Onions, Onions, Onions
I love growing onions, of all colors, shapes, and sizes. I love starting my onions from seed. I love, love, love eating onions.
Each year I grow loads of onions, loads. Generally I harvest around 200 lbs of onions to eat throughout the year. That number doesn’t include green onions and leeks. We eat an AMAZING amount of onions. Many years ago, I decided to start growing them from seed myself, both because it saved me money and because you can find so many interesting varieties. In my experience, starting them from seeds makes them store longer. This past week I started 3 flats of onion seeds, I still have 3 more to get going this week. Onions are probably one of my most favorite crops to grow.
Do you grow onions? Have you started them from seed?
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Welcome Volunteers
Last summer I let overwintered carrots go to seed in the garden, the result was welcome volunteers here and there this spring. I left all the carrots seedlings that sprouted up here and there throughout the potager. Yesterday, I harvested a few of them to make soup.
There are a few things I allow to go to seed because I enjoy not having to plant them again. Cilantro, parsley, dill, kale, lettuce, and fennel are all things that sprout up here and there every spring. Sometimes I pull them up, most of the time I let them grow as they wish. The result is a lot of wonderful things that I didn’t have to plant myself.
What sorts of edible volunteers do you have in your garden?
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Winter Spinach
I’m currently writing an article for Grit magazine about growing spinach. For the article, I’ve been growing a few different varieties and taking photos of them.
One of the things I love most about spinach is its winter hardiness. Not only will it withstand the cold nights of late fall and early spring, it’s actually better because of it.
Spinach is such a useful crop for those of us that live in the colder climates. They extend the season and allow us to harvest food from our gardens for a much longer season. It can be seeded fairly late in the fall and very early in spring, thus not taking up garden space during the prime growing season.
What are you harvesting from the garden right now?
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Trying Something New
Every year I try a few new varieties of vegetables. I love endive and decided to try growing a few different types. Right now it’s coming into season, it mellows and gets a little less bitter with the cold. I tried them before our first frost and they were bitter, no doubt they’ve mellowed out a bit with the cold weather.
I tied up all the frisee this past weekend to blanch the hearts. I covered one with a bucket to see how that would work and it seems to be working. I’m trying to see which method will work best and be the easiest to manage. I also want to see if one method works better for cold protection.
I’m pretty excited about the radicchio as well, I buy it at the grocery store throughout the winter, I’d love to be able to grow at least some of what we eat.
I’m a huge fan of bitter greens, so endives are a natural choice for me. Growing them is a bit different than lettuce, I’m really enjoying the process of trying different types and learning to use them in the kitchen.
Do you grow any endive or chicories in the garden? Do you have a favorite variety?
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Hello Broccoli
My fall broccoli is turning out to be the best broccoli I’ve ever grown. I’m AMAZED at the beautiful heads, the size of them and the lushness of the plants. There hasn’t been a cabbage worm in sight either, though the turkeys have been sneaking out and nipping the broccoli leaves.
One of the best things about growing broccoli in the fall is that it doesn’t bolt. This head of broccoli has been standing in the garden for two weeks now. I’d rather leave them on the plant to keep nutrients in tact. It looks as if I’ll be eating a lot of broccoli this fall, what a wonderful way to extend the season when other vegetables are waning!
Have you ever grown broccoli as a fall crop?
