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Seed Availability + Our New Web Site
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January 2010
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Dear Fellow Gardener,
Last year, growing vegetables became more
popular than ever, as people realized that
home gardening could be easy, profitable,
nutritious -- and a great thing to do as a
family.
The new popularity of home gardening has us
here at Dixondale Farms in a bit of a pickle.
Come April, it's too late to plant any more
seed, so if we have any sudden notice of more
orders, we might not be able to fill all of
them. We've increased our acreage, but
sometimes even our crystal ball gets fuzzy!
The only fair way for us to distribute our
product in the case of a shortage is to go on
a first-come, first-serve basis. So by
ordering early, you can help us ensure
supply, and give us a better feel for
forecasting the demand for our product. At
$6,000 per acre in just seed costs, we don't
want to plant too much! So please order ASAP
in order to ensure the availability of your
favorite onions and leeks.
And by the way, while you're shopping online,
check out our new and improved Web site. We
redesigned the site to better provide you
with your favorite onion-related products and
resources, to give you an expanded photo
gallery with fun images of your onion-growing
colleagues from around the country, and to
provide easy-to-read descriptions on
day-length, with an associated map.
We've also put together an online onion
and leek planting guide for your
convenience. We'll be sure to include a hard copy
with your order.
We hope you enjoy the changes, and find it
easier to navigate around the site. And
remember: order early this year!
Happy New Year,
Bruce "Onionman" Frasier
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Onion of the Month
Hybrid Southern Belle
One of the most difficult things to produce
in the onion seed business is a consistent
red onion variety. Our new Hybrid Southern
Belle, however, is engineered to take care of
that problem, and it certainly outperforms
the previous version. Specifically, we've had
problems with the old strain going to seed
and making size. But in trials in South Texas
and Georgia, this improved variety
outperformed all other short-day red onions
in quality and taste!
Learn More
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From Our Friends
Here are Mike Flaherty's grandsons Riley and
Keenan, right after the sweet Spanish yellow
onion harvest!
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
online Photo Album. Click
here for details on how to
submit your photos.
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Around the Farm
Dixondale Farms recently purchased 8,250
returnable plastic containers (RPCs) to ship
onion plants to major growing areas. In the
past, the plants were packed in wooden
crates, which were used only once. These RPCs
are collapsible, and Dixondale Farms picks up
the empty containers from farmers in the
Vidalia, GA, Colorado, and Orange County, NY
onion growing areas after the farmers have
planted their crops. Since they collapse,
we're able to put 8,000 of them on a tractor
trailer for the return trip home. We estimate
that this
recycling effort will save over 500,000
square feet of landfill area each year!
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Cooking With Onions
Hearty French Onion Soup
- 3 large onions, sliced and separated into
rings
- 1 cup of seasoned croutons
- 1 cup of shredded Swiss or mozzarella
cheese
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 2 10.5-ounce cans of condensed beef broth
- 1 tablespoon of A1 Original Steak Sauce
Using medium heat, melt the butter in a large
saucepan before adding the onion rings. Cook
them for 10 minutes, stirring often, until
the rings are golden brown. Add the beef
broth, two cans of water, and the steak
sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil before
reducing the heat to medium-low and allowing
it to simmer for five minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven's broiler.
When the soup mixture is ready, distribute it
evenly into four large ovenproof bowls, top
the soup with croutons and cheese, and broil
it until the cheese is melted (about 2-3
minutes).
Makes four servings.
Recipe Tip From A Customer
Here's what one of our customers recently
suggested:
"We have real good results with your onion
plants most years, so we usually end up with
much more produce than we can use. After
giving lots of 'em away, I tried something
different (for us) this year. I chopped a
whole lot of them to dehydrate -- not only
the onions, but the tops too. I use one of
those sliding cutter deals so it doesn't take
long to chop a lot of onions.
"After they were completely dry, I ran
them through a food chopper, reducing them to
a fine powder that we use for seasoning in
various recipes. The onion powder takes on a
greenish color from the tops. After grinding
to powder, the volume of onions is reduced to
a point that they can be stored in quart jars
requiring very little space. Give it a try,
you'll like it!"
Onions can enhance so many dishes, from
simple
salads to complex entrees; and they can also be
consumed raw, fried, sautéed or baked. We
periodically receive sumptuous recipe
suggestions
from our employees and from you, our customers.
We want to share one with you each month, so
that
you can take full advantage of the fruits of
your labor! If
you have one you would like us to print,
please email it
to us at
customerservice@dixondalefarms.com.
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Q&A: Micronutrients
Q. Why are micronutrients necessary
for onions?
A. Even though onions require
micronutrients only in trace amounts, their
presence or absence can have a surprisingly
large impact on onion growth and,
subsequently, the yield. Major nutrients such
as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and
Potassium (K) can be easily replaced in the
soil, and even if they're not, they tend to
accumulate there fairly easily anyway; but
micronutrients like Copper (Cu), Molybdenum
(Mo), Manganese (Mn), and Zinc (Zn) rarely
accumulate in soils in sufficient amounts,
which means they need to be added annually.
The presence of all these micronutrients
decreases the number of weak plants that fail
to form bulbs. They also help to decrease
plant mortality right after transplanting.
This is why Dixondale Farms' Onion
Special Fertilizer Blend contains these
micronutrients. The crucial period for
application is during the initial growing
period, so be sure to add this unique blend
when planting.
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Fun Onion Facts
In ancient Egypt, baskets of onions were
highly revered funerary offerings. This was
because onions were very popular with living
Egyptians, and they expected that the spirits
of the dead would appreciate them, too.
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Send Us Your Product Reviews!
In addition to sending us recipes and 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 U.S.,
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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