July 23, 2014
zucchini, tomatoes, mixed carrots, red onion
Tomatoes, squash, carrots, onions.
Tomatoes and zucchini are picked every day. This is the secret to keeping the zucchini crop under control.
Pick zucchini every day or every other day. The small ones are tender, no need to peel.
Onions are the first thing planted in the garden every year. Planting time is 4-6 weeks before the last average frost date. The garlic was planted last fall. So, onions are the first and last thing planted in my garden.
Most of the onions were lifted a couple of weeks ago. I found a few more of the sweet red onions today. These few onions were planted near cabbage and carrot companion plants.
The only alium remaining in the garden are leeks. I’ll just pull them up, as needed. Leeks can be harvested anytime.
Onions
Red Torpedo Tropea: Sweet, red, and mild flavored.
Torpedo shaped onions originally from Italy.
These open pollinated torpedo shaped sweet onions have a keeping potential of about three months.
This sweet onion comes from Tropea, Italy. Tropea is known for exquisite cooking and locally grown red onions. In Italy, 5 or 6 onions are braided together and tied on a nail for display.
Tropea don’t last long because they are so sweet. We use a lot more onions when we have plenty on hand. These are good cooked in recipes or raw in salad dishes. To stretch out the Red Torpedo Onion season, make a jar of pickled onions to keep in the fridge.
Pickle these red onions in good white wine vinegar and end up with a jar of pink pickled onions. A perfect side served with sandwiches.
The pink onion flavored wine vinegar is the best thing to happen to homemade salad dressings. Add it to potato salads and coleslaw as well as topping cooked greens like spinach and collards.
Find pickled onion and pickled garlic recipes on my Pinterest page: canning, preserving, smoking.
