I learn new things every year, and the yield from my garden grows likewise. For example, years ago I harvested twisted, pathetic carrots, but then I learned that they grow better in loose soil. I've also learned that there is no point trying to grow cucumbers without a greenhouse in Sweden, and I've learned that pumpkins need sex.
Some vegetables are notoriously difficult. I have been told numerous times that it is extremely difficult to grow cauliflower or broccoli organically, because they are almost always destroyed by bugs. Did I listen? No. I planted cauliflower this year anyway. And guess what! It was destroyed by bugs.
But some vegetables are just so easy to grow, that I never had a problem. Never knew it could be a problem. Potatoes and onions are great examples. These veg have been planted in our garden and harvested year after year without mishap. I was careful to rotate my crops, and hill my potatoes; and considering my excellent yield, I thought that was all I needed to know.
WRONG!
I harvested 44 onions this year, but only 9 of them were of an average size. All of the others came out tiny. Some bulbs didn't develop at all. So I ended up with a bunch of these, which I needed to use three of in a recipe calling for one onion.
The reason? For some odd reason my onions put on seed pods this year. This is not supposed to happen in first year onions. If you don't harvest your onion and leave it in the ground during the winter, then it will put on a seed pod year two.
This is important if you need seeds, but I needed onions! Apparently you can't have both. The plant will put all of its energy into developing the pod, instead of developing the bulb.
Why did my first year bulbs grow pods? I don't know. But I now know what I should have done... Cut the pods off! Early! That way the developing plant will put its energy where it should. In the onion. Lesson learned.
Potatoes are another easy plant for me. Usually. But this year we stupidly put our water sprinkler in the middle of the potato patch, instead of outside of it, and as a result, they got way too much water. The vines withered and died, so we had to harvest earlier than expected. And when we pulled them up, we had to throw away about 20 % of them because they were soft.
We got a decent turn out anyway, about 30 kilos. I had visions of eating my harvest well into the fall.
But pulling them up all at once, instead of as needed, meant storing them. Our house has a root cellar, which up until now has housed extra roof tiles and flower pots. I was excited to actually put some food down there!
I stored the potatoes in buckets that had ventilation holes drilled into them. This turned out to be my second mistake. Ventilation holes do not provide nearly enough ventilation for potatoes. Especially damp potatoes. Over half our yeild rotted within a week.
Potatoes want to be laid flat so they get lots of circulation. Placing a few apples among them is also an excellent idea, as the apples will absorb moisture. Moisture causes potatoes to shrivel and sprout.
So needless to say, we were buying potatoes at the store by the beginning of September. Another lesson learned!
Nature teaches us new lessons all the time, as was the case with my onions. But we also learn from our mistakes. If I hadn't over-watered my potatoes, I wouldn't have learned how to properly store them. Now I am ready for my next potato harvest, which will fill my root cellar to the ceiling, I'm sure!
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