How To Grow Onions

Onions are one of the most popular vegetables for growing in home gardens and are one of the first crops of spring. They can be stored over winter thus making a versatile crop They are used in a huge range of culinary dishes,both raw and cooked.

If adding manure or composted organic matter then add a few weeks before sowing / planting out.
Onions can be planted from seed or from sets (small partly grown onion bulbs). Sets are more expensive but they tend to be more reliable in their results and also require less work - no thinning and reduced onion fly risk.

If sowing from seed then sow in holes about 1/2 inch deep with about 5 inches between seeds. If sowing in rows then space the rows about 10 inches apart.

The soil should be moist before sowing so check the soil the day before sowing and water if the soil is dry.

If planting onion sets then they can be planted around Mid to Late March. Again space rows about 10 inches apart. Sow sets around 5 inches apart as they shouldn't require any thinning. Dig a small hole for each set and place the set in neck upwards. When covered back up with soil the tip of the neck should just show through the soil surface.

Spring onions (scallion) can be sown from April and planting should be staggered every few weeks to ensure a continuous crop throughout the growing season. Onions will grow in most climates and are frost resistant.

Onions will grow in almost any soil from sandy loams to heavy clay. The soil should be firm. If your soil is heavy then you can introduce some organic compost or manure into the soil to help its moisture retaining properties. Onions prefer a slightly acidic soil - PH 5.5-6.5 is a good PH for growing onions.

Frequently weed between the onions by shallow hoeing, onions do not trap much incoming light due to their sparse leaf forms so weeds can take full advantage of the available light.

Onions are ready to harvest a week after their tops have started to fall over and are yellowed. Use a small shovel to lift the onions out of the ground. Take care not to damage the skins as this invites decay organisms in to attack the onion flesh.

Onions should be harvested on a sunny day, cleaned of any soil still attached to them and then placed on top of the soil where they will dry out with the help of the sun and wind.. Leave the onions out for a few days,until the tops dry out.

Remove the tops with a sharp knife about 2 inches above the onion top so that decay organisms do not have direct access to the onion bulb.

Discard/use any onions that show signs of decay or damage as these can affect healthy onions if they are stored .

If you want to store the onions over winter then you can cure them by hanging them in a well aired place (such as from the roof of a summer house veranda). Mesh bags or strings can be used to group and hang the onions and they should hang for about 3-4 weeks.

Keeping On Getting Back To Normal, Love Fresh Food

Hello SS folks, long time no post... However as I mentioned after my return from the coast, I am presenting you with the photos of the homestead and where I am at with things.

So we are doing great, and the weather has been bad. With almost no rain, my rain barrel has been dry most of the grow season. I have used both pond water and well water for the garden. The mulch I laid down has been a blessing. Like some of you, I have been getting on with my seasonal duties of putting food up for the winter season. Although I have been eating more veggies since the garden has been growing, I drop almost 25 pounds of fat. Stress fat as well as process food eating I am sure. We all know the difference in the taste of market food and your own.

Well, all that being said, I'd rather explain the photos as they posted. So if you have sometime and want to join me on my adventure of my SS lifestyle, grab a cup of tea or your preferred drink and lets have a mozzy on the farm.
Mushroom Logs setting idle, waiting for some rain


Wind spinners which help run the birds off and add some beauty to the garden



Solar lights in the garden. 4 corners have led colored globes, and again the bean tree fence post topper


Garden Guard


Garden pictures of different crops and general garden stuff







Ground Hog enters garden and eats carrots and beans, I will harvest and stew him soon


Early Garlic processing



Onions



Summer and Zuke squash, dried and ready to be separated into my squash mess vac bags and other cooking recipes. I have a long loved squash mess recipe from my Mom that she taught me how to make. I took it one step further and developed a dehydrated recipe of my own.


Jamming.. Maple syrup too..





So let me set this up and explain to you how some people don't think. At the end of maple season, folks are tired and couldn't be bothered working out the "fines" in the last gallon of syrup. Fines are named as all the small particles left over in the last batches of each go at maple making. They were going to toss them out this year, I got my equal share already, and wanted the stuff they were going to throw away. Anyway, what you are looking at is one jar of the left over "fines" syrup. Somewhat darker than Amber, still a good quality syrup, this jar is 90% maple syrup with the fines settled at the bottom. SO letting it settle and removing the top syrup has given me another half gallon of syrup.


Todays harvest


The root cellar seems to keep at a steady 66 degrees and was a rewarding building project for food stores. It has proved to be a great place for me to safely store both dried foods as well as canned food.

The hedge rows have provided a steady supply of berries for jamming and fresh eating. This year is the first year that grapes are growing. some of the later raspberry plants are still providing berries of pancakes and sugar and milk.


I suspect that I will be drying and canning tomatoes very soon. I will be canning green ones as well. I also will be drying some for soup recipes.

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You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
вегетарианец- Russian word for poor hunter
We are pioneers, trail blazers, we fight for freedom. We transform our dreams into the truth, our struggles, we became a nation.

Potato Basket, The Hows And The Dos, Grow-Up Not Down

If you have been a visitor of my youtube videos, than you will know that I did a potato basket video year before last. The original one had over 41k hits, featured on several gardening shows as well. Although my video presents and how to is corning, I am getting better.

The idea was taught to me by my Mother back in the 1970s, I still use the process today. Its a great space saver, interesting, and a neat conversation piece. I rememer Mom used 2 types of potatos back in the day. With the internet and seed trading programs, I plant several types. The video explains how to do it, but I accidentally left out some information that I will cover in a new video to be done very soon.

I use only indeterminate types of potatoes because they keep blooming all summer long and keep producing in the basket. Determinate blooms once and like tomatoes produce the fruit after that. Planting indeterminate in any containers is the way to go for this method. You can, like I do, use any potato seed in the baskets you want, but I wanted to be sure you understood the types that work the best.

The Anti Bird/Blueberry Project, Save The Cherries... Re-Purpose Bench Photo

I also am working on a anti frost/bird project in the Blueberry patch. The idea is to be able to gather ripe fruit, protect the flowers and fruit from frost and the birds. If I can get this right, I will also build the same hootch to protect the cherries too... A simple recipe from my moms kitchen was to use an Angel Cake, Blueberry yogurt, and fresh blueberries cooked in sugar just till they popped, cooled, and both poured over the cake. Simple, easy and yummy.....

This will be used to cover the bushes with a net, as well as plastic to protect them from frost. This year they are finally large enough to spend the $23.00 it cost me for this build. I have on hand a bunch of old post as well as welded wire I got at a auction for 30 buckets last fall.

I am going to take a few moments and talk about my cherry bushes. From what I understand the root stock of a cherry tree was grafted to a bush stock, many times over till it became a cherry bush. Last year I got just a few cherries after the frost, I was out of town and didn't check the weather before I left. Don't you just wanna punch yourself for not doing what can put food on the table? I was so mad I looked at myself in a mirror and said, stupid....

So are they sweet or tart cherries? That's a good question, the ad that sold them stated you could pick them from the bush, and eat them. So that makes me think they will be sweet ones, we'll see this year. I want to share a 3 year photo of them with you. These were just wee little twigs when they arrived home, and now are 1 1/2 at the base, and ready to start producing this year. I so look forward to having my very own cherries... I love these little bunches of flavor!!!

Do you stop by road side trash piles? Me too.... Me too.... (assuming you do) and I find useful stuff to fix or re-purpose. But I am strict on myself these days what I bring back home. In the beginning I would take stuff and said, yes I will find a purpose for that. The fact of the matter is that I ended up making a run to the dump and paid to put that stuff in the land fill.

Two years ago I saw this bench and thought how nice it would look near the pond.... There it sets, covered in dead plant stems. But that is going to be a new project this summer, honestly, I double dog promise I will get it done... Can you imagine this bench in your garden? I know, right.. LOL