What did you do in your garden today?

[Meadowlark]

Harvested the remainder of my spring Yukon Gold potato crop today. Each bucket contains 15 pounds of potato weight and together with previously harvested Yukon's brings the total harvest to about 75 pounds...my personal best for the Gold's.

They were grown in about 35 ft of row with red potatoes on the other end of the row...better than two pounds per foot which is not bad for the Golds. Reds yet to go are producing about twice that amount. I'll store these in paper bags (which are superior to plastic buckets for potato storage) in my well house where it is dark and relatively cool and humid. We will also can some.

These are a great eating potato and compliment the reds for a little variety.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I counted 7 onions out of about 8000 seeds that actually bolted.

It is because it is their first year, onions get classed as biannual, things which flower in their second year, it's a bit surprising to me you got any. That is also why sets are such a pain for it, they are second year onions. The flower bud is supposed to be killed by warming them up, but it is a fairly precise temp. over a prolonged period, difficult to do commercially with a large bulk, so you get quite a few flowers sometimes.

 

[Meadowlark]

It is because it is their first year,

No, I disagree. First year plants are available here for sale and for years I used those and transplanted them. They would bolt about 15%-20% of the time depending on when you planted them and other factors that can cause bolting...the later planted, the more bolts. If you plant them as late as March, you would get almost all bolts and no bulbs.

I have done careful experiments comparing characteristics of onion growing and without doubt, direct seeding is superior to current year plants and sets in less bolting. No question in my mind and experience.

If you think .09% is high, you obviously haven't grown onions in zone 8/9. Several factors can cause bolting besides the age of the plant. Extreme temp swings promote bolting. Planting onions late in winter or spring can cause bolting, extreme water availability swings can cause bolting...no matter the age of the onion...high synthetic levels of nitrogen can cause bolting.

Over the decades of growing them here, my conclusion is that direct seeded and grown in highly organic matter soils minimizes bolting...and can enable 6-inch diameter bulbs.