This is half of my onion crop. The other half is still in the garden. I've never been a heavy onion user; they don' t always agree with me. But maybe we'll come to an understanding. These are Walla Walla sweet onions, which apparently don't store well, so I'll have to be creative in the next few weeks. It looks like at least a ten pound sack to me.
I still have at least this many red and yellow onions in the ground. With the right conditions, those will store throughout the winter.
Why the bountiful harvest when I've never been too successful with onions before? This year I ordered onion starts from Territorial Seed instead of the dried out onion bulbs from the garden center. It made a world of difference.
And then there's garlic. I harvested the last of it yesterday morning, and added it to the bulbs already curing on the floor of the new house. So in addition to the smell of fresh lumber, the new house already has a slight garlic aroma. I counted around 90 heads total, about three times the amount I've ever harvested. I'll save about a dozen of the best heads for planting this fall, and use the rest throughout the winter. The varieties I planted were Music and German Extra Hardy White.
We should be safe from vampires, anyway.
I ordered half a hog today at the farmer's market, from a guy I used to work with a few years back when we had just moved here. He has since made the transition from office job to organic farmer, with absolutely no regrets. I feel so much better buying meat from someone like him rather than at the grocery store.
9 comments:
Congrats on the great harvest.
Those sweets will make great onion rings.
Great Harvest!-Yes It's so much better to get your meat that way.-My father used to steam-clean barns in exchange for fresh farm meat-No comparison to what you get in the store.
looks great Deb - how do you decide when to pick 'em?
I see garlic braids in your future- lucky you! And I agree with FC: onion rings! Sliced thin, dipped in a batter of beer, flour, a little salt and a dash of cayenne pepper, deep fried and served up with ranch dressing. Yum. This is the way my kids like sweet onions- me, too.
I love the photos of your harvest- AND you changed your own photo. Lovely.
So onions come out of the ground, eh? I thought they came from the supermarket.
Nice going, Deb! I can just imagine the smell of your new house-talk about home sweet home, eh!?
Oh yeah--that is the CUTEST kitten I have ever seen (in the post below. Is it yours? What's the name? Is it as sweet as it looks?
FC- Thanks. I was thinking of onion rings myself.
Larry- I'm fortunate to have nearby sources for pork, grass fed beef, and chickens.
Arcolaura- It's not really an exact science. The tops were all falling over, which generally means they're done growing.
Vicki- the garlic are hardneck varieties, so I don't know if it's possible to braid them. I'll probably just cut the tops off and hang them in mesh bags somewhere.
Thanks about the photo!
Pablo- I'm pretty sure you're being facetious (you are, aren't you?) but there are probably way too many people who really believe that.
Momadness- The slight garlic aroma does make it smell like I'm in my kitchen cooking already.
We have a clan of cats who came over from the neighbors a couple years ago, and they manage to add a couple new ones each year. It's getting so I'm looking in to taking some of them to a shelter. I hate to do it, but I can't afford to get them all neutered.
The kitten's name is Moonlight; he has a sister named Midnight, who is equally cute. They are sweet-tempered kitties; Starflower adores them and I'm considering letting her have them inside the new house.
Hmmm. The tops are falling over in one of my onion patches, but that's because the darn cats have to walk right through it instead of going across the empty bed two feet away. The cute factor is wearing a bit thin.
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