Recently I pulled the two rows of yellow sweet Spanish onions that I started from seed and transplanted in May. You may recall that in my post on August 21, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/08/onions-and-potatoes.html), I wrote about harvesting the Stuttgart and red onions. The Spanish onions are a long season onion and therefore require more time to mature.
In that post I also described how I dry and prepare the onions for winter storage. After drying in the sun for a few days, I store them in our cellar in plastic bins for the winter. In the past I have also hung them to store which works well also, I remember my Mom braiding the tops before hanging them. That is also a great method which definitely takes some practice.
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| Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions |
I have been continuing to harvest the potatoes. I have the Kennebec and Yukon Gold varieties dug, only one row of the German Butterball variety remains. They were planted a little later and are still growing. However, frost is expected tonight which will probably put a damper on the growing season.
In review, Kennebec is a great all purpose mid season potato that stores well. It matures in about 80 days.
Yukon Gold is also a good storage potato known for it's yellow flesh. This variety matures in about 70 to 90 days, and is great for baking, although it is very good also for boiling or potato salads.
Once the potatoes are dug, it is important to allow them to dry before storing them for the winter. It is also important that the potatoes not be washed or exposed to light during this process. If potatoes are exposed to light they will turn green and become inedible.
I have found that drying the potatoes on newspaper works well as the newspaper will wick away moisture. This is also a technique my Mom used. I lay out sheets of newspaper on my garage floor and spread out the potatoes. After allowing them to dry overnight, I then cover them with an old blanket the following morning and keep the garage door closed to keep out as much light as possible.
I allow the potatoes to dry for 3 or 4 more days. Then I transfer them to plastic milk crates for storage. I normally sort them by variety and size, puting the larger ones in one crate, the smaller in another for example. I then store them in the cellar which stays at a pretty constant temperature during the winter, normally between 40 and 50 degrees.
The final step is to cover the crates with an old blanket or quilt to block out any light.
The Brussels sprouts I planted as an experiment have grown well and were recently ready for harvest. It is interesting how these plants grow, I didn't realize how large the plants get. The sprouts appear along the stem and mature from the bottom up,
And finally:
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| Another Beautiful Sunrise at My Home |
Until next time.
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