Greetings!

Did you know that the size and number of leaves on your onion plants can give you useful information about your onions? The onion plant's leaves will indicate the size of its bulb. Each leaf produces one ring, so the more leaves the plant has, the more rings it has; and the larger the leaves, the larger the rings.

Generally, an onion plant sends up a pair of leaves every two to three weeks after its roots are established. The largest leaf is usually the ninth, and should reflect the nitrogen peak, assuming you've fertilized regularly. Your first fertilizer application should be three weeks after planting; then repeat the process every 2-3 weeks.

Does the number of leaves indicate harvest time?

Sometimes it does, if your plant grows 13 leaves -- the maximum. At this point, you need to stop watering and wait for the tops to fall over. Then it's time to harvest. Regardless of the number of leaves, your onions are ready to harvest when the tops fall over naturally. If you're eager to harvest and you bend over the tops, the bulbing process will stop.

Your personal best

Though 13 leaves is ideal for an onion plant, don't fret if you don't get quite that many. Nine is perfectly fine, and will produce a robust, medium-size onion to be proud of. And no matter how many leaves you end up with, your onions will taste great. Size isn't everything, after all! 

While you can't dictate how many leaves your onions will yield, proper planting, watering, fertilizing, and timely harvesting should ensure healthy, decent-sized onions. For truly large onions, look for that lucky #13.

Happy Centennial, everyone! 

Bruce "Onionman" Frasier

Featured Product 

We're offering up something really special: a ten-pound box of our very best Texas jumbo sweet onions. We hand select only the largest, sweetest onions available, and include our favorite onion recipes along with them. Not only are these onions great for your own table, they make an awesome culinary gift. You can't beat the price of just $21.95 for one box; and if you order two or more, you can get them for just $20.95 per box.

From Our Friends
Wisconsin Walla Wallas  

Around The Farm

Time marches on! We recently celebrated Bruce's birthday at our headquarters in Carrizo Springs, which is one of the ways that we mark the annual round here at Dixondale Farms. We thought you might be interested in taking a look at young Bruce when he was a lot closer to his first birthday than he is today, and compare it to a much more recent photograph taken of him with his beloved Jeanie.

As you can see, there's a definite resemblance. In fact, Bruce hasn't changed a whole lot! (Except that he's quite a bit taller nowadays.)

If you were wondering, that's not Dixondale Farms in the background of the picture above. Bruce wasn't associated with Dixondale quite that early in life. In fact, he hadn't even met Jeanie yet!

Q. How often should I fertilize my onions?        

A. Your first application should be three weeks after planting; then repeat the process every 2-3 weeks. Stop fertilizing when the onions start to bulb, which is about three weeks before harvest.

Ever heard of a "tree onion"? Their origins are debated, but they appear to represent a cross between the common onion (the species nearly all onion cultivars belong to) and the Welsh onion. In addition to bulbs, these onions produce little onions at the top of the plant instead of flowers. These are the source of the classic pearl onions, those marble-sized bulbs used in cocktails and some recipes. Also called "top onions" or "walking onions," they tend to be rather pungent, at least in the wild. However, commercial brands are milder and sweeter.

All Your Questions Answered 

We have answers to your frequently asked questions! Just click the link for information on when to order your onions and how to find your frost and freeze dates, as well as for tips on planting, caring, feeding, harvesting, and storing them.  

Centennial Corner 

We've received thousands of photos of customer-grown Dixondale onions over the last century, some taken with family, friends, and pets -- as you've seen in our earlier Centennial Corner entries. Other customers have chosen to take "beauty shots" of their prized harvests...many of which were literally "prized" at county fairs all across America.

These are just two of the many beauty shots in our photo archives, providing a fine example of the wonderful job our customers have done with their Dixondale onion plants over the years.  

Got some pictures to share? Send 'em our way! 

As the largest and oldest onion plant farm in the U.S. (100 years strong!), 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. 

Whether you're planting one bunch or thousands of acres, we're committed to your success. We've posted answers to frequently asked questions about growing onions on our FAQ page. If you have other questions, call us from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CT at 877-367-1015, or e-mail us any time at customerservice@dixondalefarms.com.

Join Us On Facebook!  

Join the community of friends and growers on our Facebook page! You can connect with us and fellow growers to share stories, photos, recipes, and even weather information and other tips. And be sure to check out our short videos, on topics ranging from how onion plants are harvested to how onions deal with cold weather.

We recently hit 1,913 "Likes" on our Facebook page on, of all days, April 1 -- no foolin'! This is exciting because 1913 was the year Dixondale Farms was founded. Congratulations to Keith Evenson for being our extra special 1,913th community member!