Stocking the Pantry
This time of year the pantry, root cellar, and freezer start to fill up once again. I always am amazed by how full the freezer gets, I think I’ll never be able to eat all the vegetables tucked away inside. Then, come March, I’m thankful that I spent the effort to freeze all the garden bounty. For the most part, the vegetables I freeze last us until spring greens are available from the garden once again. While I do buy a few vegetables here and there throughout the winter months, the majority of it comes from the freezer.
One of the things I’m most thankful for in the winter: onions. I grow loads of alliums: leeks, onions, shallots, potato onions, and scallions. Having a full year’s supply of onions in the pantry is a wonderful feeling. Most of them get put into baskets and are stored in an unheated bedroom upstairs, but I can’t resist making a few braids to hang in the pantry off the kitchen. Every time I come and go they bring a smile to my face.
What’s your favorite item to grow for storing?
Susy, my favorite thing to store is potatoes. They don’t require freezing or canning just a cool dark dry place to wait until used. I’m trying to be as simple with storage as I can. Of course most things need some kind of processing to be stored for Winter consumption. Onions would be a good one to store but I would have to store them in the garage. My basement store room would not be cold enough at 60 degrees. The garage stays above freezing in the Winter at about 40 degrees on the coldest days and a little warmer on the not so cold days.
Have a great stocking the pantry day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
I read and enjoy your blog everyday but haven’t lef t a comment. I have a question about onions. I raised the best onions this year that I ever have and they were Walla Walla Sweets. I thought they were ready to harvest so I pulled them and placed them on a large screened frame to dry. After that I braided the tops and hung them up and they all started rotting. I don’t know what I did wrong or if it’s the type of onion. Can you help? Thanks!
to Cathy Walker's comment