyi...farmers almanac planting date for onions is 11/29-30

29th – 30th
Start seedbeds and flower gardens. Good days for transplanting. Best planting days for fall potatoes, turnips, onions, carrots, beets, and other root crops where climate is suitable.

So do you guys follow DDs guidance and run a trench for fertilizer between the rows? I followed all their directions last year and had huge onions for the first time. Asking because the trench eats up a lot of real estate in a raised bed.