planted onions and garlic on the 15 Oct. last year- fertilized with 5-10-10 - mulched onions and garlic with 6"of leaves directly out of bagger- did two 30' rows of garlic and two 30' rows of stuttgard onions the same way-excellent results this year- left mulch on this growing season- super onions and garlic. same time planted two rows of stuttgarders with leaves and removed most of leaves in the spring- didn't have enough days in the week to keep up with the weeding- couldn't buy any onions this fall to plant- next spring going to plant onions and mulch with straw or wood shavings - don't recommend using to much organic composted chicken manure- it's high in nitrogen- look for composted manure with higher phos. and potash (N-P-K)-goodluck this coming spring- the key is to buy quality sets right in the begining-HAPPY GARDENING!!!

Thanks to you both! See, I wish I had thought about the rainy season and drying out onions. I honestly did not know they even had to be cured until this spring and figured I'd just *know* when that needed to happen. lol! Yes, the drying, from what I gather, is only for storage, but since I am the only one in my family that eats onions, it may take me about a month to get all of them eaten. The garlic would be used more slowly over the course of a few months. Tom, I can't believe you got 90 onions from 5 containers! I would say I got 20-30 from about a 2x4 foot space (shared with garlic), and they were all pretty small. I did use several as green onions during the spring, though. When do you know the onions are dry? I agree with you on keeping my onions outside. Maybe when it gets cold here (we do get quite a bit of cold here in the hills of zone 8), and for about 5 months of the year I could see keeping them outside or in the garage, but not in the wet, slimy, hot other 6-7 months of the year. Maybe I'll just keep them in the crisper and hope for the best.

I have noticed that if the wild garlic/onion is growing in a good healthy soil the odor is much lower than if they are growing in a meaner, leaner soil. Those plants look an awful lot like the wild garlic/onions I have growing in my Michigan yard. kimmq is kimmsr

From what I have heard you can replant the bulb this next year. I did grow garlic one year when I was living near Childress. I used elephant garlic from the store and planted each clove and they made a new set of cloves the next year. Elephant garlic is not a true garlic but can be use as garlic in cooking. As far as I know they do not treat garlic with growth inhibitors like they do with potatoes. It should be getting close to harvest time. I would wait until about half the plant is brown before I would harvest, but I have only grown garlic twice. Garlic should last 3 or 4 months after you dig them if they are dried properly.