Thursday, May 13, 2010

A Maui onion confession

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My Maui onions are growing up. For reference, you can see below what they looked like about two months ago. Planted as seedlings, if that is the right word for them, they are now filling out well.

For the record, the confession: this is my third year of trying to grow Maui onions here in southern California and the first they've survived this long. I can't tell you what has changed although I've acquired a few basic gardening skills over the years, silly little things such as I fertilize the soil before planting, make sure plants get the amount of sun they need meaning not too little not too much, avoid overwatering, and always always always.... mulch.

The biggest change I think has been the mulching. I use generous amounts of dried alfalfa with each planting or sowing of seed. And I suspect this has transformed my garden; I've got happier plants, happier germination rates, fewer weeds, a more aesthetically defined garden, and I conserve water, all at the same time. Great stuff, this mulch.

2 comments:

  1. WoW! Sounds like you really found the secret. I'm thinking I need to find a really great compost for my flowers. I thought about doing a post on who recommends what. I use one as a mulch but it's mostly geared toward breaking down the clay in our soil. I've noticed my plants love it and seem happier but I still need something more. Sure hope I can discover the right secret like you did! LOL Thanks so much for stopping by - I love the company!!!

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  2. Hi: Thanks for coming by again! Do put up that post on compost, I'm sure it would be helpful to all of us. Mulching works here in Southern California for me but I can't speak for other parts of the US or the world! Which is why it's so great to have so many gardening blogs around, speaking of which I need to figure out how to put up a blogroll...

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