Planting Walla Walla Onions May 15, 2019 @goldenoakfarm

I had cleared this area for onions beck in April. But I had no mulch or amendment made up so it was left alone. The weed seeds just loved that and with all the rain, came up with a vengeance.

My helper friend and I had been chipping away at it since last week, just in case it warmed up and stopped raining. I spent 6 hours on it Wednesday and yesterday we put a couple hours into finishing that last strip at the back.

Then I put the amendment down, we hauled the 5 flats of seedlings from the cold frame where they had reached pencil size, we stretch the row strings and commenced planting. Never once did I look at the map, as onions were all I was planting and I’d already laid out the rows.

Welllll……, it seems I had left a whole row in the middle where the Canterbury Bells were and there were only 3 rows of onions, not 4. So I ran out of seedlings halfway down the rows. My helper friend had planted the outside row as there was more room for him to work. I did the other 3.

Wellll….I guess that means I’ll have to go to the farmers market and get seedlings of some sort to fill those rows. Things that don’t mind being surrounded by onions on 3 sides….

We started mulching after lunch, but he had to leave, so I finished up with what mulch I had. There’s a bit more in the Small garden I can scavenge but I probably will have to find more. But the onions are in!

Tomorrow I go to Old Sturbridge Village for their plant sale. From their website:

2019 Varieties Available for Sale (while supplies last):

Anise hyssop – Agastache foeniculum
Basil (assorted varieties) – Ocimum basilicum
Bellflower – Campanula
Blackberry lily – Iris domestica
Blue Clips campanula – Campanula carpatica
Butterfly weed – Asclepias tuberosa
Canterbury bells – Campanula medium
Cardial flower – Lobelia cardinalis
Catnip – Nepeta Cataria
Cayenne pepper – Capsicum annuum ‘Cayenne’ Long Slim
Roman chamomile – Anthemis nobilis
Cheddar pink – Dianthus gratianopolitanus
Chimney bellflower – Campanula pyramidalis
Clary sage – Salvia sclarea
Columbine – Aquilegia vulgaris
Cottage pink - Dianthus plumarius
Cupid’s dart – Catananche caerulea
Elecampane – Inula helenium
Evening primrose – Oenothera Missouriensis
Greek oregano – Origanum vulgare
Heartsease – Viola tricolor
Hollyhock - Black, Tall Mixed, & Yellow
Honesty/Money plant – Lunaria annua
Horehound – Marrubium vulgare
Hyssop – Hyssopus officinalis
Lamb’s ear – Stachys byzantina
Lemon balm – Melissa officinalis
Lemon bee balm – Monarda citriodora
Lovage – Levisticum officinale
Maiden pink – Dianthus deltoides
Marshmallow – Althaea officinalis
Parsley – Petroselinum crispum
Pennyroyal – Mentha pulegium
Purple coneflower – Echinacea purpurea
Purple foxglove – Digitalis purpurea
Ragged Robin – Lychnis flos-cuculi
Rampion – Campanula rapunculus
Red valerian – Centranthus ruber
Rose campion – Lychnis coronaria
Spotted bee balm – Monarda punctata
Straw foxglove – Digitalis lutea
Superb/Fringed pink – Dianthus superbus
Sweet Annie – Artemisia annua
Sweet William – Dianthus barbatus
Thyme – Thymus vulgaris
White campion – Lychnis coronaria alba
White foxglove – Digitalis purpurea alba
Wild bergamot – Monarda fistulosa
Woad – Isatis tinctoria
Yellow foxglove – Digitalis grandiflora

I have a LOT of these I’d like to get, but I hope I get some woad, fringed pinks, a Cheddar pink, lots of foxgloves as all mine are gone, and some bee balm. I can dig up ragged robin in my pasture, if I get hopping before the flower is gone. But I bet I come home with a lot more than that!

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