A fellow reader of TMG has just had his Copra onions make the cover of the 2018 catalog from Dixondale Farms. As I’ve mentioned before, they’re one of, if not the biggest onion grower in the world.
You can see the same great close up of Jim’s Copra onions if you go to their website. It’ll be the first picture that comes up in the alternating pictures at the top.
Being curious about why his picture was chosen, Jim emailed them. Dixondale advised him that there is an industry shortage of Copra onion seed, and they wanted to reassure their customers that there was no shortage of Copra seed within their organization. They did this by highlighting Copras on the cover of their catalog.
Jim is especially proud of these onions because he gardened for years without knowing the secrets of producing the big onions that he wanted.
I emailed him and asked him to tell me why he was now able to grow these large onions for his family’s winter use.
He replied: “IT WAS YOU…AND YOUR TMG RESOURCE MATERIAL that changed everything around for me regarding onions!
— I emailed you several years ago asking for help. After I read your book, I started searching your site and located information on growing storage onions. It was then that I learned there was such a thing as “transplant onions”. ” (Transplants are onion seedlings grown elsewhere and then transplanted to your garden.)
Jim, continued, “I had just followed a habit I learned from my dad….and would plant onion ‘sets’ in hopes of growing large onions. At best, I might get one that would reach the size of a golf ball, but never anything larger. Then after reading several of your articles on the topic, I learned about transplant onions. —“
I had mentioned Dixondale in one my posts and Jim immediately placed an order. Within days he received his first batch of transplants and stuck them in the ground. Since then (3 years) he’s grown the large onions he always wanted.
He ended his email by telling me, “I’d still be trying to figure out why I couldn’t grow a nice large onion if it hadn’t been for Theresa and her TMG site.”
Jim grows about 300 onions which he says is enough to carry him through the winter.
Here’s a picture that he sent to me last year of his onions and garlic curing.
Jim’s 2016 crop of onions and garlic curing.
If you want to see something spectacular that Jim did with Sunflowers this year, check out the post I just put up on my other site http://flowersborders.info .
Final Thoughts
Congratulations to Jim on having his photo chosen for the cover of the catalog!
If you’re growing Copras from seed you might want to get your order in as soon as possible. I don’t know how severe the shortage is, but if you’re dependent on Copras for storage onions you won’t want to come up short.
Onions are easy once you know the simple secrets. And if you’re a regular reader you probably do.
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Related posts:
Growing Onions – Top 3 Guidelines for Success
Onions – Seed, Sets, and Transplants
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Last year I was very busy with our museum move and did not order my Dixondale transplants but got “sets” from my local farm supply. Well—they were small, small and pitiful! I learned my lesson and will be again ordering from Dixondale. Thanks for all the good advice Theresa.
Oh neat! Congratulations Jim!
I bought some onion seedlings locally, planted them and they grew for a while and eventually disappeared. But it was pretty dry and I hadn’t sourced clean straw yet so no mulch. Maybe I’ll have better luck next year with a nice layer of organic straw on all my food beds…
Hi Theresa
I really envy you and Jim about being able to grow such beautiful onions and garlic.
Here in Eastern Ontario, the leek moth damages all the onion family crops and really sets them back.
It’s very discouraging.
That is so exciting for you and Jim! Congratulations to you both.
I just can’t thank you enough for helping me to grow wonderful and delicious onions as well.
As a matter of fact, I just sat down to give my back a break from separating Mako onion seed from chaff when I found your blog post. Thank you so much for helping me aquire Mako seeds from your reader Jack- they were delicious.
I do have some seed to spare if anyone is in need.
Hey Beppy. Sorry about your onions last year. Glad you’ll be able to get back on tract this year.
On behalf of Jim,thanks Patricia.
Anna, glad you found a source for clean straw. You’ll probably do much better this year. Good luck.
Judy, the leek moth (a/k/a the onion leaf miner) is a horrible pest no doubt. I think it was found in your area about 1993 and has moved into the upper counties of New York here in the States.
When I first heard about this pest it horrified me, because it would definitely make onion growing a lot more complicated. I was so upset just hearing about it, that I developed a potential strategy in case I ever had to deal with it.
I’ll cover this in more detail in my book on onions (if I can ever get it completed!) and I’ll also tell what my strategy would be.
Just for example, if Jim had those pests in his area, he could easily cover his beds to keep them out because he already has things set up that way.
Toni, I agree, Makos are great onions!!
Theresa
Hi Theresa and JIm,
Woo hoo; they’re beautiful! I order Cippollini onions from Dixondale every year, but I’m also getting better each year at saving the seeds from second year-old ones and starting them with winter sowing. Now my onions are about half Dixondale and half mine. My goal is to keep weaning myself off each year as mine are organic!
Theresa,
How wonderful is this…to be included in one of your TMG posts!! After discovering you and TMG several years ago, I’m happy to say this has changed the way I garden in many ways…and all for the better. You’ve made me think out of the box and question why I’m doing things the way I am, many times the changed behavior results in higher yield with less effort. Like I’ve told you in the past, I wish we shared a backyard fence…I’m grateful for the knowledge you share as well as the gift of friendship.
Julie, do you only grow the Cippolini onions?
How did the onions turn out from your saved seed?
Keep up the good job of working towards independence!
Jim, I’m so pleased that I was able to make a positive difference. I too am grateful for the friendship. I’ve enjoyed it very much. It’s always of interest to see the great things you do in your garden.
Theresa