Onion Harvest

Look at this haul of onions!  I can hardly believe it.  Although last year my onions did very well also so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.  But it still amazes me that all this goodness came out of my garden...again, quite humbling.

Some of these onions are as big as my fist!  Amazing, isn't it?

These are my favorite onions, Texas 1015s.  When cooked, they are sweet and delicious.  But I don't like them raw. At All.  I'll eat almost anything, but I won't eat raw onions.  Ask my mom.  It used to drive her crazy when I was a kid.  I'd pick every single onion out of a dish. And I'll still do that...at least the raw uncooked ones.  But I digress :)  

Anyway, after picking these beauties, I let them dry in the sun for a little while, only a couple of hours because it's 95 degrees today!

Then they need to cure for about 2-3 weeks.  (Although I have used and continue to use them as I need to during this curing process.  They taste just fine...perfect as a matter of fact :)  Anyway, I'll leave them on these large cookie sheets and store them in a cool, well ventilated place in order for them to dry thoroughly.  I'll turn them frequently and make sure they stay cool and dry.  Once the sheaths become dry and paper-like, the sheaths can be cut and the onions stored in a cool dry place in a box or something like a colander so the air can circulate.  They should last about three months stored this way.  But the way I use onions, they likely won't last that long!

After I pulled all the onions, I prepped that garden bed for its next tenant:  sweet muskmelons!  I love fresh-from-the-garden summer cantaloupe.  It is one of those summer staples like tomatoes and basil.  I've had pretty good luck growing cantaloupe in past gardens.  Cantaloupe likes the hot Texas sun and as long as the plants stay well watered and the beetles are kept at bay, I usually get a pretty good crop.

So after I pulled all the onions, I gently turned the dirt with my pitchfork which revealed lots and lots of earthworms!  Lovely sight, but I didn't take any pictures because it was SO hot, I just wanted to finish the job!

After turning the dirt, I spread the last bag of that gorgeous compost I gathered a couple of weeks ago over the entire bed, watered it well...and Done!  Ready for the next crop...stay tuned :)