We hope both your summer and your onion crop are going well. While we're done shipping onions for the season, we still have plenty of growing and harvest aids in stock. And remember, we're always available for customer service from 8AM to 5PM Central Time. Call us at 877-367-1015 or email us at customerservice@dixondalefarms.com.

By now your attention has no doubt shifted from planting to the practical realties of taking care of your onions. This newsletter focuses on how to prevent disease and how to deal with it if it does strike your crop.

Let's start with pink root, a soil-borne fungal disease that causes onions to be underdeveloped and discolored. The disease gets its name because the onion roots often take on a pink color as they rot. In most cases, the pink root fungus gets into the soil when new plants are introduced into the garden, so be sure to check all new onion sets for discoloration, and don't plant them if they don't pass inspection. As with other soil-borne pathogens, if your onions come down with pink root, you can avoid it in succeeding years by rotating your crops and growing something besides onions in that particular plot for a few seasons.

Purple Blotch is distinguished by a purplish discoloration of the onion leaves. It's caused by another fungus, but not a soil-borne version; this one spreads through the air during periods of high moisture. The results can be stunted bulbs during growth, and bulb rot in storage. To avoid purple blotch, apply a fungicide to the crop.

Yet another fungus, Alternaria, causes the problem of tip die off, which is sometimes confused with pink root. Tip die off causes the tips of your onion plants to turn brown and die. You'll need a well-drained soil to prevent this disease; if your drainage isn't the best, cut back on watering a little to reduce the risk of your onions contracting the disease.

Insect infestations can also sicken your onions. Thrips, for example, often attack onion plants, causing the leaves to turn gray. The thrips themselves are very small; they'll be visible as tiny yellow or dark specks. They (and other insects) can be killed off by the application of an insecticide. Root maggots, on the other hand, strike at the base of the onion root, causing rotting. This problem is best handled by an application of beneficial nematodes, tiny worms that will kill the root maggots and protect your onions from other parasites. For advice from a professional agricultural extension agent on other ways to handle root maggot infestations in your onions, click here.

Rot strikes harvested onions that are placed into storage too quickly. If you remove the tops of the onions improperly, you can expose the bulbs to fungal pathogens present in the soil. Your best bet is to wait for the tops to become completely dry before removing them. It's also a good idea to make sure your onions have plenty of room between them in storage, so that one bad onion won't spoil the batch. Check the stored onions regularly, and discard any that have gone bad.

Our onion shears are the ideal tool for clipping the tops and bottoms off your mature onion bulbs. They're ergonomically designed for quick, easy removal of roots and leaves on onions or any other alliums, and they're exactly what our professional onion harvesters use.

Our buddy Dave tells us,

"The picture enclosed is a sample of the onions old Buck and I harvested last year. Left to right: Ringmaster, Big Daddy, Candy. I've gardened a lot of years, but have never grown onions as nice as these. Your product arrived on time and in very good condition. Very satisfied. Keep up the good work!

P.S. I don't know what I got myself into. Everyone who tries your onions, wants them!"

We love hearing from customers. Send us your favorite "onion photo" and we'll try to include it in a future newsletter. To email photos, send them to customerservice@dixondalefarms.com.

As the largest and oldest onion plant farm in the US, Dixondale Farms offers a wide selection of top-quality, disease-free, ready-to-plant onion plants. To see our complete product line, request a catalog, or for growing tips and cultural information, visit our web site by clicking here.

Whether you're planting one bunch or thousands of acres, we're committed to your success. If you have either questions or suggestions, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach us from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time at 877-367-1015, or email us any time at customerservice@dixondalefarms.com. In addition, we encourage you to give us feedback on our products via the Product Review options on the website.