The Summer Tsunami

A regular follower asked the other day about when is it time to pick your onions. A lot of gardening is intuitive but when it comes to vegetables and fruits for that matter, you want to stay on top of their best pick date. If you sunk a few dollars and your treasured time into your plantings, picking and storing them becomes equally important as growing them. I always rely on University links or farmers when it comes to info on any crop. In this case, this comprehensive link is compliments of the University of Minnesota’s extension program. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg7619.html

So gardeners and foodies beware: this is harvest time for many fruits and vegetables because right now, the heat is on. If you are growing your crops correctly, the warm season veggie and fruit tsunami is upon you. This may be a good vintage year particularly for fruits, especially peaches. Yumbo. So if you can handle the heat, then get picking, storing, freezing, canning, pickling; whatever suits your farming fancy. Pay attention to the season and when each fruit or veggie is at its best. The marathon is on to keep this freshness preserved for those sooner than you think winter months so get those canning jars and freezer bags ready. Now’s the time to think beyond the five day spoil factor and get creative. There are some great books out there on preserving so get your test kitchen prepared and put your mad scientist cap on and get cranking. Here’s another from the vault on freezing fresh fruits. http://blog.bilowzassociates.com/2009/07/freezing-fresh-fruits-quick-easy-way-to.html

For our inspirational thought to weave into our onion theme, we use one of Erma Bombeck’s infamous lines. “Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time.” Not a recommendation for winter storage unless you are a college student. Stay cool. Annie

Cartoon Image from the Internet