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Beware of Onion Thrips!
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April 2008
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Dear Fellow Gardener,
One of the most common and destructive insect
pests
we onion-growers face is the onion thrips, a
tiny bug
barely big enough to see (the plural and
singular of
the term is the same -- so it's always
thrips, with an "s").
Professor A.M. Shelton of Cornell University
is an
expert on onion thrips, and he recently
published an
article about them in the March 2007 issue of
Onion
World. This is the clearest, most
thorough discussion
I've
ever seen on the subject, so I've obtained
permission
to reprint it. Click here
to read Dr. Shelton's
article.
We hope you find this information as useful as we
did. Be
sure to keep an eye out for those thrips, and
enjoy
your spring growing season!
Happy planting,
Bruce "Onionman" Frasier
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Onion of the Month: Walla Walla
Pride of the Northwest
This fast-growing long-day onion, a native of
Corsica,
was introduced to Washington State in the
1800s by a
retired French soldier. An open pollinated
yellow
variety, it matures in as little as 90 days.
It's semi-flat,
yellow, and is the sweetest of all the
long-day onion
varieties.
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From Our Friends
Customers from Indiana sent us the following:
"Our daughters Abbey and Casey received
Champion
Garden Collection for two years in a row,
primarily due
to our Dixondale onions. Our onions have been
awesome to show, and even better to eat!"
We love hearing from our customers. Send us
your
favorite "onion photo" and we'll try to
include it in a
future newsletter, our next catalog or our
upcoming
online Photo Album. Click
here for details on how to
submit your photos.
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Around the Farm
In addition to Pam Martin (featured here in
the last
newsletter), there are four other remarkable
women
who are members of our customer service team. We
asked
each of them the following four questions:
- How long have you worked at
Dixondale
Farms?
- What have you learned about onions
that you
didn't know before working here?
- What do you like best about your job?
- What would be your number one
suggestion to
customers who are growing onions for the
first time?
Donna Tollett
I've worked at Dixondale for over ten
years. I'm
really amazed at how hardy onion plants are,
even in
the poorest of growing conditions -- they are
determined little vegetables. I enjoy hearing
from
customers who are excited about growing
onions. The
best advice I could give first-time onion
growers is to
get your plants from Dixondale Farms!
Victoria Lumbreras
I've worked at Dixondale Farms for three
years. I
didn't realize how many people love onions.
What I
like best about my job is being able to work
with a
great team! The best advice I could give a
first-time
onion grower is to plant the right variety
for your area at
the right time. I cannot stress enough how
important
this is to a successful growing experience.
Mary McKaskle Caddell
I've worked at Dixondale Farms for five
years now.
I love talking to customers from across the
U.S. The
best advice I can give a first-time onion
grower is to
read our planting guide that arrives with
your plants --
it answers several questions to start your
growing
experience. Have a fun growing season!
Vicki Russo
I've worked at Dixondale Farms,
seasonally, for
the past five years. I never knew there were
so many
different varieties of onions! I enjoy the people
with whom I work. My number one suggestion
for first-time onion growers is to talk to
the Onionman!
Photo: Left to right, standing: Vicki
Russo,
Donna Tollett, and Victoria Lumbreras.
Seated: Mary
Caddell.
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From Jeanie's Kitchen
Mixed Greens with Spiced Onions
- 1 quart mesclun greens
- 1 Gala apple, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup toasted, sliced almonds
- 1 quart spiced onions
- 2 medium red onions
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2/3 cup balsamic cranberries
- 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
- 6 tablespoons of water
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 2/3 cup lime dressing
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper sauce
- Salt to taste
First, you'll need to prepare the spiced onions,
balsamic cranberries and lime dressing. Each of
these "sub-recipes" is simple and quick, and
all three are included here, as follows.
Spiced Onions: Note that you need to
prepare
this item at least 24 hours in advance.
Combine the vinegar, sugar, and water in a
sealable
container and mix well. Break the cinnamon
sticks in
half and add them to the mixture. Then slice the
onions into rings, and put them into the
mixture to
soak. Seal the container and refrigerate the
contents.
Balsamic Cranberries: Bring the water and
vinegar to a
boil in a small saucepan, and stir in the
cranberries.
Immediately take them off the heat and allow
to soak.
Lime Dressing: Combine the olive oil,
lime
juice,
brown sugar and red pepper sauce and mix
thoroughly; then add salt to taste.
Now, on to the feature presentation! Line
your plates
with the mesculan greens, then take the spiced
onions out of their marinade (using a slotted
spoon to
drain them thoroughly), and spread them over the
greens. Do the same with your balsamic
cranberries,
and drizzle the whole with the lime dressing.
Sprinkle
your salads with the apple and almond slices for
some added zest.
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Q & A: Onions from Seed
Q. Why not grow onions from seed?
A. Because it's much harder to establish
onions from seed than from transplants. Since
onions
typically have two lives (that is, two
growing seasons),
they can take a very long time to bulb -- so
long that
the time between the initial planting of seed
and the
harvesting just isn't long enough for
effective bulbing.
Generally, a transplant with four or five
leaves can be
planted at the same time of year as a seed,
so you
can get a head-start on making large bulbs if
you use
a transplant instead.
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Fun Onion Facts
Over 380 semi-truck loads of onions are consumed
each and every day. That's a lot of onions!
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Send Us Your Product Reviews!
In addition to sending us photos of your
onions, we encourage you to give us
feedback on our products via the Product
Review options on the Web site. You'll find
a "write your own review" link on every
product page. Don't be shy -- we need
your opinions!
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About Dixondale Farms
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 e-mail us any time
at
customerservice@dixondalefarms.com.
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