This month, we're taking a look at our best-selling brands of onion-specific fungicides: SeaCide and Mancozeb.

SeaCide
Over the past decade, there's been an increased need for organic fertilizers that are just as effective as their chemical counterparts, without being harmful to the environment in any way.

This may have been one of the busiest years that we've had since starting the mail order business! And it was an exciting one, too. It started off with a wet autumn, which delayed the plantings. Then, in January, temperatures plummeted to just 18 degrees -- and we lost about 30% of the plants that were just coming out of the ground.

We were able to replant and push those plants to have them ready in April, but it took an unbelievable amount of work on the part of our first-rate farmhands. Then the rains started again due to El Nino, and we were faced with several shipping delays until the plants recovered and dried out. On top of all this, the northern shipping areas experienced an early spring, which made customers even more anxious to receive their onions!

As farmers, we are aware of and monitor the elements on a daily basis, since we harvest daily. Our onions come freshly harvested from the ground to your doorstep; they're not prepackaged and stored on shelves. Though Mother Nature is usually kind, she sometimes makes us wait a little longer for our onions. So, we work with the sometimes unpredictable weather as best we can to fill your orders.

We appreciate all the efforts of our excellent farmhands and our wonderful customer service ladies, who answer the phones tirelessly. This has been an unusually challenging season for all of us, so the next time you're on the phone with one of our customer service representatives, let her know how much you appreciate all they do. They'll appreciate that!

• ½ of a small red onion, diced
• 4 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
• ¾ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 cup of lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Parmesan cheese

After arranging the tomato wedges on a platter, sprinkle them with diced onions and set the dish aside. Next, combine the other ingredients except the cheese in a food processor and pulse until mostly smooth. Drizzle the resulting pesto over your tomatoes and onions, then shave or grate the Parmesan cheese on top. Serves 4+.

Q. When should I harvest green onions?

A. Most green onions are simply immature standard bulb varieties, so you can harvest them once the tops grow above five inches in height. A good way to get plenty of green onions is simply to overplant, and harvest the extras whenever you have a hankering for them.

The younger the green onions, the more delicate the flavor; the longer you let them grow, the more potent they are. Depending on your tastes, the younger ones may be best for salads. Older green onions are better for cooking. If all you want are the greens, you can start to harvest them about a month after planting.

Since bolting ruins bulb development, you should pull any young bolting onions and use them as green onions, too. All you need to do is pinch off the developing buds and go from there.

Beware of folks playing fast and loose with onion terminology. We've all heard of the famous Vidalia onion, and in recent years people have started applying this term to any sweet onion.

But the truth is, only an onion grown in or around Vidalia, Georgia can be considered a true Vidalia onion. It's the combination of high water content, South Georgia soil, and the local climate that makes them special.

By the way, Bruce and Jeanie just returned from Vidalia, visiting large farmers that purchase their plants from us. Few people know that Dixondale Farms provides over 1,000 acres of transplants to the Vidalia region!

In addition to sending us recipes and photos of your onions, we encourage you to give us feedback on our products. You'll find a "write your own review" link on every product page. Don't be shy -- we need your opinions!