Storing the Harvest

 Onions are added to almost every meal cooked  here at the Cedar House.

I wasn't always an onion lover.

I eventually learned to stop picking them off my plate, and acquired a true  love for Alliums.

This year there was an abundant harvest of Ailsa-Craig Heirloom onions in our garden. While these onions are amazing, they are not for long term storage.

You can check out my previous post about the harvest here: onion-harvest 2014

We keep the onions stored in a harvest basket, on the cold, hardwood floor in the kitchen. While we use a lot of onions, we still haven't made our way through the basket. 

Some of the onions are starting to sprout, and some are starting to get soft and squishy...eeww!

So, for today's project...Time to sort onions into Sprouters, Dryers and Keepers.

The Sprouters will be planted in pots for now, and then transplanted in the garden this Spring. 

I have high hopes to save seed from these delicious heirlooms.

The Dryers, were cut and placed in the dehydrator. Drying will take place in the greenhouse to keep the eye burning smell out of the house, until they are dry.

The Keepers are still in good shape and will remain on the farm table for future meals.

Onion Harvest

The onion tops have finally started to fall over and dry out... Today was a good day to harvest all the bulbs.

Gotta love my handy helper :-) 

Troy helped haul the onions to the greenhouse. 

We put the onions on the screened shelves in the greenhouse. 

We will leave them for a few days to finish drying before storage.

August

August has been unpredictable...wet...wild...and windy, with a lot of crazy lightening and thunder booms.

Through it all, my little garden has hung right in there!

Loving this shot from the upper garden...Carrots, Onions, Pumpkins, Corn, and Beans are doing pretty good.

All of our Cabbage has been begrudgingly  donated to feeding our local deer population. 

Sadly this is not the year of Cabbage at the Cedar House (((arghhhhhh))1st planting was lost to gophers, 2nd round planting has all gone to the deer...

I guess...You win some and you loose some!

On a happy note, Onions are big enough to start harvesting.

The Zucchini is plentiful, and our trusted zucchini bread recipe never disappoints. 

You can find the recipe Here

Look who's walking!

Egyptian Walking Onions have started to walk through the herb garden..I may need to find a more permanent home for them, where they will be able to freely roam where they will.

Transplanting Onion starts

 Life seems to be picking up speed at a rapid rate these days, so much going on with family and work... I sometimes wonder where I will find the time to garden...

My heart finds peace in the garden...I must find the time to make it happen!

This afternoon, I found a little time to get the onion starts out.

I used the new square foot planting boards Troy made.... and I love them!!!!

Setting a straight line and then using the planting board, sure made the job a whole lot easier.

 Approximately 150 Ailsa Craig onions planted down the row.The Singing Heart Surprise starts are doing quite well, I sure hope it's not a weed...Time, will tell!

 I transplanted them into an old wine barrel this afternoon, in order to keep them contained until I can figure out what the heck they are!

In the greenhouse this week

Cabbage, Broccoli, Onion & Lettuce starts are about ready to be planted in the garden.

They sure are enjoying their time in the greenhouse.

I also picked up this cute little Tiny Tim Tomato plant at our local grocery store....

It had me at hello...with that cute label and blossoms! 

Lucky for me Tiny Tim is an heirloom.