In this issue...
Featured Products
Try our New Gift Certificates!
From Our Friends
Around the Farm
Cooking with Onions
Q & A: The Best Onions for Your Area
Fun Onion Facts
All Your Questions Answered
Centennial Corner
About Dixondale Farms
Join Us on Facebook!
Affiliations
DGA logo


NG logo
The Health Benefits of Onions

December 2013
frasiers3

Greetings!  

 

Here at Dixondale, we've learned a thing or two about onions and health over the years, and want to share some interesting (and even surprising) facts about the benefits that onions can offer.

 

A Little History

The onion is one of the oldest and most popular vegetables in the world.  In the Middle Ages, it was considered to have special medicinal properties, and was even thought to keep evil spirits away. Today, the onion is still touted for its nutritional prowess.  

 

Let's take a look at how these palette pleasers may be good for our health.
 

Common Benefits

One advantage all onions share is that they don't contain fat or cholesterol. However, they are packed with very important vitamins, like B6 and C, and key minerals too. For diabetics, or those watching their glycemic indexes, they're also low on the glycemic scale. In other words, while they contain some carbohydrates, they don't raise your blood sugar much when you eat them.
 
Extra Pluses for Red Onions

Red onions are one of the best dietary sources of chromium, a micronutrient necessary for good health. Believe it or not, the same shiny stuff that goes on your car's bumper may, in tiny quantities, enhance the action of insulin, helping your body metabolize carbohydrates, fat, and protein more efficiently. How cool is that?
 
Though all onions contain antioxidants, the red varieties contain somewhat more than their white and yellow cousins. One of the most beneficial compounds in red onions is quercetin, a polyphenol compound. Quercetin is beneficial for removing free radicals (which cause age damage) from body cells, as well as for reducing inflammation. 

 

We've Got Your Color

Whether you prefer white, yellow, or red onions (or all of the above!),  Dixondale Farms can provide you with the appropriate onion plants, along with the growing and harvest supplies you need to raise a bumper crop.

 

Order soon if you haven't already -- we tend to run out of popular varieties early. Before placing your order, just make sure you've chosen the right varieties based on your daylength area. We look forward to a super 2014 growing season! 

 

Happy growing,


signature

Bruce "Onionman" Frasier

 

Featured Products
After-Planting Growing Aids 

 

The following growing aids include a fertilizer, a foliar feed, and two fungicides: one chemical, the other organic. All will help you maximize your onion crop, protecting your plants and encouraging their growth throughout the season.  

 

a-sulftate Ammonium Sulfate Fertilizer 21-0-0: Once your onion plants are established, they'll need a good source of nitrogen to maximize growth and bulbing potential. This product is exactly what onions need to generate more foliage and, therefore, more rings and larger bulbs. Our Ammonium Sulfate is actually good stuff for all vegetables, so don't hesitate to buy in bulk.


OmegaGrow
OmegaGrow: This exclusive, all-organic foliar feed has everything your onions need to grow big and strong. OmegaGrow provides a rich source of nutrients that slowly break down and release nitrogen into the soil, continually supporting root growth, top development, and yield, but never harming the environment. 

  

 

OxiDate OxiDate is a simple, ready-to-use organic fungicide/bacteriacide. It's EPA registered, offers a great alternative to copper-based products, contains no chlorine or ammonia, and leaves no harmful residue. This eco-friendly formula stops powdery and downy mildew, phytophthora, brown rot, blights, and bacterial wilt on contact, all without harming the environment or posing a risk to human health or safety. 

Mancozeb Mancozeb Flowable Fungicide with Zinc: This liquid fungicide, which contains zinc, iron, manganese, ethylene, and bisdithiocarbarmate, does an excellent job of preventing fungus damage to plants. It protects against downy mildew, tip blight, stemphylium leaf blight, botrytis, white tip, and more.

Need a Gift Idea for the Holidays?

Try Our New Gift Certificates!

    
Did you know Dixondale Farms now offers gift certificates for the selective onion grower? You can purchase one in any amount you like.
  
Call us at 877-367-1015 and one of our knowledgeable service members will arrange it for you. (For now, gift certificate orders can only be handled by phone.) Gift certificates can be sent to your home address, or you may designate the recipient's name and mailing address. If requested, we will include a gift card and message.
  
The cut-off date for delivery before Christmas is December 19th this year, but from now on, the gift certificates are available year-round!

From Our Friends 

Excellent Crops

 

Customer Justin Berger sends us this message from Bismarck, ND:

 

"I have had excellent luck growing your onions the last couple of years. The best part of it all is giving them away to those unable to grow a garden!

 

"Most of our onion (set) supply around here is from the big box stores, and people I talk to can't figure out why their onions are smaller in the fall than when they planted them. I was the same way until my uncle told me about Dixondale Farms, and gave me some of his plants to try the first year. It's fulfilling to be able to educate other gardeners using the products you've provided. You have a loyal customer and word-of-mouth advertiser in Bismarck."

  
Got some onion-related photos to share? Click here for submission tips. You just might see your photo in a future newsletter!
Around the Farm
Dixondale Fans in Connecticut

 

We're looking forward to a visit next month from members of the Direct Gardening Association (DGA), a trade association for catalogers and online marketers. After the DGA Winter Conference in San Antonio, the group will tour Dixondale Farms and help us celebrate our centennial. Fellow DGA member Val Gosset just sent us this email:   
 
I was recently having lunch with a friend at a delightful restaurant, The Farmer's Table, in New Canaan, CT. I happened to mention to my friend that I would be visiting the largest onion plant farm in the world next month. My friend mentioned it to our server, who asked, "What's the name of the place?"

"Dixondale Farms," I replied.

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed, and scurried to the kitchen.

Out came the chef/owner, Robert Ubaldo (pictured above), all excited, asking, "Which one of you is going to Dixondale!?" It turns out he grows most of the produce for the restaurant himself, and he gets all his onion plants from Dixondale Farms. He went on and on about how much he loves your onions, your catalog, your newsletter, and how terrific your customer service is. You have quite a fan base in our little corner of Connecticut!
 
Glad to hear it, Val, and thanks for your support, Robert!

Cooking with Onions
Smooth Onion Soup
  • 7 tbsp butter
  • 7 tbsp flour

  • � cup milk
  • � cup light cream
  • 2 � cups chicken broth (can substitute vegetable broth)
  • 1 cup finely chopped onions
  •  Dash of white pepper

Melt butter in saucepan, and saut� onions. Blend in flour, stirring. Remove from heat and add liquid ingredients. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Reduce heat. Return to boiling, and serve immediately.

 
 
Recipe courtesy of the National Onion Association. If you have a recipe you'd like us to print, email it to [email protected].

Q & A: The Best Onions for Your Area

 

Q. How do I know which are the best onions to grow in my area?

 

A. The most important step in choosing appropriate varieties is to find your state and daylength on our daylength map (or by viewing our short daylength video).

Fun Onion Facts

 

Onions are a popular vegetable around the world, and have been since well before the days of the Egyptian pharaohs. The ancient Hebrews famously mourned a lack of onions while wandering in the desert with Moses for 40 years.

 

Even today they're regularly celebrated here in the United States, with festivals all over the country. They include:

  • The annual Vidalia Onion Festival in Vidalia, Georgia, which is nearly 40 years old.
  • The Glennville (Georgia) Sweet Onion Festival, which is slightly older than the Vidalia Festival.
  • The Maui Onion Festival.
  • The Kapolei (Hawaii) Sweet Onion Festival on Oahu.
  • The Weslaco, Texas Onion Fest.
  • The Great Onion Festival of Sherwood, Oregon.
  • The Walla Walla (Washington) Sweet Onion Festival.
  • New York's Elba Onion Festival (77 years strong!)

And let's not forget the Garlic and Onion Festival in Tucson, Arizona.

 

Most take place in the spring, prior to harvest. But some, like Elba's, occur later in the year. And this list by no means exhausts the possibilities. Check the Internet and your local papers for an onion festival near you!

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.  

 

You can also print our electronic Planting Guide, or download a PDF version for easy reference.

 

And be sure to review our short videos, on topics ranging from bolting and fertilizing to how onion plants are harvested and how they deal with cold weather. 

 Centennial Corner

 

As we wind down our 100th year in business, it occurs to us that one thing we contribute to folks besides our onion plants is happiness. We're privileged to see hundreds of pictures of proud onion-growers season in and season out, sharing their produce with us with smiles on their faces. 

 

We're often treated to the shining faces of happy children and grandchildren, and sometimes we get shots of the whole family, including the family pets.  No matter your age or how many onions you buy from us, just know that you make us happy too, and we appreciate each and every one of you! Thanks for celebrating this Centennial year with us. We're looking forward to serving you during our second century of operation!

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.

 

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. You can also go to the Learn section of our Web site for growing guides. And of course, we're also available from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CT at 877-367-1015, or e-mail us any time at [email protected].

Facebook Icon 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.

 

We'd like to modestly point out that we recently won First Place in the 2013 Dimmit County (Texas) Homecoming Parade with our Centennial float. One of the things we've been most thankful for this year has been the support of the local community. We may be the largest onion plant farm in the world, but we're still a part of hometown Texas!

 

e-mail:
phone: 877-367-1015