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Old February 8, 2011   #1
fortyonenorth
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Default multi-planting onions

Does anyone have experience multi-planting onions - e.g. planting 5 onions to a hole at 12" spacing instead of the more typical 1 onion to a hole at 3-4" spacing?

Eliot Coleman raves about the simplicity in transplanting and harvesting and contends that bulb onions are not negatively impacted (at all) by the close quarters.
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Old February 9, 2011   #2
salix
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Never tried it, might try a couple of "bunches" this season, just to see. Thanks.
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Old February 9, 2011   #3
b54red
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I've never tried it either but since I have too many onions to plant I think I will try it on some and see what happens. Lets try to remember to post our results.
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Old February 9, 2011   #4
kath
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This sounds great to me, not so found of planting and tending onions...hope it works. Where did you come across Eliot Coleman's ravings about this technique?
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Old February 9, 2011   #5
fortyonenorth
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It's from his book The New Organic Grower which was first published some years ago, but contains a wealth of excellent information. Here's the onion quote:

The concept of the multiplant block is based on spatial rather than linear plant distance in the field. For example, say the average ideal in onion spacing is one plant every 3 inches in rows spaced 12 inches apart. Mutiplants aim at an equivalent spacing of four or five onions per square foot. The difference is that all four onions are started together in one block and grow together until harvest....The onions grow normally in the clump, gently pushing each other aside, attaining a nice round bulb shape and good size.

"blocks" in this context are soil blocks - compressed soil used instead of pots for seed starting through transplant. He also plants scallions 12 per block and harvests them as a bunch. I like that idea, too. There's time savings on seed starting, transplanting, harvesting and, especially, weeding, since you can easily cultivate between the widely spaced clumps.
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Old February 9, 2011   #6
kath
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Thanks, 41N- I have 2 of his other books and don't remember hearing about this concept. Since it's not a new book, it's odd that this technique hasn't become more widely used by now. I'm excited about trying this!
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Old February 9, 2011   #7
fortyonenorth
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It first printing was 1989. I think he borrows a lot of technique from traditional European growers, so it could be that it's just not as widely know this side of the pond.
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Old February 9, 2011   #8
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I do plant my scallions that way and it works just fine. Guess I never thought the larger onions would "gently push each other aside"- I look forward to seeing just how well it works. In a 3 x 10 foot bed, I calculate an additional 30 onions if it works...
Not that I will try it in a whole bed, probably just 3 "bunches" at one end to see how it goes.
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Old February 9, 2011   #9
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so i have a question. if this works so well, planting several at the same location and letting them push each other apart, why did a bed (4' X 16') of 3" on center planted onions yield tiny onions? 4" on center yielded slightly larger onions. i found that 6" on center allows onions to attain full size. if you crowd onions you will get small onions that is my experience. i wouldn't so this not if i wanted enough onions to last a year until i harvested the next season's crop.
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Old February 9, 2011   #10
fortyonenorth
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I don't think there's any question that, up to a point, increased spacing will yield a bigger onion. That said, I think the multi-planting is designed to yield a reasonably-sized onion and an equal or higher TOTAL yield - coupled with less labor. Coleman's a market grower, so I have to assume that's his goal. I've seen a few other posts from gardeners who seem to confirm this. This post is from a guy who tried multi-planting in 2008 and was very happy with the results. These Redwings look nice: http://tinyfarmblog.com/onions-from-seed/

Also, I would guess that closer spacing requires somewhat higher inputs, e.g. more nitrogen, moisture, etc. per sq. ft. Wouldn't that make sense? I don't know if storage potential would be affected, but in my experience garlic heads that are "fat and happy" don't store as well as those which were grown in leaner, more competitive conditions.
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Old February 9, 2011   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fortyonenorth View Post
I don't know if storage potential would be affected, but in my experience garlic heads that are "fat and happy" don't store as well as those which were grown in leaner, more competitive conditions.
You said garlic! So is this technique applicable to the Stinking Rose? I've seen the gourmetgarlic website say if the ground is too hard or if the bulb is crowded the bulb will not be symmetric, be misshapen, etc. Multiplant blocks would seem to be likely to mimic this effect.

Do you have any experience with this? I sure don't. I planted mine in a regular grid. Guess we'll see how they fared soon enough.

Thanks,
Walter
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Old February 10, 2011   #12
tjg911
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fortyonenorth View Post
Coleman's a market grower, so I have to assume that's his goal....... This post is from a guy who tried multi-planting in 2008 and was very happy with the results. These Redwings look nice: http://tinyfarmblog.com/onions-from-seed/

Also, I would guess that closer spacing requires somewhat higher inputs, e.g. more nitrogen, moisture, etc. per sq. ft. Wouldn't that make sense?...... I don't know if storage potential would be affected, but in my experience garlic heads that are "fat and happy" don't store as well as those which were grown in leaner, more competitive conditions.
i'd have to agree with your comment about coleman.

i looked at that picture and there's no scale, those onions may be 2" or 4" you just can't tell. i get 3-4" bulbs with a 6" spacing.

interesting comment about garlic. the only hardneck i have left is music and the green sprout is inside each clove and a few have started to pierce the paper. now music produces huge bulbs with huge cloves. my bulbs are often 3-3 1/2" or better in diameter (looking at a ruler for accuracy) and the cloves on those bulbs can be huge. today i cut up 2 cloves that each were bigger than entire bulbs of locally grown garlic i see at farmer's markets and garlic festivals but they are not music. and it is those really large cloves that seem to be the 1st to sprout (tho these 2 were not) and if there are smaller more normal sized cloves on the same bulb (a small clove of music is a normal sized clove on other garlic) they show no signs of sprouting for weeks after the largest cloves are sprouting. this is making me rethink growing music. it does keep a long time but even after planting my largest cloves i have bulbs that are huge. the problem is if i stopped growing music other hardnecks don't store as long so even with music sprouting in mid february i still have garlic. now a softneck that stores well will exceed music for storage. i need to find a good keeper that has good taste. it has to be an artichoke as i detest the tiny impossible to peel cloves from silverskins. i am working on finding an acceptable artichoke.
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Old February 10, 2011   #13
fortyonenorth
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I haven't tried this technique with garlic - I was referencing the fact that garlic that I've grown (traditionally) on leaner soil and closer spacing yielded smaller heads but which stored longer.

I haven't found any references online to multi-planting garlic, so I can't vouch for it. It might work well, but I see two notable differences: 1) the heads are not perfectly round which could affect their ability to push apart; and 2) since the head you're growing this year becomes seed for next year (unless you're buying new seed garlic each year) you may be impacting the overall vigor and potential for the following year's crop. I just don't know.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ireilly View Post
You said garlic! So is this technique applicable to the Stinking Rose? I've seen the gourmetgarlic website say if the ground is too hard or if the bulb is crowded the bulb will not be symmetric, be misshapen, etc. Multiplant blocks would seem to be likely to mimic this effect.

Do you have any experience with this? I sure don't. I planted mine in a regular grid. Guess we'll see how they fared soon enough.

Thanks,
Walter
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Old February 10, 2011   #14
b54red
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One thing I have noticed over the years with onions is that some years they get big and some years they don't. I have had onions spaced 2" apart one year get really big and the same variety another year planted 6 inches apart make really small onions. So I will plant my regular rows with my usual 4" to 6" spacing and also try some clumps of 3, 4, and 5 of each variety and get a fair test of whether this works or not.
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Old April 1, 2011   #15
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I'm trying the multiplant technique with two varieties of Spanish yellow onions this year in one 10' bed and 6" spacing (densely grown, not in rows) of Red Torpedo in a 12' bed. The biggest problem so far is weeding, which is about impossible in the dense bed. I'm hoping the multiplant block method will give me more space between the clumps, so weeding will be easier, but still give the same crop. As to the question of inputs, wouldn't each onion have more unshared space for root growth to the side of the cluster?
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