August 12:
Richard continues to process the Onions that we have grown. The Onions in this picture are "Candy Onions" and they will be our main keepers into, and hopefully through, winter.
After Richard dug them 2-3 weeks ago, they have been curing. They have been sitting in the garage and subject to air flow which dries and hardens their outer skin. Richard has then cut off their tops (stems).
He turns them occasionally and examines them very carefully to make sure no soft spots have developed. Onions can go bad relatively quickly. If they have soft spots, he puts them in another pile, which we will use them quickly.
In total, we had a great Onion crop this year. We had about 500 Onions in 2 varieties: Candy and Walla Walla. We figure that they averaged 1/2 pound in weight. You can do the math.
And yes, that's a lot of Onions. And yes, we use a lot of Onions. However, we may use some of them in trade. For example, we have a friend who has Cucumbers for Pickling. We have a hard time growing Cukes. She suggested we work on a trade. And we like that idea. We are sharing abundance.
Richard continues to process the Onions that we have grown. The Onions in this picture are "Candy Onions" and they will be our main keepers into, and hopefully through, winter.
After Richard dug them 2-3 weeks ago, they have been curing. They have been sitting in the garage and subject to air flow which dries and hardens their outer skin. Richard has then cut off their tops (stems).
He turns them occasionally and examines them very carefully to make sure no soft spots have developed. Onions can go bad relatively quickly. If they have soft spots, he puts them in another pile, which we will use them quickly.
In total, we had a great Onion crop this year. We had about 500 Onions in 2 varieties: Candy and Walla Walla. We figure that they averaged 1/2 pound in weight. You can do the math.
And yes, that's a lot of Onions. And yes, we use a lot of Onions. However, we may use some of them in trade. For example, we have a friend who has Cucumbers for Pickling. We have a hard time growing Cukes. She suggested we work on a trade. And we like that idea. We are sharing abundance.
This has been our best year so far for Onions. In fact, it far exceeds what we have produced before. To what do we attribute this success: planting biodynamically (in the "root" sign), planting as early as we can get them in, using Onions which are at the optimum of their vitality, planting in soils which are softer and loamier, keeping plants well weeded and mulched with straw, visiting them regularly and talking to them. We really are novices at the last. But I think it makes a huge difference.
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