Nope, no bottom heat. I did finally get a good light set-up this year. Maybe seedling mats for Christmas next year? :) But I did do a little experiment yesterday that I think tells me a little more about what is happening. See, I was pre-sprouting these guys on paper towels (since I was pretty sure something was off with these little puppies from last winter). About 6 out of 150 sprouted, but there were white mold threads everywhere. So I divied them into two groups: "not really moldy" (they fell off the paper towel when I tilted it) and "pretty moldy" (they remained stuck to the paper towel, held fast by the mold strands, like the victims in some alien horror film). "Not Moldy" (NM) went into a 10% bleach solution for about a minute, "Moldy" (M) went into a 10% solution for about 10 minutes. After bleach, they were both rinsed with fresh water, then NM were placed in a container with a paper towel that had also been put in bleach, then rinsed with fresh water. M went in another one with a plain damp paper towel. The results? Some new mold growth in both containers, but way less than had been present the previous day (before the experiment). 5 new sprouts in NM, 1 in M. More mold in the M container than in the NM. And I got a better look at how the mold seems to originate. It appears at the pointy end of the seeds where the root tip emerges only. This is hard to notice when the mold is rampant because then there are strands everywhere. What did I learn? Well, even though this wasn't entirely scientific (I would have needed 3 more containers- NM, plain PT; M, bleached PT; and control (a handful of unsorted seeds left in the original setup)), I think I learned something useful to me. For one, a light bleach solution doesn't seem to hurt sprouting seeds. Two, a mold problem can be slowed down to allow more germintation of problematic seed using bleach. (That conclusion takes into account my previous experience with the moldy seed, which was that once you saw all that mold, there was no further germination.) And I think that the most obvious lesson I learned is: if you have a gardener sitting at home all day with a head cold, they will still find a way to do something with plants. Cheers! Sunni

1. Most do not grow sets. Plant your seeds about Oct 1st. you can sow in a row or in a patch. When stems are about 1/8" or slightly larger, transplant carefully to a permanent row. 6" to 8" apart. Thickly would be around 1/4" apart and thin some if necessary. Bend the tops just above the bulbs 1b.Do you mean the sets? Dig the sets. Lay on wire mesh so they get warm, dry air circulating around them. Or just lay them on paper or cardboard on the floor and maybe turn them over once or twice. Store in a airy dry place. Not hot. 2.Most bulbs divide into several seed stalks. Occasionally, one or more will fail to make a seed stalk. When you harvest the seed heads, dig the bulb and use it. If you replant it in the fall, it will assuredly grow one or more seed stalks. 3. A friend just puts his in a metal coffee can with the plastic lid on it. Be sure they are fully dry first. I just keep mine in a pill bottle in a drawer in the bedroom. Try several ways and see which works best for you.

I have my seed potatoes in the root cellar, which actually is the tornado shelter although we seldom have to use it as a shelter. It stays pretty cold down in that cellar, but well above freezing. I don't have my onion plants yet, but if I did have them, I'd put them in a cool, dry location like the cellar or a barn or garage. I think Dixonale is shipping Oklahoma onions on 2/15 this year. Bob, does that sound about right? Try to keep your onions and seed potatoes above freezing and below about 60 degrees or so and they should be fine. You want them on the coolish side and not somewhere that they are going to experience great temperature or humidity fluctuations. As far as planting, I'm already expecting to plant later than usual because of the Feb. cold spell currently projected by several of the major forecasting models. If I manage to plant the onions on-time, I'll likely put a low tunnel over them to help protect them from the Feb. cold snap. Young onions can tolerate some cold, but not extreme cold. Dawn

Susan, As long as all we "cat owners" (that's how we think of ourselves, but the cats undoubtedly think of us as "cat slaves") insist upon growing plants, the cats will think the plants are theirs and not ours. I don't have houseplants in the house because the cats do destroy them. Your room with the southern exposure sounds perfect for raising plants. Our screened-in porch is on the southwestern corner of the house and it has been a great place to harden off seedlings, but now I hope to be able to raise them there from start to transplant size. I always believed we'd eventually turn it into a sun porch once the shade trees we planted years ago were tall enough to shade it in summer, and now they pretty much are, so the conversion from semi-open screen porch to enclosed sunporch is occuring. We just put in the last window a few minutes ago. There's still a lot of work to do, but at least the 'holes' are now filled with windows. I know you were frustrated as veggie talk began dominating the forum, but I never thought you were less than gracious....just that you were frustrated. We still can (and sometimes do) discuss lawns and ornamental gardening, but it seems so many foks (and not just those of us here on this forum) are growing lots more veggies, fruits and herbs so that does tend to dominate the discussions. I am glad you're enjoying growing veggies for consumption instead of for the butterflies and moths, and that's not anything against butterflies and moths---I garden for them too, but I want for them to eat "their" plants and leave "my" veggies and fruits alone. lol Dixondale is my onion supplier of choice because I cannot find most of the varieties they carry here. It's that simple for me, but you know I am not in a shopping mecca here in rural Love County. Some folks on this forum find the "Candy" onion variety in stores in the Tulsa and OKC metro areas but I've never seen "Candy" onion transplants in southern OK or in north central Texas, so ordering online works for me. It was Bill P. from the Dallas area, who used to post on GW as "GoneFishin'", who convinced me to try Dixondale because he used them and was so happy with the harvest he got from their plants. Beyond the fact that Dixondale has the specific varieties I like to grow, they also have fresh, green, just-pulled-from-the-ground onion plants. I believe they either pull, pack and ship in one day, or they pull and pack one day and ship the next. When their plants arrive they are healthy, fresh, well-hydrated and ready to grow. By contrast, the onion plants I see in stores (unless I stumble upon them the first day or two after they arrive) tend to be brown instead of green and they look pretty dehydrated. They'll still grow, but they get off to a slow start compared to the fresh onions from Dixondale. When the weather allows, I always get a great harvest from my Dixondale onion transplants. The last two years, the onion harvest has been disappointing, but that is because the weather has been uncooperative. In 2009, the 12.89" of rain that fell in one day really set back the onions even though they were in a raised bed. (Raised beds do drain better than grade-level soil, but it is hard to overcome more than one foot of rain in one day.) In 2010, my onions endured sleet and snow well after they were planted, and then had spring weather with some very hot days and some very cold (freezing) nights even in May and they produced a moderate crop but not a large one. So, I am hoping for better cooperation from the weather in 2011 because I need another big bumper crop of onions like we had in 2008, when I put about 150 lbs. of chopped and sliced onions into the freezer and an equal amount into the root cellar. Believe it or not, we still have 3 or 4 lbs. of those 2008 onions in the freezer, and they still taste just fine when I cook with them. It is amazing to me that 2008 essentially gave us three years worth of onions in one year. Dixondale's plants are not cheap, but GoneFishin' told me long ago that their quality made them worth the price, and he was right. The price per bundle drops progressively as you buy more bundles. A few months ago, Seedmama mentioned she'd put together a group order for Dixondale this winter. If she has time to do that, I'll certainly participate in the group order. One year I grew leeks from their leek transplants and they were the best leek crop I'd ever grown by far, and they made me even more of a "believer" in their quality than I was before I tried the leeks. Dawn