07/09/2026
Post for people who love onions! Is that you?! Well, I just love onions. Full stop. Last year, I made the fatal mistakes of not enough research and mulching what I planted. Hopes dashed, they didn't like that, not one bit, and withered away. This year, I tried again, planting red, white, yellow, and sweet sets, about half of what you see in the first pic (those dried little crispy bébé bulbs hold so much magic!), in my fav spot for things that need constant tending, and phewf, did I tend! 😅 The onions became my pets, I would fuss over them, brushing dirt from their shoulders (they like to breathe!) and trying to keep the weeds at bay. I had coffee with them and walked among them, loving them. The June dryness did nothing favors except the onions. They turned sunshine into these glorious jewels and reached their greens (which feel almost like a succulent, thick and powerful, a hollow sound when you flick them) skyward, inspiring me to dream of cool days and rich soups featuring ONIONS. Some of them got so big that I started having visions of entering them into the state fair! "Lila and her blue ribbon onions!" Hahaha. Anyway, onions are ready when they flop their leaves and start to brown...about half of them complied on schedule and I hung them in the barn to cure. The other half, mostly the sweet onions, just loved our coffee chats and reaching skyward so much, a few started to bloom (swoon)! suggested gently folding them down to tell them it was time. I did. But then it rained buckets for a week, and so I pulled them last night, between forecasts of more rain. Did I turn each one upside down to drip off extra moisture like wet hair after a shower? Yes. Were a few mushy in spots? Yes. (I brought those in and cut the good parts out to sauté tout de suite). Now I shall putter about over the rest laid on racks with a fan attempting to circulate and dry them a bit before they hang. So that is my onion odyssey thus far. Mostly success this year, invigorated to do it again, maybe even in the fall? I can't believe I have so much to say about onions. 😅🧅✨
