When the onion tops start to fall over, it is time to begin the onion harvest. Choose a time when the ground is dry and rain is not expected for a few days. The onions easily come right out of the soil. Most of them will go into winter storage, but some will be used in salsa, sweet pickles, chili sauce, and other canned products. It is important to dry the onions as quickly as possible. We lay them out in the sun for a few days, here under the watchful eye of Candy. Rain was in the forecast one night, so we moved them into the garage, and out again the next morning.
The rest of our early beets were harvested around the same time as the onions. Although beets don't store as well as onions, they can easily last in the refrigerator for a month, and are also very good for pickling and canning.
Using the hose, the dirt is washed off the beets. As soon as the water dries, the tops are removed and the beets are sorted by size. We had a very good crop of beets this year, and also made a second sowing, in the back garden, that will be harvested some time next month. Beet greens are edible, especially when they're young and tender, but the hens don't care how old these are. Nothing goes to waste when you have chickens.
After the onions have dried for several days, the tops and roots are cut off. We put them on racks in the basement for further drying for a month or so, until they are placed in mesh bags for winter storage.
