Laguna Hills Nursery
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onion harvestGreetings!

If you purchased merchandise from our nursery using a Discover Card anytime from late March through April of this year, your account will show that you purchased the item from us in late September instead.  Our #!%?$& credit card processor totally messed up and finally funded our bank account 4 months late!  We hope you are aware that your purchases are finally getting charged and we are not involved in a credit card scam.  Unfortunately our credit card processor is not admitting any blame, but I will certainly pass along their phone number if you wish to yell at someone.  Please contact us if you question the purchase amount.

On a more pleasant note, some of you have been asking about where to order onion seedlings to grow the big sweet onions.  In years past we've sold bunches of seedlings in late December.  These seedlings will produce huge, sweet, mild onions (close to 6" in diameter!) by mid-late spring and are much larger and sweeter than bulbs grown from sets (small bulbs).  Although each is rated for 2-3 months of storage, many of our customers will get 6 months if handled properly.  Each bunch contains approximately 60 plants.  The ideal day to plant seedlings onions in Orange County is December 21.  If not planted immediately you can store a bunch of seedlings in an open container for up to 2 weeks and still get good results.  Normally they are spaced 4-5 inches apart in rows.  I have grown onions in the ground and I have grown them successfully in 1-gal plastic containers.  In containers they grow extremely well in our ACID MIX POTTING SOIL. 

Our supplier offers 15 varieties, but the best ones to grow locally are the following.  CANDY is a huge round sweet bulb that won the blue ribbon at the OC fair this year, and last year.  This yellow onion is the best that we have grown.  RED CANDY APPLE is the best red onion we can grow.  Red onions are definitely more difficult to get a high yield and/or size than white or yellow (which explains the high price at the store).  YELLOW GRANEX is the same of similar to MAUI and VIDALIA onions.  TEXAS SUPERSWEET is a famous variety that won a raw onion contest for sweetness.  This yellow onion can get nearly as large as Candy.  SUPERSTAR is a big, sweet globe and the only white onion to ever earn the All-American Selection award.  When grown properly, all of these onions can be eaten like an apple.  My kids will put handfuls of these chopped onions into their tacos and they won't make you cry as you dice them. 

Let me know if you are interested and how many bunches you would like of the above and I will figure out a price before you order.  I would probably distribute them the weekend of December 18,19.  If there is another variety you'd like, let me know.

Sugar Energizes Plants
mollasesPlants capture the energy from light as a chemical bond between molecules of carbon dioxide and water.  The chemical bond results in a molecule of sugar and 6 molecules of oxygen.  The plant stores the molecules of sugar and uses them to power the plants circulation, to grow, to repair itself, and to reproduce.  The cellulose that makes up the bulk of a plant is arranged as strands of modified suger molecules.  Plants that accumulate an abundance of sugar will not only grow better, they can bloom and be more productive. 

A generation ago, some members of the California Fruit Growers Organization had citrus trees growing in the coastal clouds of Palos Verdes.  The trees wouldn't bloom and produce fruit because they weren't getting adequate sunlight and energy storage (carbohydrate reserves).  They found a formula involving molasses to apply to the foliage.  The trees then bore fruit successfully.

I have used this formula and sprayed it on the foliage of our plants regularly over the last several decades.   It works quite well.  You can get faster growth, larger leaves, more flowers and fruit.  Because I control ants with GRANT'S ANT GRANULES, I haven't had an ant problem. 

In 1 gallon of water add:

1 oz. Molasses or Corn Syrup
1 oz. Seaweed extract
1 oz. Fish emulsion
wetting agent as per instructions

We use molasses or corn syrup to make certain the sprayer isn't damaged by undisolved sugar granules.  A wetting agent (spreader sticker, adjuvent, spray booster) will make the solution cling to waxy foliage better. 

This formula has everything the plant needs.  The sugar is a source of energy to power growth and production.  The fish fertilizer is a source of minerals to build the structures within the cell.  The seaweed provides some minerals and is a super growth hormone. 

Apply to foliage and green stems.  Not only do plants absorb minerals through their foliage, they also absorb sugar and hormones.  The longer the application remains liquid, the more effective it can be.  It is best to apply during periods of high humidity, either early morning or late afternoon. 

This sugar formula works well when applied twice a month any time of the year.  It can be applied more often, but sooty mold can grow on the foliage when there is too much sugar residue. 

Neptune's Harvest is a product containing a mix of fish and seaweed and is the primary tool that the growers of giant pumpkins swear by if they want their pumpkins to exceed 500 pounds. 

The size and weight of next year's tree fruit harvest is related to the amount of sugar their branches can store during the previous fall season.  You can improve bloom and production by spraying the trees foliage several times during the fall.  Applications made during spring and summer generally are not stored, but do promote vigorous growth and large leaves. 

Ethanol (the alcohol version of sugar) is applied in a 10-15% solution to certain crops to increase growth.  Ethanol is metabolized and takes the place of carbon dioxide.  Some growers add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere within an enclosed greenhouse to get the same effect.  Both techniques cause plants to transpire at a lower rate, saving water, because they close their pores when carbon dioxide levels within the leaf is high. 

A much more expensive way to manipulate plant growth is to artificially increase day length with the use of powerful lights and regulate the temperature of the soil and the temperature and humidity of the air.  You can also increase airflow to the roots, but our potting soils are already nearly perfect for that. 

These are just a few of the ways you can manipulate plant growth. 


26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California  92692