I pulled most of the rest of the onions today. Saturday starts a wetter period, so I figured I'd get them out before they get wet yet again. Right now they are curing on the garden path, but tomorrow I'll need to move them to the drying rack over the compost pile. There they will be under a tarp. I don't think they will fit if I keep it like it is now. So I'm going to see if I can do the drying rack a bit differently.
I'm going to tie the long bamboo poles together so they are about 2" apart. I want to be able to have the leafy parts go down through the bamboo and hang. And I want the bulbs on top to dry. I think I can fit a lot in that way. I'm hoping. I have a lot of onions in there.
I only had one blooming Copra onion this year. All the rest were good which is much better than in previous years. Unlike my zucchini I think they did better under their row cover then out in the open. The netting row cover though is very light and lets rain, sun, and wind through quite well. I can't use it for a zucchini though as it would just tear the cover apart. So next year I'll do it again. I do need a taller row cover though. The tops really had to bend over to fit.
I left a couple of the Ailsa Craig onions in. I'm wondering if they will store better in ground than cured. They are a sweet onion and usually store for about 2 months after they are harvested. If they store well this way I think I might run them down the middle of the row next year. I need the side areas for the kale that will get planted before the rain starts. Usually I grow cilantro down the middle, but the onions work too.
It sounds like your over the compost drying station is working for you. I never thought it worth the space to grow my own onions, but this year I'm a convert. I just hope I have as much success next year as this and that it wasn't just beginner's luck.
ReplyDeleteThey are very nice and large this year for you. I tried leaving onions in, but they re-sprouted and main bulb rotted away. They did make good spring onions for the following spring.
ReplyDeleteThose are nice big good looking onions you have there.
ReplyDeleteYour onions look so big! I'm still waiting patiently for my tops to fall over. My shallots started from seed, however, fell over about a week or so ago - and since then we have had quite a bit of rain. I didn't really think to pull them before the rain started & now I'm just waiting for the soil to dry out a bit before I pull them - hopefully this is the right decision. Not really sure what I'm doing on this front, so I'm hoping I don't mess up their storage ability too badly.
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