Storing Carrots

I harvested most of my carrots this week. Bumper crop! HOORAY!  Now, what to do with them?

Carrots need love too!

Here are some of the ways we store our carrots:

• We make smoothies with carrots, apples, etc.  But it's difficult in the winter when you don't have any fresh fruit or veg.  So, we juice some of our carrots and make ice cubes with the juice.  We take them out of the trays and put them in freezer bags to later use for smoothies.
• We store whole carrots in wooden boxes filled with sand.   A layer of sand, then a layer of carrots, a layer of sand...  and so on.  They will store this way through the winter in our garage.  (We don't have a root cellar - yet.)

Just a few notes about storing carrots:

• Carrots like to be stored in cool - moist - conditions.  We spray just a bit of water on our carrots as we layer them with sand, and occasionally through the winter we will spritz the top of the sand with a little water.
• Temperature is important - they need to be kept cool.  But more important is even temperature - a fluctuation of even 5-10 degrees can cause carrots to rot or grow - not good.
• Cut the top growth back to 1/2" but don't cut off the tip - that can cause rot too.

Carrots are good and good for you - so store some to use over the winter!

Get your hands dirty!

Egyptian Onions

This plant would be very comfortable in Dr. Seuss’ garden, it is quite a conversation piece.  It goes by many names: Egyptian Onions, Tree Onions, Walking Onions, Egyptian Tree Onions, Multiplying Onions, Top-Set Onions… I’ve even heard it called a Medusa Onion.  It’s botanical name is Allium x Proliferum. It has come by it’s various names from it's growth habits.  Where you would find the flowers on a traditional onion you find a group of small top-set onions or bulblets. Many times one of these little bulblets will send up it’s own stalk with more, even smaller, bulblets of it’s own – each of which will produce a new plant next year. This branching habit is what earned it the name Tree Onion. As these bulblets grow larger and heavier they eventually become too heavy for the plant to bear and it falls over – sometimes as far as two feet away from the base of the parent plant. After it falls to the ground it quickly sends out roots.  If you don’t keep these harvested or move them where you want them to grow they will literally walk across your yard. (i.e. Walking Onions) The Medusa Onion is somewhat self-explanatory – they tend to look like Medusa’s head of snakes.

But, what do you do with them?

Well, let me tell you. This is such a versatile plant:

• The young shoots are used like green onions or chives – tender and delicious. They are growing long before you have even planted your green onions so you can eat them earlier in the spring.
• The top-set bulblets are great pickled. They are a little tedious to peel, so I will just smash them with the side of a knife like you would garlic, remove the skin and put them through a garlic press. Delicious on hamburgers, or really anywhere you would use onion powder or onions in general.
• They are a little more spicy than some of your normal onions – enjoy!
• The stalks will get quite large in length and circumference.  We’ve had some as big around as a golf ball. They are hollow inside - great for stuffing like you would stuff a pepper; and then grilled.
• The onion at the bottom (underground) does not get bulbous (round) like a traditional onion; But is still delicious used like any normal onion.

Wow! What a versatile plant is this! How many other plants have so many uses?


This onion has fallen to the ground and taken root.


It must be hard to grow?

NO – This is probably the easiest plant you will ever grow. I often give away top sets as PassAlong Plants to friends and neighbors. When they ask how to plant it I tell them to throw it on the ground where they want the plant to grow. They look at me like I’m crazy – which I may be, but that has nothing to do with onions – and I reassure them that is all it takes. If you really want a lot of them quickly separate the bulblets and plant them individually about 6” apart. Next year you’ll have a great start – the following year you’ll have so many you’ll have PassAlong Plants to share with your friends and neighbors! It survives extreme summers and winters, droughts and floods, green thumbs and brown thumbs alike. It is a very hardy perennial. Plant it once and you'll have free onions for years to come – what could be better than that!

Get your hands dirty!

Storing Potatoes for the Winter

Well, the potato plants are dead.  That means the potatoes are done and ready to dig!  So, dig in!

Actually it is not critical that you dig the potatoes immediately, you can leave them for a week or two and they will be just fine.  However, if you are getting a lot of rain you probably don't want to wait.  If the ground is very wet those potatoes you've worked so hard to grow this summer will quickly rot.  I use a garden fork or spade (and my hands) to dig my potatoes.  Dig several inches away from the plants trying not to get too close thus damaging those big beautiful spuds.  As I loosen the soil I stick my hands in the soil and feel around for the potatoes.  Try to get them all - you don't want potato plants coming up in the middle of your peppers next year.  If you do cut or stab a potato - don't fuss - just eat those first, as they will not store well.

Some potatoes store better than others.  If you are growing several different types make sure to eat the ones that don't store well first.

It's important that you prepare your potatoes for storing.  I lay mine out in a single layer on newspaper in a cool dry place and cover them with another sheet of newspaper.  It helps them to Harden Off - their skins will toughen up, allowing them to store longer.  If you can store your potatoes out of light they will also store longer - the light will make them sprout.  When I was growing up we always had a potato bin that we kept our potatoes in.  I recently found a website with plans for a simple Potato Bin.  If you don't have one and are not inclined to make one, just use a container that keeps the light out.  Then keep them in a cool room - not a cold room, just cool.

Occasionally you will want to go through your potatoes and take any that are rotting out as they will make the whole bunch rot in no-time. 

If you follow these simple guidelines your potatoes should store for several months providing you with many delicious and nutritious meals.  Happy potato storing!

Get your hands dirty!

Tomato Seed Saving

Now is the time to save seeds from your Heirloom tomatoes.  Haven't done it before?  No worries - it's easy!!

Choose a ripe, perfect tomato – maybe even a little over-ripe.

Cut it in half.

Squeeze the seeds, gel, and juice out into a small bowl or jar.

Fill the container with two to three inches of water.

Label your container so you know which variety of tomato you saved seeds from. (You might think you will remember, but you won’t – label them!)

Set the labeled jar in an out-of-the way spot (not in direct sunlight) and wait.

After about three days, a film will start to form on the surface of the water. This means that the gelatinous coating on the seeds is dissolving.  It will turn to a white moldy, yucchy stuff.

Once you get white mold, pour it and any seeds that are floating (they won't germinate).  Keep all of the seeds sitting at the bottom of the bowl.
*You may have to repeat steps 6-8 a couple of times to make sure you get rid of all of the gelatin-like substance around the seeds.

After you've poured the mold and bad seeds off, drain your seeds through a fine mesh strainer (a painter’s cloth strainer works good) and rinse under running water. Move the seeds around with your fingers to remove any extra gel that may be clinging to them.

Put the rinsed seeds on a paper plate (Again, you won't remember what it is if you don't label it!) It is important to use paper plates or something similar - not your good china. You need something that will wick the water away from the seeds so they will dry and not get moldy.

Make sure your seeds are in a single layer on the plate, and set it aside a few days (away from any drafts - you don't want your seeds to get blown away!) so the seeds can completely dry.

Once they're dry, put them in a labeled envelope, or other paper container (Not a baggie or jar – they will get moldy) and store in a cool, dark, dry spot. I don’t like to keep mine in the fridge like a lot of people say you should because it is too cold and slows down the germination next year.

Tomato seeds will keep well and germinate reliably for 4-5 years if stored properly.

So, If you haven't collected seeds before, give it a try!  Get your hands dirty!

Tomato Blossom End Rot

First it just looks icky on the bottom of the tomato - like it has a water blister. Then it turns kind of brown -  like an apple that fell on the floor yesterday and has a big brown bruise.  Finally the bottom starts to become concave and turns almost black.  All things you do not want to see on your tasty tomatoes that you've been tenderly looking after since early spring. 

     "But what is it?  And more importantly, what can I do about it?!!" 

It is known as The Dreaded Tomato Blossom End Rot.  (Actually just tomato blossom end rot - I added the dreaded part, if you get it in your garden you probably will add the dreaded too)  It is a relatively common garden problem. 

• Good News - It is not a disease and is not contagious to the other plants around it in your garden! 
• Bad News - It is a physiological disorder caused by a calcium imbalance in the plant.  Which means that it is possible that other plants in your garden - namely Pepper, Squash, Cucumber and Melons - could have the same problem.

But don't despair. 

There are a few factors that can effect a plant's ability to take up calcium:

• Fluctuations in soil moisture (too wet or too dry),
• Too much nitrogen in the soil,
• Root damage due to cultivation,
• Soil pH that’s either too high or too low (Should be around 6.5),
• Cold soil,
• Soil high in salts

Now we come to the "What to do??" area:

1. Be consistent with you watering. Uneven watering is the #1 reason for B.E.R. Water thoroughly, and deeply. Roots and leaves will take the available soil moisture first leaving the little baby tomatoes to suffer if the soil gets dry. If you're not sure if the ground is too dry or too soggy, stick your hand in the soil and feel it - So many people seem afraid to do this. Are you a gardener or what? Get your hands dirty!
2. In cold climates, allow soil to warm before planting; cold soils can limit nutrient uptake.  Consider using raised beds if the problem persists.
3. Maintain soil pH at or near 6.5.
4. Use fertilizers that are low in nitrogen and high in phosphorous.
5. Apply mulch to minimize evaporation and help maintain consistent soil moisture.
6. When planting (next spring) sprinkle some Epsom Salts in the planting bed and mix in well. 

"But, I have this dreaded problem right now and need a fix - not a prevention!!"

Don't Panic!  If you are currently dealing with this problem - and why else would you be reading this - then there are some things you can do. 
Usually blossom end rot is confined to the first crop of tomatoes when your baby plants have little bitty shallow roots and growth is running rapid. 

• Pick and discard the effected fruit, as it will start to rot quickly - (none of us wants rotting fruit in the middle of our pristine gardens). 
• Follow all of the steps above that can be done at this point in the growing season. 

If the problem persists there are products on the market like Tomato Rot-Stop.  While I have never used these products they claim that you simply spray it on your plants and it will be absorbed into the plant stopping the B.E.R.  If anyone out there has used these products please comment and let us know the results.
If none of these things work for you contact your local extension agency as you may have some other issue that we have not covered here.

Good luck and get dirty!

A Man Without Zucchini is a Man Without a Friend

Well, it's that time of year again, The Invasion of the Zucchinis!  When nefarious neighbors leave you a little gift on your front porch at midnight; when the front counter at the office suddenly has a box labelled "Free - Please Take Some".  There is no shortage of friends who want to give you some of their Zucchini.

It kind of makes you wonder why people continue to grow it when it is so readily available.  So, I Googled - "Why grow Zucchini?".  I found plenty of sights on How to grow zucchini, not a lot on Why.  I think it comes down to the gardener in all of us - we grow things just so we can see what they do.  I grew 8-ball zucchini a few years ago - because they were different.  And do you know what?  They were different.  Who knew.

Now, I don't want to come across as and anti-zucchinite - some of my best meals have been Zucchinis!  In fact the Zucchini is a very versatle veggie.  It can even be frozen for use in those wintery months when the only gardening you can do is read about it on some crazy gardener's blog.  (If you blog about gardening are you a Blogging Gardener or a Gardening Blogger?)  To make a long story short - too late; You need to shred the zucchini if you want to store it for later use - freezing it whole just leaves you with some squishy, non-useable muck (Even my chickens don't like it).

So, get freezing, or eating, or baking, or steaming that wonderful zucchini!  Or, make those midnight trips to your neighbors front porch with your garden gift - no need for a card.