a few roots in my garden

Onions

I have never done well with growing my own onions. Most of them die or stay small. I still don’t know what I have done wrong. This year I have many, over 400. And they are growing nicely. Too nicely in fact. I was only expecting half to grow, that’s why I bought so many. Last year I hung the ones I had in a nylon stocking in my coat closet. {We all smelled like onions in the winter} This year we will have to clean out the cellar and try to keep them in there. I am grateful that I do use a lot of onions in my cooking.

I walked out the other day and found that some of my plants where growing flowers. Oddly enough I found this thrilling, next year I will try and grow onions from seed. I have read the books and I am prepared.

Potatoes

I have had trouble with them as well. The first year they didn’t want to grow, the next they were flooded out. This year we went the route of the lazy bed. The lazy bed is a very wide and tall row, and instead of burying the seed potatoes, you cover them with straw. All of the seed potatoes that we planted are sprouting. Now if someone could tell us how to keep the wheat {from the straw} from growing. But because of this, we are going to go ahead and try growing and grinding our own grains.

Sweet potatoes
Last year I had wonderful sweet potato vines, no roots. This year we are trying again.

Peanuts

Last year’s harvest was ok. We ate only a few, and then placed the rest in a nylon stocking and hung them in the barn to dry out. We left them there all winter to be planted this spring. I actually did something right! They are growing. My plan is to have enough peanuts to make 12 quarts of peanut butter and enough to replant next year. {And we started 3 grape vines for the jelly}

Garlic

My garlic died last year, all of it. Turns out that it is best planted in the fall and left over winter. I will try again at that time.

Carrots

My first year with carrots was a good one. The boys would go out and pull them right out of the ground to eat. {Sometimes they washed them first} The next year, I only got one. I found a sandy spot in the garden and planted them close to the tomato plants. Looks like a good year.

The picture above is of the onions that were ready to bolt. This is the same amont that I had in total last year.