Wolverine: I started my onions later than January (but I know farmers who start in January, with great results). I do not expect them to be much more than "blades of grass" by now. I just started a day or two ago to plant them out. I was not sure whether it was too early but it seems that this is the right time. The picture is taken through a screen with a cell phone. That was maybe early April. They do not look much bigger now. They look the same as what I have bought at nurseries. For starter mix, I use Gaia Green Living Soil with earthworm castings. I soak seeds in liquid seaweed and/or water them in with liquid seaweed in the water... most seeds sprout within a few days (the ones that take a few weeks still take a few weeks but the germination rates are typically very high). I lose almost nothing and the babies are all very strong.

John, As to that greenhouse height. Here is a suggestion. Build up a 1 foot high foundation of concrete blocks to hold the greenhouse frame above the ground. On the inside, go down a few more inches and put in a brick floor with sand as a filler between the bricks. I electrified mine with a single 4 foot outdoor type flourescent fixture with two 4 foot bulbs, as well as weather proof outlets. The wiring was done with PVC tubing used for electric outdoors. The wiring also as a GPF in the circuit to protect against grounding problems. In summer, I have fans running as well as leaving the door open. Mine also has an oil filled piston that will open the center roof panel to allow air to flow out too. Building the greenhouse up on blocks a foot high, and with a deeper floor inside, you can increase the inside height by about a foot . I also have a 6 foot long wooden bench inside that is narrow enough to get through the 2 foot opening of the door. Not only that, the greenhouses usually have aluminium channels that are the framework and these usually have slots for specially made screws that push into the slots and lock in place. Then, I place the shelf brackets they use for closets, and put a foot wide 6 foot long board on the opposite side of the bench. Mine can hold about 20 of the 18"x24" plastic plant trays. Check out Charleys Greenhouse Supply in Washington state. Here is a link that might be useful: Charley's Greenhouse supply

I would be happy to explain the "chopstick thing". I had been complaining about losing plants due to over/underwatering, and I'd bought a "water meter" which is a device with a metal stick that you put in the pot and it's supposed to tell you how moist the soil is at the moment. I'd made mention of it on another forum, and another Garden Web member told me it was useless (and it is-total waste of money) and to go out and buy some cheap, bamboo chopsticks at Walmart (or wherever). I think I got about 25 or 30 chopsticks for about $5, and of course you can keep re-using them. Then what you do is stick a chopstick into the dirt in the pot and leave it there for about 5 minutes. When you pull it out, test it for dampness. I just wipe the dirt off and hold it up against my facial cheek. If the chopstick is dry, the plant needs to be watered. If it comes out wet -- and sometimes it will surprise you at how wet it feels -- do not water. I think it works so well because the bamboo is so porous. Anyway, it really is a clever way to tell you how much water is in the soil near the bottom of the pot. I wish I'd known about it when I was over-wintering those daylilies! LOL! And yes, Marbree, the plant that lived is doing remarkably well. No scapes yet, but lots of healthy foliage, and a second fan coming up. I feel confident I'll have scapes by next season! MacThayer

PM2, years ago I started onions via wintersowing. If I recall, the onions when harvested were on the small side. But as usual, I have to add this disclaimer - I am a VERY neglectful gardener! They were most likely planted out too late and harvested too early, lol! And probably sorely neglected in between! If you have the seed, I would say go ahead and WS it and see how you fare. I will add, though, that last year a co-worker offered me onion sets which her husband had leftover. I had never even seen an onion set, and when I saw that they were just tiny little pips, I was skeptical but planted them (and I thought she was going to give me half a dozen or so but there were almost FIFTY in the bottom of the box! How many did he order if he had 50 leftover?). Well, they were so easy to plant, and grew so well, that I think that is the way to go from now on, at least for me. Granted, these little guys got a bit better treatment than my poor seeds, but I still think it's easier to go this route. I just don't know if there is the variety available in sets that there is in seed, but I guess I'll find out if I ever get off my butt and get my order in! dawiff, nice onions! I'm glad to see that photo, as we were unsure as exactly when to harvest ours. They popped up out of the ground and my husband was picking them quickly (while they were still small), while my opinion was that as long as the roots were still well-embedded we should leave them to get bigger. Your photo seems to confirm my thoughts. And you have a lovely property as well! Thanks!