Below are the onions and garlic drying on a screen that I cobbled together from some old wire fencing, boards, and rebar stakes all of which are perched atop a few big plastic pots weighed down with rocks. This is when I wish I had a couple of saw horses. I had read that you don't want to pull the onions and garlic as that my damage the roots and necks which could allow pathogens to infect the bulbs thus shortening their shelf life. It's ok to cut off the roots and necks after they have cured, but doing so too early can also lead to infections, but you don't have to trim off the roots and stems at all if you don't want to. These are sweet onions so they don't keep as long in storage as "keeper" onions and so I want to maximize whatever storage time is possible.
I laid the onions across the mesh, but pulled the garlic tops through the mesh so they are hanging upside down. I don't know if it matters that the tops aren't clearing the ground, it probably doesn't because the soil is dry. It looks sunny there but it's in shade or part shade all of the time.
I'm amazed at how large some of the onions got to be. This is one of the largest.
And the garlic really plumped up as well.
The garlic and onions will be weighed and tallied when they are cured and cleaned or as I use them. This is my first time trying anything other than scallions or bunching onions so I'm really happy with how the onions did. I'm really happy with the garlic as well, I had big problems with rust a few years ago and almost gave up growing garlic, I did give up for one year and last year the garlic was only so so. It's nice to have a good crop for a change. I doubt that I can take any credit, the extra dry winter this year probably kept the rust from running rampant, it's there this year, it just hasn't been lethal.
Isn't it nice when something really comes good! I have had similar experiences with the Allium family. The crop never gets big enough to justify the time and space investment - and onions are very cheap to buy, so I don't generally grow them. Your red onions look superb though.
ReplyDeleteGreat harvest of onions and garlic. I've got garlic growing for the first time this year and I just tried garlic scapes for the first time ever (oh my they are delicious). I don't have too many onions and I doubt they will get anywhere near as large as yours.
ReplyDeleteThose are some fantastic looking onions and garlic - I can't believe how large they are! I'm growing onions for the first time this year and am anxiously waiting for them to start bulbing up. So exciting!
ReplyDeleteI have grown garlic & shallots before but last year was a disappointment as all of the bulbs were very small - this year I increased the spacing & added additional manure, etc. to the bed, so I'm hoping for larger bulbs. You can't beat homegrown garlic & shallots - they are so flavourful & I find they keep for months longer than the store bought stuff. My shallots from last year, although small, are still firm with no signs of sprouting!
Gorgeous red onions and garlic you have there, I don't grow onions because they don't keep well in our climate.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your garlic came out so well this year. And those onions are beautiful. I don't have a good way to dry my onions at this house. I wish I did. I really ought to make something. I tend to just lie them out on the paths. It works but not as well as some kind of screen.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful crop, Michelle. That garlic is the prettiest I've seen on this site--what a year! Hooray! I'm so envious of the onions. With the warm, dry winter, nearly every onion in my patch bolted, even though they were varieties I had grown very successfully before. Alas.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it was the warm weather that caused the onions to bolt? All of mine were intermediate day length which I thought would be okay for my region, but two of the three varieties bolted and I suspect that it was because of the unusually warm weather this winter. None of the Red Candy Apples bolted though, which is nice to know.
DeleteI do think it was the warm weather. We had some crazy stretches of heat when it should be quite temperate. Oh well. I've also learned that, of the five varieties I've tried in Southern California, only one grows really well--Texas Legend. It's amazingly delicious. I just wish I could use it as a storing onion, too.
DeleteGrew sweet onions again this year and they are huge and tasty. Using upside down flats in the beds to lay them out and cure them but I wonder if they will cure properly in full sun or do they need shade.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read, it's ok to cure them in the sun as long as temperatures don't exceed 90°F. I moved mine to under the tree because I needed to prepare the bed space for the next rotation and I was also concerned because we're having very foggy nights and things left out in the open are very damp in the morning. They seem to be drying quite well under the tree.
DeleteBeautiful! Those bulbs are enormous. I have high hopes for my garlic but I think you'll have all of us beat in that department.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to pick your brain about your drip irrigation system. I just had to hand water the entire garden and it was not fun. One of these days, I'm gonna get my act together and put a system in.
Those red candy onions are beautiful! I have never had much luck with red onion varieties.
ReplyDelete