Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Tuesday Garden Party- Carrots and Onions


I finally checked the carrots to see if any were ready to be picked two weeks after having their tops mowed down by a deer invasion.


Uh-oh. I should've checked earlier. This looks great, huh? Nice bunch of carrots, and many are nice and long.


But there were quite a few that looked like this. I've always heard carrots will fork excessively like this if the soil is too fertile, so never plant in freshly composted soil.

But I didn't think I did, plus this same bed had carrots that didn't fork at all. Anyone know- would it have to do with watering or something else?



Then there were these. I'd left them in the ground for too long and they split.

But you know me...I won't be getting rid of them. One, because I try to use up things as a rule, and two, I grew them from seed and can't just toss them. I'll chop them and freeze them to use in soups. They are a bit tough and not as sweet, but cooked in a soup or stew they'll be just fine.

Did I mention that I grew these? Oh yeah...sorry.



The onions were ready to be harvested, too. Not all the tops had fallen over, but the skins were browning and they weren't getting bigger, so out they come. If they are left in the ground and continued to be watered, they can split and mold.

One of the nice things about gravel paths is that I can leave things like onions and garlic right on them to cure for a few days before putting them in storage (when no rain is forecast- otherwise I use the garage). UPDATE: On hot days (80s-90s), leave them out only one or two days- if you forget and leave them five days the sun cooks the onions. Yes, this happened, though most were still salvagable...arrrgh.

These are storage onions and after curing (however long it takes for the tops to completely brown) I will remove the browned tops, trim the roots and put them into some mesh onion bags I've saved from buying grocery onions. Onions with thin necks store the longest so I try to use the thick-necked ones first.



And here are the Walla Walla sweet onions. We've been eating these for a couple weeks already, but the rest needed to come out. I will store these in mesh bags as well, but we will eat these over the next few months (through September, I'm hoping) and I will use them for my canned salsa before needing to break into our storage onions.

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16 comments:

  1. wow, all those carrots and onions are impressive! Thanks for hosting, I love this blog party :-)
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  2. Great tips on how to keep the onions. We have several so I hope to figure something out. Also, I am planning a Canning Week Blog Party the week of Aug. 23-27th. I know you've been featuring your back to basics and thought this would be a great venue for that that type of topic (raise your produce and put it up for winter) Be sure to stop by that week for lots of tips, recipes, a linky party and give-a-ways.
    As always thanks for hosting and I always display your TGP badge in my sidebar.
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  3. My carrots look just like yours - some long and beautiful, some split and some forked.

    I've heard that when a carrot hits a stone or hard clump of dirt, it can grow crooked or fork. Do you think that is true?

    I actually read about putting lots of dirt in a large container, mix in lots of stones and plant carrots - just for a fun project for children to dig up the crazy looking alien carrots!

    Thanks again for hosting the carnival!
    Gina
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  4. I am wondering if your carrots were affected by the excessive rain that you received this year...

    You have a bountiful harvest of both carrots and onions. I am like you, if I grow it, I use it. I have gravel paths and had never thought of using them to dry the onions. Thanks for the tip!
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  5. Hi Jami,
    Your onion harvest looks fabulous! Oh, the things you could do:) You are so right about the wallas... I need to get them out soon.

    Can't comment on your carrots; you'd laugh if you saw my pathetic little patch... I don't know what went wrong but I hardly got any. I may throw some more seed out for good measure just to see what would happen.

    As always, thanks for hosting and looking forward to touring:)
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  6. You have reminded me that I need to go check my carrots. They were a little small a week ago, but might be ready now.

    Thanks for the carnival.
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  7. Nice onions and carrots! What is the secret to growing onions, mine never seem to grow at all!
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  8. Okay--you have totally inspired me to try growing onions next year! Your tips with them have been very helpful, so thank you for sharing.
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  9. All those onions looks fabulous! I continue to regret that we didn't grow them this year. Thanks for hosting TGP!
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  10. The onions look great! So, once you put them in your storage bag, where are you storing them..a cool garage or can they stay in a warmer place like the kitchen?
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  11. That's a whole lotta carrots and onions girlfriend! =0) Looks so tasty!! Congrats on an awesome harvest!
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  12. Wow! Yes...I can already imagine those carrots stewing in a pot in the midst of a cold winter. mmmm! We were going to plant carrots, but it just got too late to put the seeds in the ground. Every year, we learn just a bit more. :)
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  13. I thought "soup or stew" for your orphan carrots too. Your veggie garden is amazing; I just hope mine begins producing before the first frost!

    Your garden party is something I look forward to every week, Jami.
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  14. This is really interesting. I didn't know you had to let onions "cure" before you store them away. Then again, I didn't know that homemade soap has to cure first, before using it either :) :) Why is that? I love onions..I like to mix them with slice carrots and zucchini and put on some pasta with a little garlic salt etc ;) :)
    Those carrots looked good to..the first bunch :) The second bunch were rather wild and creative :) :) That's good you can still use them!!!! Have a great week, Jami!!! Love and hugs from Southern Oregon, Heather :)
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  15. Jami @ An Oregon CottageJul 28, 2010 10:05 PM
    Lexa- I hang the bags in our pantry area that is dark and dry, but not always cool, and they do fine along with the garlic (that I didn't get planted last fall...).

    Heather's Blog- If onions are allowed to cure a bit they will store longer. I'm sure there's some scientific reason for them, but ?? :-)

    Gina- I've heard that, too. I've got raised beds so I know there's no large rocks, but there could be a clump of our lovely clay soil...
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  16. I was so excited to find your Gardening Party, though I'm two days late with my submission. I'll be on time next week.

    The onions look great. Mine are never very big, though maybe I shouldn't compare them to the store ones. My carrots have not done well this year, nor have my beans. The tomatoes are doing very well, and that's what matters the most for us.
    ReplyDelete

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