Lettuces are the limit of our harvesting this week. And at this point they’re used up as well, so until they start growing again in the spring we’re out of lettuces. It is very nice to live in a place where we can grow them March to June, and October to December. These January pickings were a nice bonus.
Lettuces to tempt El-ahrair-rah
We’ve been eating butter beans, cream peas, herbs, celery, tomato sauce, and winter squash from the larder this past week. Every Friday we make a new menu for the next week, so that we know what (if anything) we need to purchase at stores on Saturday. Then we post the menu on the refrigerator — all printed out nice with formatting and everything. I’ve been saving the weekly menu print-outs for several years now, they make quite a stack of paper.
Here are some pictures of the onion seedlings under their lights in the basement:
Happy happy onion seedlings
Another tray of happy onions
Lights in a dark basement
Outside it is bright and sunny, but cold. It was 24 degrees yesterday as a low. In the container in the foreground here you can see a volunteer dill plant bravely attempting to become a perennial.
Winter Garden
Tags: Harvest, North Carolina, onion seeds, Southern, Victory Garden, Winter
January 16, 2012 at 11:11 am |
Wow! The onions are doing great! Nice setup!
January 16, 2012 at 11:13 am |
What a joy to have a long growing season. When did you start your onion seed. I am planning on getting mine going this week.
January 16, 2012 at 4:36 pm |
We started the onions on December 27, a full month earlier than last year because we want to set out more mature onions this year. We plan to transplant these out in the first half of March, depending on what the weather is doing then.
January 16, 2012 at 11:38 am |
Any harvest is a great harvest! And those onions look wonderful! Maybe I’ll start some of those under my lights as well! Do you transplant them out when the weather warms?
January 16, 2012 at 11:52 am |
You are set up really well. I wish I had enough room to do that. Heck I wish I had a basement! The onions look great and I hope the dill makes it through until spring.
January 16, 2012 at 11:58 am |
Jealous of that lettuce! We are currently just too cold at night for lettuces to grow well but I do have some coming along to fill in the gap soon. Your onion seedlings are a nice stand of healthy plants. I have been struggling to get mine to germinate this year. Not sure what is going on but I am on try number two at the moment and they are not exactly racing to emerge. I may have to reseed yet again.
January 16, 2012 at 4:39 pm |
We had really early and quick germination this year. I think it’s because I put them on the heat mats this year. Last year I think I just set them on the table; they eventually germinated, but not as robustly as these. Hopefully they’ll continue to grow well! This past year was the first time we’ve grown what you would call a “real onion” and even most of those were smallish… Hence, trying to start them a bit earlier this year as well.
January 16, 2012 at 2:23 pm |
I love seeing onion seedlings reaching towards the lights. Especially since they are the first seeds I sow for the spring garden.
Beautiful lettuce harvest. I miss my greens.
January 16, 2012 at 6:08 pm |
Your lettuce looks great! Your onions look like they are coming along nicely too. I wish I had a basement.
Lynn
January 16, 2012 at 6:37 pm |
I’m jealous of your lettuce. It’s just too cold for lettuce for us this time of the year. Our lows are in the teens and the lettuce just can’t hold up.
Your onions look great!!
January 16, 2012 at 8:35 pm |
Happy, happy onions. Lucky you can transplant out your onions early march our grounds may still be partially frozen.
January 16, 2012 at 9:17 pm |
Nice to have fresh lettuce in January! I love the idea of your weekly menus and saving them.. maybe someday I can try to be that organized.
January 18, 2012 at 1:17 pm |
Ooooo, those lettuces look lovely. Like a modern day Rapunzel story.
January 24, 2012 at 9:55 am |
I’m having a lettuce gap as well; hoping to have more planted this fall to carry over this mid winter time next year. I’ve gotten so used to all the different flavors in my own salad mix that ordinary salad from the store tastes very bland!
January 25, 2012 at 1:35 am |
Your onions look amazing! To me, lettuce is the most rewarding crop in the garden!