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We hope you are enjoying your summer!
Many customers reach out with harvest and curing questions this time of year. Knowing what to look for in your onions can be helpful and ensure you enjoy your onions for many months to come.
We are thrilled to be receiving photos from our customers who have already harvested their onions. As we are preparing our 2018 catalog, please feel free to share your photos with us!
Happy harvesting,
Bruce "The Onionman" and Jeanie
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| Harvesting and Curing Tips |
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Harvesting
Onions are officially ready to harvest when the tops turn yellow or brown and fall over. Be sure to stop watering once you see the tops falling over. Watering during this time can decrease your storage potential. Keep in mind that the last thing the leaves do during the onion growing cycle is send flavor and color to the bulb.
Be sure to harvest early on a clear day, and lay the onions out in the field for at least a full day to dry. Place the tops of one row over the bulbs of the next to keep the onions from getting sunscald.
Curing
Your onions need to be thoroughly dried, or cur
ed, in order to store properly and to avoid rot and spoilage. The curing process may take up to 3 to 4 weeks. You can leave them out in the field to cure if weather permits.
If it starts to rain or there is rain in your forecast, be sure to bring them in from the field and allow them to continue drying or curing in a garage, storage shed, or on your porch. You want them to be well-ventilated with low humidity indoors.
Your goal is to get them dry enough that the skin at the neck is tight and doesn't slip. Also, the outer leaves should become dry and rustle when touched while the skin takes on a uniform texture and color. Don't remove the dry outer layers as they help protect the onion until it's ready to eat.
When the onions are completely dry, you can
clip
off the roots and trim the tops down to 1-2 inches long. Your onions are now ready to enjoy!
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Cross Patch Farm in Morrill, Maine is always sharing onion photos with us and on their Facebook page. We enjoy getting crop updates and seeing how their crop turned out. Keep up the good work in Maine!
Pictured on the left is Alex with some nice Walla Walla onions. Cross Patch Farms also plants Highlander, Copra, and Red Zeppelin varieties.
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Harvest Aids
Once you've harvested your onions, they will need to be stored properly until you're ready to eat them. Below are some of our products that help make storing onions simple and worry-free!
Mesh Netting
(left): The best way to store onions is in mesh netting. Mesh netting allows ventilation to the onion and keeps the onions from getting any soft spots. Tie a knot, drop in an onio
n, tie a knot above it, drop in another, and continue the process until the netting is full.
Hang it up in a cool, dry place and
enjoy as you please. Starting at $1.50.
Storage Bags (right): We offer onion storage bags in
three sizes:
5 lb.
,
10 lb.
, and
50 lb. bag
for all of your onion storage needs.
Starting at $2.50
.
big
those
onions of yours grew? Use our handy onion caliper tool to measure the exact size of your onions. Onions are categorized according to their diameter.
S
uper Colossal
: 4 1/4" and up,
Colossal
: 3 3/4" and up,
Jumbo
: 3" and up,
Medium
: 2 1/4"-3 1/4",
Prepack
: 1 3/4"-2 3/4", and
Boiler
: 1"-1 7/8".
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Cooking with Onions
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and finely diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 jalapeño, minced (more or less to taste)
- 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Directions
Put the diced mango, red onion, jalapeño, and
cilantro in a medium bowl. Toss with lime. If the salsa is too acidic for you, stir in some diced avocado.
Serve with fish, steak, tacos, or tortilla chips!
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Around the Farm
There's little down time around Dixondale Farms. We wrapped up our 2017 cantaloupe season on July 13th and are now preparing for the 2018 onion transplant season. In just a few short weeks, we will begin planting at the farm. The catalog is also in full prep so expect those in your mailboxes in early October.
Speaking of Maine in the "From Our Friends" section, Dixondale Farms will be attending the
Direct Gardening Association's Summer Conference in Portland, Maine later this month. This conference offers us an opportunity to network with other direct gardening companies so that we may learn and continue to offer our customers the best product, process, and customer service! Look for pictures in next month's newsletter.
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All Your Questions Answered
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| We have answers to your frequently asked questions! Just click the link for information on planting, caring, feeding, harvesting, and storing onions.
And be sure to review our short videos on Facebook. Topics range from fertilizing and dealing with cold weather to how onion plants are harvested. You can view these videos even if you don't have a Facebook account. |
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 or get growing tips and cultural information, visit our
Web site
.
New customer? Get on our 2018 mailing list
here.
We're available from 8:15 AM to 5:00 PM CT at 830-876-2430, or e-mail us at
customerservice@dixondalefarms.com
.
Whether you're planting one bunch or thousands of acres, we're committed to your success.
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 We invite you to join the community on our
Facebook page
. You can connect with us and fellow growers to share stories, photos, recipes, weather information, and other tips.
 Don't forget to subscribe to our
YouTube channel! Our videos will guide you on selecting the right onion variety, applying fertilizer, the best weed control options, and more.
 We're on Pinterest too. Check out
our Pins
which include photos covering small space onion gardens, tasty onion recipes, planting tips, and more.
 You can also join us on
Instagram, a photo community where we're sharing even more Dixondale photos.
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