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New Hybrid Onions for Your Garden
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November 2008
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Dear Fellow Gardener,
We recently mailed out our 2009 Dixondale Farms
onion plant catalogs; you should be receiving yours
shortly. In this year's catalog, you'll note some exciting
new varieties submitted for your consideration. Seed
supplies have been limited, so order early to ensure
availability! And don't forget: you can always order
your onions online.
Our Newest Offerings
Dixondale Farms is
proud to introduce our newest onion varieties: Red
Candy Apple and Sterling.
For a long time, we've been working on a red,
intermediate-day hybrid that's as sweet as candy -- so
sweet, in fact, that you can eat it like an apple. Red Candy Apple is that
very onion! In comparison to our
previous red offerings, Red Candy Apple offers a very
mild taste, improved sizing, better interior color, and
an intense, dark red skin. As this onion matures, the
red coloration moves deeper inside the bulb; so after
curing, the interior produces beautiful red rings.
Remarkably uniform, this new hybrid also features a
high percentage of single centers in its solid, firm
bulbs.
Among other things, red onions like this one are
beautiful, and they enhance food dishes with their
beauty. Even better, they're good for you, because of
their high concentrations of quercetin. Quercetin is a
flavinoid -- a natural antioxidant compound that can
slow damage to body cells. Recent health studies
suggest that quercetin may be effective against
cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.
Sterling, a Dixondale Farms
exclusive, offers tall,
vigorous tops that may help protect against sun
scalding. Not only does it offer good resistance to
fusarium basal rot, it's also bolt resistant -- an
important consideration in warmer climates. This
white, globe-shaped hybrid is mildly pungent, grows
up to 5 inches across, and stores up to six months.
This is a long day variety.
Happy planting,
Bruce "Onionman" Frasier
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Onion of the Month
Short-Day Sampler
Interested in trying some of our short-day onion
varieties, but don't need as many as 60 of
each? No
problem -- try our short-day sampler!
Dixondale Farms
has the only true 1015Y seed, so this sampler
contains an exclusive yellow variety in
addition to a
great hybrid white, Contessa, and our
exclusive red
variety, Southern Belle Red.
Learn More
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From Our Friends
The Miller triplets, just seven years old, won first prize
at the Bonner County Fair in north Idaho with these
Ailsa Craig onions they grew in Grandma's and
Grandpa's garden!
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
A New Face at Dixondale
We thought our customers might like to see a picture
of someone they might be talking to this year: the
newest member of the Dixondale Farms customer
service team, Laura Krause. Laura has lived in Carrizo
Springs for twelve years, and we're excited to have her
working at Dixondale Farms. She's married to our
Baptist preacher, Robert, and they have two girls
attending college. Laura is learning quickly all there is
to know about onions, but if she doesn't know the
answer to your question, she will gladly send your call
Bruce's way. Be sure to welcome Laura with your next
call!
Laura is joining a seasoned group of customer
service
representatives, as you can see in this picture.
Seated is Mary McKaskle Caddell; from left to right
behind Mary are Pam Martin, Laura, Vicky Russo, and
Victoria Lumbreras.
As always, we love to hear from our customers, and
we definitely take your opinions and suggestions into
account when preparing new products or services.
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From Jeanie's Kitchen
Vidalia Onion Cornbread
- 1 large, chopped Vidalia onion
- 1 cup of fresh kernel corn
- 3 large, lightly-beaten eggs
- 3/4 cup of butter, divided into 1/2 and 1/4 cup
portions
- 2 1/2 cups of yellow corn meal (self-rising)
- 1 cup of all-purpose white flour
- 1/2 cup of table sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of whole milk
While preheating your oven to 400 degrees F, melt 1/2
cup of butter in a saucepan on the stovetop, over
medium heat. Stir in the onion and corn, then cook
until they're soft; this generally takes 6-8 minutes. At
this point set the mixture aside. Put the remaining
quarter cup of butter into a cast-iron or other
oven-proof
skillet, then place the skillet inside the oven to melt the
butter.
Meanwhile, combine your sugar, flour, and corn meal
in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl,
thoroughly mix together the eggs and milk; next, stir it
into the corn meal mixture until just moistened. Then
add the sautéed onion and corn mixture to the batter
and mix the ingredients thoroughly.
By this point, the skillet inside the oven should be nice
and warm, and the butter completely melted. Remove
the skillet from the oven, then fill it with the cornbread
batter. Bake the mixture 25 to 30 minutes until it's
golden brown.
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Q&A. Doubles and Splits
Q. What is a double or split onion bulb?
A. Onions are prone to certain physiological
disorders, one of which is splits or double bulbing --
which is exactly what it sounds like. This condition is
influenced by both genetics and environmental
factors. Over-fertilization, uneven watering, and
temperature fluctuations (particularly below 20
degrees F) are all believed to influence double
formation. Some red varieties are more prone to
production of doubles than other onions. These and
other varieties prone to doubling should be seeded a
week or so later on the plant beds, as well as
transplanted a bit later, in order to minimize this
problem.
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Fun Onion Facts
You probably already knew that onions were good for
you -- but did you know that if you eat half an onion a
day, your HDL cholesterol (the good kind) will go up
an average of 30%?
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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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