Captain Dirt, I plant directly into the soil, planting shallowly because that is what onions prefer. I weed the beds about once a week for the first month or so. Then I add mulch, but I put the mulch only in the open area between the onions and don't have it up so close to the onions that it touches them. (In a rainy year, wet mulch in direct contact with the onions can lead to disease issues.) I usually don't put paper on the ground under the mulch in the onion bed beacause the onions don't like being covered up...the bulbs like to sort of pop up out of the ground as they enlarge and grow, and they grow better if you let the bulbs expose themselves, so to speak. I've tried growing onions every way possible, and leaving the soil unmulched right around the onion plant works best for me in my garden. Sometimes I have to pull out weeds that pop up in that open space, but it isn't that big of a deal and the effort pays off because onions that are shallowly planted and have the mulch pushed back a little from the plant do better than those that have mulch touching them. If I were planting the way you want to plant with paper under mulch, I'd cut an "X" in the paper where each onion will go and fold back the paper around the X so the paper doesn't lie back down over the soil. So, each X'd area is a little spot of bare soil. I'd put the soaker hose under the paper before planting. So, in order to plant, prepare your soil. Then, put down your soaker hose first and turn on the hose and run it while you can look at it and make sure it doesn't leave any dry areas. If it does, rearrange the hose. If you're going to use a pelleted fertilizer, put it on the ground as a top dressing, or mix it into the soil thoroughly as you prepare the soil, under the paper, but not where the X's are cut for the onions. You don't want granular or pelleted fertilizer that close to tender young roots. Put down your paper and use something to hold it down temporarily until you're through planting and can mulch. Plant your onions through the X's cut in the paper. Lay your mulch on top of the paper at least an inch thick, but leave the X'd area unmulched so the bulb can pop up out of the ground in a couple of months as it enlarges. Water the area well. After that, strive to get your onions an inch of moisture a week. Regularly weed and remove any weeds that sprout in your mulch or in the open soil next to each onion plant. Add more mulch as time goes on, but continue to keep it back away from the onions. In roughly 90-110 days (if you're growing here in or near Oklahoma), you'll have nice, big fat onions ready to harvest. Dawn

BRW or the brown form don't do well in southern Victoria. If you are there, you would be better to grow Creamgold (Pukekhoe)or Ailsa Craig.

Hi Paula, We're having a great onion year. About half the short days are harvested and curing but the other half acts as though they are not interested in flopping over at all. Meanwhile, the necks on the intermediate types are just beginning to soften, allowing the foliage to flop over. The three long day varieties stopped new growth long ago at the 12 to 15 leaf range. I suspect they cannot make more leaves than that, so they are just sitting there waiting for the right daylength or whatever to occur that will let them finish up. They are starting to bulb. I think that we'll have either 7 or 8 of our 9 varieties harvested before the end of June. The ninth one, Copra, tends to run a bit later than the rest. Since that one is for prolonged storage, I'm not in any hurry to harvest them anyway. I've noticed from various FB photos that lots of folks far north of me are harvesting onions already, and to my eye, a lot of those don't look like they even reached the softneck stage before being harvested. Some of them have had such thick necks that they resemble leeks! That sort of drives me crazy, but I don't say anything because they are not asking a question like "did I harvest my onions too early?" or "would my onions have been twice as large as they are now if I had waited until the proper time to harvest them?" I just bite my tongue. When someone does ask about when to harvest, I do tell them about the soft neck stage and proper curing for the longest storage possible. I'm not sure I understand the urge to harvest things far too early, other than perhaps they are eager to put a succession crop in that same space if they have limited gardening space. Well, I understand when farmers or market growers harvest earlier to get the onions to market because early onions are money in the bank, but I don't understand when home gardeners do it. I planted too many onions as always, but we use so many in cooking and canning that I suspect we'll use up every one of them. Because we never got really cold after the onions were planted, they grew like gangbusters and most have 12-15 leaves, so we're going to get nicely sized onions even though our rainfall this year has been only about 60% of average. I'm glad your plums are ready. Ours froze while in bloom or shortly after bloom so there won't be any new plum jelly this year, but I made two years' worth last year so we won't run out any time soon. Chickens do complicate one's life, and I love them anyway and always will have them. They are so adorable. Our chickens get used to me coming out of the house with the compost bucket in my hand (especially when canning is producing tons of waste material) and follow me right to the pile, happily clucking away as they dig and scratch through whatever yummy stuff I just tossed on the pile. Sometimes in the afternoons when I'm in the garden working, the chickens stand outside the fence as close to me as they can get and work through the grass looking for bugs. I think they are hoping I'll toss them a tasty caterpillar or something every now and then (and I do). Since chickens are not garden-friendly, they are not allowed in the garden when there's crops growing, but they loiter around its fence constantly. If I walk up to the house and forget to close the gate, the garden is full of chickens when I come back. Apparently they watch very carefully for such opportunities to infiltrate the fenced compound. Luckily, they aren't in there long enough to do any damage---mostly they just dig and scratch in the mulched pathways, searching for bugs. We also have one chicken who loves canned cat food. She'll hear me call the cats to come indoors, which I often do while beating on a cat food can with a spoon...because nothing makes the cats come in quickly more than the prospect of being fed. That chicken comes running with the cats and tries to come inside with them every day. Sometimes I'll take her a spoonful of canned catfood just because she loves it so, but I'm not letting her come into the house. Dawn

Really nice find. Agree you should address the potential hazard of the wood stove near all that wood -- consider having a pro take a look at it and suggest options. On that taxidermy suggestion ... IF you (or your family member) caught it or killed it and proudly had it mounted by a pro, then yes; however, if you didn't, please don't hang someone else's trophy on your wall. Furnish this cabin for use by the number of people who will be using it most often -- not by the maximum you'll have only once a year. You can always keep some reasonably comfortable folding chairs for guests rather than cluttering up your space with additional seating rarely used. It appears that adding some storage might be in order -- go vertical to get the most storage from the footprint of any items you add. Some kitchen storage around your refrigerator is well worth considering. That cabinet in the corner is claiming a lot of space for the amount of storage it actually delivers. Items with multiple purposes could be worthwhile. A large storage ottoman could be a window seat and provide guest seating as well as storage. Choosing one with a lid that flips from a solid side to a cushioned side would mean it could be used as a coffee table or ottoman -- by adding wheels, you could more easily move it to use it for those additional purposes. You might want to rethink the rugs you're using by the door by the kitchen -- replacing the two with one longer runner (one that will catch pine needles and dirt) that is small enough to be washable in the largest machine at the local coin laundry would be a good idea ... especially if you choose the rug with the additional objective of making certain is not a potential stumble hazard. A cabin makes a great place leaving behind the drama(s) of daily life. That usually means that keeping any people pictures to be displayed to a minimum -- even zero -- is a good idea. Your cabin is located within an actual nature scene so you don't need to hang pictures of that kind because they'll not be able to compete with the real thing just outside the window ... and shouldn't try. If y'all have a hobby or passion, especially if its something you both enjoy, consider art that would convey your interests without overwhelming your space. https://www.touchofclass.com/rhythm-metal-wall-sculpture/p/Y647-001/ http://www.metal-wall-art.com/sailboat-tranquility-metal-sculpture.html https://www.jatashop.com/row-boaters-metal-wall-art.html https://www.ebay.com/itm/Golf-Scene-Steel-Wall-Art-24-Diameter-PGA-LPGA-Golfer-Metal-Man-Cave-Decor-/182259547516 https://www.touchofclass.com/rhythm-metal-wall-sculpture/p/Y647-001/ Aside from a couple of minimalist art pieces to make your cabin your space reflecting your personal interests and tastes, wall art should be kept to a minimum. Let the windows and view hold sway. You have some large windows for enjoying the view. Consider adding some stained glass -- and not necessarily larger window hangings; a few of the smaller, thicker Tiffany style glass sun catchers could both reflect your personal interests and compliment the natural light shining through your windows. Easily changed, sun catchers could laud your pet(s) and/or acknowledge the changing seasons and/or celebrate different holidays and/or occasions. Enjoy your space.