Storing Onions for Maximum Quality
Posted 10/3/2012 by Christy Hoepting

Optimum conditions for storing onions are 32°F and relative humidity of 65–70 %. Keeping quality after December is directly dependent upon having the onion bulb around 32ºF by mid-December. Under northern climate conditions, it is suggested to aim for 70°F by the end of September, 50°F by the end of October, 40°F by the end of November, and 32°F by mid-December. Onions will freeze at 31°F. The effects of freezing are cumulative. That is, several short periods be-low 31°F are just as damaging as a single longer period. Onions that have frozen become soft and decay quickly. Onions that are held at temps above 50°F are subject to sprouting.

Once the holding temperature is reached, inside air should be re-circulated at least twice a day to maintain a uniform storage condition. Airflow should be 0.25 to 0.5 cubic feet per minute (cfm) per cubic foot of product. Avoid condensation from forming on the onions because it is favorable for sprouting, and disease development and spread in storage: 1) Do not place cool onions in storage early in the morning (storage air temp warmer than onions) and 2) Do not circulate warm air over cold onions, open the storage doors when the air outside is cool and dry to exhaust warm moist air. Remember, humid air contains more moisture and will condensate at warmer temperatures than dryer air. Also, smaller bulbs pack tighter and may need more air circulation.

Monitor storage conditions. Check and test equipment and all controls frequently for proper function during the storage season.

Source: Veg Edge Weekly, Vol. 8 Issue 25

Our June meeting marks the unofficial end of our year as we break until September to enjoy our beautiful area with our family and friends.  We had a wonderful presentation from Janet Vinyard on orchid culture for upstate New York.  This was the third community presentation for the year, one of our ways of giving back to our community and a big thank you for the support you give our garden club.  Janet had a great slide show – who knew there were so many beautiful orchids and I certainly did not know that New York has the most wild orchids of all the states.  She was very generous in sharing her knowledge  and armed with that knowledge, I will make a determined effort to lavish extra care on my own orchids.

At our meeting we gave a big thank you to our outgoing officers: Michele Acquaro, first Vice President, Anna Johnson, Second Vice President, Bonnie Desfosse, Secretary and Ruth Ralston our treasurer.  My thanks also go to Doris Guyon who as Club Advisor has been a source of great strength and advice to me during the last few years.

As outgoing President, it was my honor to install the new officers for the coming year: we have co-Presidents Janice Taylor and Janice Winney.  Ann Forgette takes the responsibility for First Vice President and Carol Reutzel takes Second Vice President.  Bonnie Desfosse returns as our Secretary and Ruth Ralston returns as our co-Treasurer and is joined this year by co-treasurer Ginger Driscoll.  Carla Kolbe of the Sacandaga Express was kind enough to take photos of our new officers so watch for that in a future edition.  Also Virginia Conover took photos which she will send to Betsy Emery to put up on our website.

Our club thanks all these ladies.  Their dedication and service to the club is what makes us thrive and our new officers will bring new ideas to guide and grow our club during the coming year. 

On a personal note, I have really enjoyed chatting with you through this column over the past few years.  I have loved Betsy Emery’s additions of some great photos when she posts my column to our website (visitsacandaga.com) but it is time for a fresh voice to take over and in the coming months you will enjoy a new column of ideas from another member of the garden club.

I will continue to putter around my garden with the help of Chloe, my neighbor’s German short haired pointer.  Thank you Rick and Leslie for letting me share her!  Chloe delights in digging up the kitchen scraps I bury in my garden, however she doesn’t like eggshells or tea bags so they are left strewn over the ground.  I have a new strategy now though; when my bag of scraps in the freezer is full, I take it out to a bucket and let it stew in there.  Now Chloe isn’t so interested in the decomposing slush.  Still it reminds me of my old neighbors, Molly and Maddy (black and golden labs belonging to Peggy) who used to do the same thing.  I have this lovely memory of Molly digging in the veggie bed and coming up with a melon rind.  She was so proud of herself and she carried it in her mouth with head held high and tail wagging furiously as she ran it back to her owner.  Oh, and by the way, Terry, Linus is always welcome – I don’t mind dogs running through my garden at all. 

Now I did see Bunny eating my lettuce the other day.  It may be the same one or another who I think shelters under my deck and happily eats in my front garden which I don’t mind because that garden is a combination wildflower and cottage garden for the birds, butterflies, insects and any critters that want to feast.  My cat Tipi, is also interested in Bunny but Tipi is a very old cat now and honestly I don’t think he poses any danger. 

I have birds in most of my nesting boxes, two sets of bluebirds I am happy to see.  So many butterflies, there are so many anise swallowtail butterflies around, it really does pay to mix in host plants for the butterflies as well as the more showy nectar plants. 

My garden is my friend, full of plants, animals, birds and insects and it is a delight to wander around each day to see how each and every one of them is doing.  I wish you well with your own gardens – remember that the most important gift you can give to your garden is that of good soil.  Add organic matter every year and before winter if you are lucky enough to have a source of manure put a couple of inches on your veggie beds.  You can even use fresh manure at that time because it will have six months to age before planting starts again.

Henry David Thoreau said “I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright’.  How true.

Happy gardening everyone and remember that you can contact the club at POBox 675, Northville, NY 12134.

Our May meeting featured members’ interpretations of ‘Tea time on the Sacandaga’.  Members created a table setting for an afternoon tea service with a place setting including cups, saucers, cake plate and napkins.  Virginia Conover took lots of photos which Betsy Emery will be adding to our website (visitsacandaga.com) so do check out the wonderful themes that our members chose.  See how the elements of the service setting are complemented by the choice of plant material in the flower arrangements.  Look too for the touches of whimsy that some members used to great effect.

Don’t rush to plant your annuals outside, wait until the night time temperatures are in the 50Fs.  If you buy them early – don’t we all! - take the time to make sure they are properly hardened off before planting.  Cool weather annuals such as alyssum and pansies can be set out earlier but impatiens will sulk if put out too soon and they may not recover.  Plant your plants to the depth they were in the six packs and water them in thoroughly.  Go back the next day and water again.  Don’t think that because it is going to rain tomorrow that that will be enough!  Keep up with watering during the season; plants usually need about one inch of water a week but those in containers may need to be watered daily or even more than once a day.

In early summer as the plants start forming flower buds, begin a fertilizer program using a balanced formula such as 10-10-10.  Read the label and apply as the manufacturer recommends throughout the summer and early fall.  If you have some annuals that are slow to flower use a formula such as a 15-30-15 to stimulate flower production.

In midsummer annuals with lots of tiny flowers such as alyssum start to look a little ragged and they will benefit from being cut back by a third to a half.  Use this technique for alyssum, coreopsis, bachelor’s button, snapdragons and sweet William.  Give them a dose of liquid fertilizer and they will set new buds very quickly.  If your petunias are starting to get leggy with blooms just at the ends, try cutting them back by half.  They will also set out new growth and flowers and you will have a more compact plant full of flowers in no time. 

We were delighted to see so many of our friends at our plant sale on May 5 and we thank you for your support.  It is through fundraisers like this that we were able to show the community presentations we have had this year.  Don’t forget our last presentation on Thursday, June 7 when Janet Vinyard will be talking about growing and blooming orchids successfully in upstate New York.  It will be at the Northville Public Library in the upstairs meeting room at 1:30 p.m.  Our club will be having a short meeting prior to the talk and you are welcome to sit in if you wish. 

You can contact us at POBox 675, Northville, NY 12134 and lastly, remember the words of Abba Goold Woolson ‘and since all this loveliness cannot be Heaven, I know in my heart it is June’.

SACANDAGA GARDEN CLUB - By Barbara Henry

We had a really interesting presentation in April from Viktoria Sefain on native plants, wildflowers and hostas.  Viktoria owns Glenbrook Farm in Fultonville and has hundreds of plants at her nurseries.  She shared with us some of the wildflowers that are blooming at this time of year and showed us how she uses hostas in combination with native plants and wildflowers for the best effect.  I look forward to visiting her nursery in the not too distant future. 

May is just around the corner and as we all know, April showers bring May flowers which brings – pilgrims!  Moving right along ….Even though we have had good weather recently, don’t be in a hurry to rush your annuals into the ground.  We can still have frost up until mid or even late May and many plants do not like to go into cold soil.  In fact impatiens and peppers are two great examples of plants that will sulk if planted too cold and they may never grow to their potential during the season.  Take the time now to get a pH test of your soil; take your hoe and cut off the weeds every couple of weeks as soon as the soil can be worked; don’t mulch your soils yet, wait until mid June when the soils have warmed up.  A general purpose fertilizer such as 10-10-10 can be applied to all your beds just as the daffy flowers are fading.  Mid to late May sees the return of the hummingbirds to make sure your feeders are clean and fill them with a mixture of one part white granulated sugar to four parts water and boil for a couple of minutes. 

As the new growth on your perennials emerges it is a good time to divide and transplant.  Give the extras to friends.  Cut the ornamental grasses to the ground.  You can cut up the dried grass and use it as mulch in your vegetable bed in June.  Don’t be in a hurry to discard plants you think have died.  Many plants such as Joe Pye weed, Rose of Sharon and hibiscus take a little longer to wake up.  Visit your local garden center to fill in any empty spaces in your garden.  Contrast leaf textures and heights, use complementary colors or plant a single color themed garden.  Any new plants should be well watered in and watered consistently the first year.  New plants don’t need feeding the first year. 

In the veggie garden, have a plan of where you plan to plant.  Try to rotate your crops every year.  Different crops have different nutrient requirements and changing their location can disrupt the life cycles of many pests.  Peas should be in by now and your cold weather crops such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage can be planted out after they have been properly hardened off.  Sow beet seeds an inch deep.  Later you can thin them to one strong plant in each position.  You can treat carrots and radishes the same way.  Don’t be in a rush to plant those tomato plants yet, they like warm soil.  I like to wait until the end of May and a week or so later, depending on the weather, for peppers.  

You can lay black plastic over your beds to warm the soil.  This is particularly good for melons and pumpkins because they love warm soil and have a long growing season.  You can start zucchini, melons and pumpkins about three weeks before you plant to transplant them.  They prefer to be started in peat pots because they really don’t like to be transplanted and putting them in a peat pot to start means you can pop pot and all in the garden.  It’s a good idea to tear off the top of the peat pot and make sure it is below the level of the soil because the peat will wick moisture from the soil and your precious seedling might not get the water you think it is getting.

Come join us on Thursday, June 7 for the third of our series of community presentations.  This is the orchid presentation we had originally scheduled for March but out first snow storm of the year forced us to cancel.  It is at the Northville Public Library at 1:30 p.m. and we will have refreshments afterwards.  Janet will be bringing plants to sell if you are interested. 

On Saturday, May 5 starting at 9:00 a.m. we will be having our annual plant sale so come see what we have to offer.  We are located on Main Street across from Stewarts and our thanks go to Ginger Driscoll for allowing us to use her property.  The Master Gardeners of Fulton and Montgomery counties will be having their plant sale on May 12 starting at 11:00 a.m. at Udderly Delicious, just past Hamilton Avenue on Route 30A in Johnstown.  Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer any of your gardening questions. 

Remember to visit our webpage that Betsy Emery created for us as part of the visitsacandaga.com website (for which we are forever grateful to her).  Previous articles are archived and as always you can contact us at P.O. Box 675, Northville, NY 12134.  Remember too, Germaine Greer’s words: A garden is the best alternative therapy.

March and April aare tricky months because the weather is so unpredictable.  Still it is time to get a head start on some of our garden activities.  Weed seeds live in the soil for years and any cultivation brings them to the surface. 

If you start early you will have less of a headache during the summer.  As soon as the soil can be worked – when it is not a clump of wet soil in your hand – take a hoe and remove any emerging weeds.  Do this every week until the soil warms up and then add mulch and you will be amazed at how few weeds you have to deal with. 

If you are in the mood, now is a good time to turn the compost pile, if not just leave it.  It will take longer to decompose but it will eventually get there.  Add any debris you collect from cleaning up the beds after winter.  It’s a great time to get a pH test to see if you need to add anything. 

In our area soils tend to be on the acidic side and if your soil needs lime it can take six months before an application will affect the acidity.  Check the lawn for damaged areas and if you need to overseed, do it now.  

Also, don’t forget your garden mower; give it a tune up for the season and make sure you sharpen the blades.  Those blades should be sharpened frequently during the season to avoid tearing the grass. 

In yiour perennial beds, check for plants that have heaved up due to freezing and thawing action.  Gently push them back into the soil.  Wait to do any transplanting or dividing until you see new growth popping up.  I have a couple of big stands of sedum that I plan to divide and move to a new bed with some ornamental grasses.  Sedum and grasses make a lovely combination with the stiff stalks of the sedum playing off the delicate grass leaves that move in the wind so gracefully.  Look at your hybrid tea roses and start to pull the mulch away. 

 Do it gradually so that new growth is still protected from a hard freeze but they can gradually become accustomed to more light and air.   Prune them when you see the first buds beginning to swell.  Make cuts just below an outward facing bud so that new growth grows outward giving the plant better air circulation.  Prune off any dead wood, thin stems and any crossing branches and don’t leave trimmings in the garden because they can harbor spores from black spot and powdery mildew.  Mid April is a good time to start planting gladiolus bulbs.  Plant every two weeks up until July and you will have armloads of flowers to brighten your rooms. 

As I write this in mid March, my daffies are poking through and soon I will have large swaths of crocus in bloom.  You can leave the crocus to mature as they are but you should cut the daffy heads off as they die.  Leave the stalks though because they pull nutrients from the leaves to the bulbs for next year’s flowers.  You can disguise them with the emerging growth of hostas and daylilies.  As the daffies start to grow it is a good time to fertilize your bulb beds and in fact all of your beds will benefit from a spring feeding.  If you use synthetic fertilizers sprinkle some 5-10-5 all around.  If you prefer organic fertilizers, then wait until the soil has warmed a bit, Organic fertilizers work better with a warmer soil.

In the veggie garden take time to add organic material to the soil if you didn’t do it in the fall.  Just pile an inch or so on top and worms and bacteria will take care of mixing it in.  You can plant your transplants through it.  Soil temperatures should be around 40F before you start planting which means around mid April for peas.  Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery, leeks, onions, early potatoes, radish seeds, spinach, chard, cabbage can be seeded or set out sometime in April depending on the weather.  Our frost free date is around the last week in May so check your calendar and seed information on the back of the seed packets before starting your seeds indoors. 

Our first big snowstorm of the year caused us to cancel our presentation on orchids in March.  But I am glad to say that we were able to reschedule the talk for June 7.  It will be at the Northville Public Library so mark your calendars now.

In April we are pleased to welcome Viktoria Serafin who will present a talk on wildflowers.  This is another in our series of talks for the community.  Come and join us on Thursday, April 5. at the library in the upstairs meeting room at 1: 30 .m. We will have refreshments and a chance to get to know everyone afterwards.  Our club will have a short meeting at 1:00 p.m. before the presentation and if you want to sit in, you will be most welcome. 

As always you can reach us at POBox 675, Northville NY 12134 and remember as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote – Earth laughs in Flowers.

SACANDAGA GARDEN CLUB - By Barbara Henry

I saw a spider the other day in my house.  Not so unusual you may think but spiders usually lay their eggs in the fall, die and it is the young that we see in the spring. 

Deborah Smith-Fiola of Rutgers Cooperative Extension has some interesting information on spiders in general that I wanted to share with you.  

Most spiders are shy animals that run away from humans.  The vast majority pose no danger at all.  Even the poisonous spiders – notably the black widow and the brown recluse – are not aggressive and frequent undisturbed areas.  Spiders only bite people in self-defense or when defending their eggs.  In fact, research shows that spiders are often blamed for bites caused by fleas or other pests.

Many people notice an influx of spiders around the home in the fall.  This is the time of year that some species mature.  Mating must take place in order for egg laying to occur before the adults are wiped out by freezing temperatures.  Many male spiders during this time leave their normally protected shelters to venture about in search of female spiders.  Yes, they may walk near you but spiders have dreadfully poor eyesight and probably don’t realize that they are near you.  If found indoors, just scoop them up and usher them outdoors!  Use a broom to direct the spider toward a doorway or invert a large jar over it and slide a piece of paper under the mouth of the jar to trap the spider within and then release it outside. 

All spiders are generalist predators.  This benefits the IPM practitioner in that they provide important biological control.  Research on the forest floor has shown that 78% of all the pest insects preyed upon were consumed by spiders.  Other research has determined that spiders can reduce pest damage in garden situations by 60%-80%.  Research on biological control of the azalea lacebug has also shown that the dominant predators of immature lacebugs are spiders.  Therefore, it is to our benefit to safeguard spiders as much as possible to benefit from this ‘free’ pest control.

Research has additionally found that spiders also influence pest populations in ways other than direct consumption.  The presence of spiders can actually cause other insects to forage elsewhere, to stop feeding and even to drop off plants completely.  From the perspective of good biological control spiders become active quite early in the growing season, before other beneficial insects (e.g. parasitoids) build up to noteworthy levels and stay at the site until late in the season.

Encouraging spiders in the landscape is relatively simple.  The best way to maintain plentiful spiders in the landscape is not to use pesticides.  Spiders are very sensitive to pesticide sprays, particularly to pyrethroids.  Therefore, if pesticides are necessary, only spot treat plants.  Spot treatment is an IPM technique that maintains beneficial insects by only treating plants that have damaging levels of pests.  When only plants are treated where the pest problem is severe, beneficials survive on untreated plants.  Another way to encourage spiders is to apply and maintain mulch around landscape plants.  Mulch provides a hiding place for spiders, buffers temperature extremes and supports an alternative food source of detritus feeders to sustain them during times of limited pest prey.

Her full article can be found at Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly.  XBI:1Winter2000.

Our club meets again on Thursday March 1.  We have a special presentation for the community on Orchids for Upstate NY Growers. It will be held in the upstairs meeting room of the Northville Public Library at 1:30 p.m.  Janet Vinyard will talk about cultural requirements and matching orchids to our own environment.  She will talk about watering, fertilizing, summering outdoors and pest management.  There will be a handout and plants for sale.  We will have refreshments afterwards and I am looking forward to seeing many of you there.  Come on up and introduce yourselves. 

Our third special presentation will take place on Thursday, April 5 at the Northville Public Library.  Viktoria Serafin will talk to us about wildflowers.  Mark your calendars now so you don’t forget!   

Special recognition goes to Ginger Driscoll whose name we are delighted to add to the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State Book of Recognition.  Special recognition also goes to Doris Fordyce to whom we are pleased to award life membership in the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State.  Doris and Ginger have been active members for many years and we thank them for all their tireless work.  Without such volunteers our club would not thrive. 

See you on March 1 and as an Chinese saying goes – If you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden.