I suppose its possible, but then I would think that I would be having that problem everywhere. I bought the ties at the same place (Menards) each year, but they were slightly different. Because of a slight size difference (8.5' length as opposed to 8' last year) I did put the new ties along the area where the beans are struggling. The old ties from last year are still around the old garden and cap the new section. This happens to be where the peas are doing well.

Hey school, I don't think they went beyond recalling them from retailers. With it not being a safety issue and the low cost, I'm sure they're just sending rolls out to people who contact them and leave the ones who didn't notice slide. I know I paid less than 10 bucks (pry closer to 5) for 500 feet You'll have to keep that tin and buy the Koch twine next year, if it'll fit in that nifty can. I use mine to let the pole beans grow up. This year, I ended up using it to pull up and support my sweet corn when it blew down. The stuff is surprisingly strong. I thought I was gonna hafta buy a roll of 16000 round baler twine but this single ply did it.

Well, corn gluten, not corn meal, is considered to be a pre-emergent herbicide, just prevents seeds from germinating. Maybe it would stave off another crabgrass attack! As for whether it would slow down your onion growth, your guy at the Blue Seal feed store may be correct in one sense. The "full-season weed-free treatment" referred to in the research below seems to mean constant hand-weeding. Corn gluten meal is a certified organic material with potential as a preemergence or preplant incorporated herbicide for organic crop production. In addition to weed control efficacy, it is important to also determine the crop safety of any proposed herbicide. In 2002 and 2003 field research was conducted in southeast Oklahoma (Lane, OK) to determine the impact of organic and synthetic preemergence herbicides on weed control efficacy, crop safety, and onion yields (cv. Hybrid Yellow Granex PRR). The 9 organic treatments evaluated included 5 CGM applications, a full-season weed-free (hand-weeded) treatment, a full-season weedy-check, a partial-season weed-free (weed-free for the first half of the growing season), and a weedy-check without onions. Corn gluten meal was applied at 4 rates (1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 kg/ha) plus a full-season hand-weeded treatment combined with a 4000 kg/ha CGM application. Visual crop injury, weed control ratings, and onion yields were evaluated. The highest CGM rate (4000 kg/ha) maintained 72.1% total weed control and 82.7% broadleaf weed control until 46 days after planting (DAP). Although the CGM applications did not produce visual phytotoxic symptoms or any reductions in bulb production, the large and total marketable yields were less for the CGM weed-free treatment than the full-season weed-free treatment. The reduction in onion yields for the CGM weed-free treatment compared to the full-season weed-free indicate that CGM had a negative impact on spring-transplanted onion growth. Increased weed competition caused a downward shift in bulb size distribution across the four bulb categories (colossal, large, medium, and small). This research demonstrated that corn gluten meal can provide moderate weed control for spring-transplanted onions, but supplemental weed control is required to maximize onion yields. It really isn't clear to me why the CGM application's effect that lasted for 46 days couldn't be repeated to continue its effectiveness for another 46 days, and another if needed. (My onion transplants have DTM listed as 100 and 110 days.) It seems pretty clear that the CGM won't harm your onion plants since it seems to function only as a pre-emergent control for weeds, not exactly a herbicide (though I suppose they're grouped together). The research implies to me that it's ineffective against weeds after 45 days, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe hand-pulling of weeds around onion plants the entire time keeps the soil loose and friable, thus helping the onions to grow unrestricted. Here is a link that might be useful: CORN GLUTEN MEAL: A NATURAL PRE-EMERGENCE HERBICIDE

Hi Tom, I'm certainly not an onion expert. Yes I have grown them for about 35 years, but for most of those years not well :-) Up until about five years ago I only grew about 40' of onions, just enough for my batches of salsa that I can every year. I started from seed and transplanted in April, but the onions were generally small. In recent years I began reading more, planting more, buying the right varieties of onion plants, getting soil analyses, and boosting the nitrogen during the spring. Now my onions are properly large. The common factors over the years was compost and mulch. Feed hay is any type that is suitable for feeding to horses, usually timothy hay. Spoiled hay is bales of hay that have gotten wet, are usually moldy, and are no longer suitable as feed. Spoiled hay is cheaper, usually $2-4/bale depending where you are, and is sometimes sold as "mulch hay". I use the term "feed hay" to distinguish it from salt hay or straw. I get mine at a local horse supply farm - one bale covers about 100 sq ft. I have two onion beds (blocks), each having 6 rows that are 10' long and 12" apart, with onions planted 6" on center (120 onion plants per bed). This way I can kneel just outside the bed and be able to reach the center (I'm 6'4" tall). I wait until the onions are about a foot tall before mulching as it is easy to damage or bury smaller plants when putting down the hay. I apply the hay mulch all at once by pulling a good handful from the bale and gently tucking it between the rows and up against the plants, leaving the green leaves exposed to sunlight. The plants are delicate so this must be done carefully, and wear a dust mask when handling spoiled hay. I suppose you can mulch in stages, but it's more work and increases the chance of damage. Now if you apply grass clippings or a finely chopped hay, mulching in stages would be fine. As the onions start bulbing, the hay is compressed down to a couple of inches and I pull it up to but not on top of the bulbs, thus leaving the bulb tops exposed to the sun. In your situation, you can wait until the plants are a good foot tall to mulch, but then will likely have to weed again before applying. Or you can apply a couple of inches of grass clippings or other fine organic mulch now to suppress the crab grass, and then finish mulching with hay when the plants are stronger. Feel free to ask questions Tom, or if you prefer you can give me a call (732 721 4750). TomNJ