Last week's harvest was very similar to that of the previous week, I guess at this time of year it is what is expected.
We hadn't grown swede for a few years as we never seemed to get around to sowing the seed in time. The seeds would be sown in modules and transplanted and the transplants were weedy things and didn't really produce much at all. This year we went for direct sowing and the plants grew better but the roots are smaller than expected and cramped for space.
I guess that I'll just have to get over my aversion to thinning out the seedlings.
The beetroot seems to manage without thinning, although it does suffer from the attentions of some underground nibblers. Fortunately most of the root is OK.
So why the weeping over onions? It was nothing to do with chopping them. Incidentally I have a cure for this that doesn't involve sucking a spoon, wearing a peg on your nose or peeling underwater etc. I have found when I am wearing my contact lenses I can chop onions sniffle free. Sorry I digress.
Our onions and shallots were stored in the allotment shed. Last week I noticed that some had mould growing in them and also that they were all very wet. I removed all the mouldy individuals and decided the bring the rest home to store in the summer house. I don't think we will be sitting in there any time soon.
The next day everything was dry but will the damage have been done? All I can do now is to keep an eye on things and quickly remove any that start to rot.
We really have had a problem drying onions and keeping them dry this year so we need a better solution. There is only room in the summer house now because we have used most of the apples that previously occupied the space. I was thinking some sort of shelving unit that would fold up to store away when not being used may work. What we really need is a cool dry basement but no chance of that!
Any suggestions?
Today I am linking to Harvest Monday over at Dave's blog Our Happy Acres
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I wish I could help you out. Seems we all have to find that one area that works right, and unfortunately, it's a learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope your remaining onions will be ok. It's hard to lose good homegrown goodies.
The garage is fine for most of our winter storage, Sue the problem is finding somewhere that is cool and dry enough for the onions. Places are either too rm or too damp.
DeleteThe contact lens solution for sniffle free onion slicing definitely works! I haven't found a decent spot for storing my onions either although my problem is with spots that are too warm. Most of the onions start to sprout before I can use them up. Last year I chopped and sauteed them and froze them in portions that could be used for cooking. This year I'm putting my dehydrator to work on the onions.
ReplyDeleteThe only place really dry enough to store onions would be inside the house, Michelle and that would be too warm for them too. Maybe I am going to have to try out your freezing solution if things get too bad
DeleteI'm like you, I really don't care for thinning out seedlings, but for most of the root crops it seems like direct seeding is the only way. I start lettuce and spinach inside for much the same reason. I don't grow enough onions to really need much storage for them. We do have a 'cool room' in our basement that I store garlic in, which seems to do fairly well.
ReplyDeleteA basement would be ideal, Dave but nowadays houses in the UK are rarely built with one.
DeleteI have an aversion to thinning seedlings too. You still have decent turnips though, and the beets look great.I use the greenhouse to store veggies, never put onions in there to date, I imagine they would stink that out too.xxx
ReplyDeleteI have tried storing onions in the greenhouse, Dina but it gets far too damp in there for them. Finding somewhere dry is the main problem for us
DeleteThat's beautiful harvest! The beets look so fresh! The one that we buy here does not have this kind of freshness! Happy harvesting!
ReplyDeleteShop bought produce never seems to be the same does it Malar?
DeleteThinning swedes properly is a well known conundrum. In 'neep country (North East of Scotland) they solve the problem by each thinning out their NEIGHBOUR'S crop. If they thinned their own they would leave them too close, but when it is not their own crop they don't have such a problem uprooting health seedlings. Do you have any suitably motivated neighbours?
ReplyDeleteAs for onions it's important to string them so that they take up less space and are suitably arranged for allowing the air to circulate. We hang our strings in our back porch window as it is unheated but airy but never sub zero. Sadly we've eaten them all already and only have a couple of elephant garlic bulbs left (after planting out next years crop in the autumn).
You still something to be harvested!
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