Onion Seedlings Update

The onion seedlings have really taken off.  I have been putting them outside everyday to get them used to the real outdoors.  They have done well even though we have had temperatures below freezing in the mornings when I put them out.  They have also been gently exposed to some of the wild winds we get out here in the spring time.  Right now the porch is a fairly safe area but I'm sure they have felt some of the gusts that sneak around the corner when they are out there.

The bed they are going into was turned over a few weeks ago when we had a few nice days of warm weather.  I added a little compost to the bed and now it is just waiting for the onions.  Since this was my first year with onion seeds I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  The two trays I planted don't look like they hold nearly enough onions to fill the bed.  Hopefully they transplant well and grow into big healthy onions.  I figured that I would just fill in the rest of the spaces with onions sets from the store.  After running out of onions so early last year I want to make sure that we will have enough to make it through next winter.  I also want to try planting them next to the broccoli and brussel sprouts this year to see if they make any difference in the pests on those plants.  Last year we had a major aphid problem in the brussel sprout bed, but there were no onions in that bed.  The year before we had onions interplanted with broccoli and there really wasn't much in the way of pests on those plants.  This year will be my little experiment to see if companion planting really does work.