A bad onion season a few years back, I did this. I cut out the bad, chopped the rest and caramelized them in the crockpot. Then I froze it in 1 cup portions in ziplocks. Really salvaged the onions in an appealing way.
Here in Slovenia have a saying/proverb: "Drought takes half of the harvest, a lot of rains takes everything". I'm glad you're processing/drying this onions, so not completely lost. Keep up the good work.
This happens a lot down here in New Orleans because we're wet and humid. Go through and cut out the bad and save what you can. You can soak in vinegar and water if keeping the good onion pieces makes you never. Getting a little out of the bad onions is better than getting nothing
My parents movec to Amite and they want me to come help them start a garden next year. I’m trying to learn as much as possible about that area because I grow in Missouri and it’s very different here. Thanks for the heads up about onions.
Ive had that several times. I try to cut back on watering as they get ready to pull. The ones that I do get mold on, i just cut it up and remove all the mold and maybe one more layer then chop and freeze. I had fresh chopped onions for over a year and it was great.
Good to know! I cut back like I normally do, but the rain had terrible timing this year. Almost wonder if creating a cover would help me in those situations!
I’m so very sorry. It was so wonderful of you to share what happened so we can all learn about what to look out for. I know next season will be amazing for you. 💕💕💕
I’m so sorry! Any type of loss in the garden is devastating. I had major loss with my corn this year so I completely empathize. Wishing you a successful harvest next year 🥰
Same! I had to Google it to figure out what was wrong with my corn. Found out apparently it was a fungus called corn smut. Which I then learned is a delicacy in Mexico. Apparently Chefs pay top dollar for it. So good news is it wasn’t a total failure, after all I grew a rare crop. Bad news, I don’t know any Chefs that are willing to buy it. 😜😂
I am so sorry for your loss of onions . But please don't be upset everything is a learning process and you are amazing at what you do in the garden. You have taught me so much and I am about to soon start my first garden. YOU ROCK BRE.... 💪 And I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS ❤
Hello from Abilene, KS. I had the same issues with my onions this year. The wind and the rain. Next year, I will put some type of fencing horizontal 8 inches or so above my onions to support the leaves. I hope that will help.
I had a loss as well I had a 137 tomato plants in my polly tunnel during the evening I went to water the garden and polly tunnel only to see all the leaves on my Tom's had been scorched by the sun. I had to rush out and buy shade cloths . I have only about 30 plants left now the burnt ones gave up and died. So upsetting I know how you feel I could of cried.
RIP moldy onions. 😢. I completely understand being upset. That’s a big bummer! I do love how you framed the shot of you under that sunflower, what a fun perspective. I also didn’t know chickens sing when they lay an egg, thanks for teaching me that!
I live in Kansas as well, possibly the same city as you and I had the exact same thing happen. This was my first year growing onions, and they were beautiful! I grew the same variety of onion as you and put them in my garage to cure. Thought all was good until I started to clean them up. I ended up chopping and putting in the freezer. Hope we have a better year next year!!
Ugh this is just devastating. Thank you for making this - such high highs in gardening but the lows can be SO low. I wish this had not happened to you, but documenting it for other gardeners is really helpful.
I am so, so sorry about the crop loss. I had a massive failure in my garden this spring when I innocnetly put dairy compost on my young garden; everywhere. Grow bags, Greenstalks, raised beds, pots… I herbicide contaminated my entire garden and had to rip out three beds. I was devastated for weeks. So I get it. Must be even harder when you thought you’d grown everything successfully. World’s biggest digital hug! 🤗
Oh dear. You poor thing. 😢 We have very humid conditions in Australia. If it makes you feel better, often in the green grocer stores here you can buy sacks of onions with the black mould on it. They just don’t store so well in long term larder storage. But they are fine to just cut off and slice for freezing as a form of storage. This isn’t the case for premium grade onions - which are heaps more expensive. I’m really hoping that next year you will have much less of this mould issue. You did such an amazing job this year. Hold fast and try again because you did such a wonderful job!! ❤
Was about to say, I find it hard to buy red onions that don't have mould at the stem base. They won't store, but you can still eat the bottoms. Maybe a good candidate for the onion powder reserves.
I live in southwest Missouri and the rain was INSANE this year. My whole garden took a hit 😭 usually I have so much zucchini squash and cucumbers to last me, my friends and my family for a year. This year I had enough to make FOUR loaves of zucchini bread and 10 pints of pickles. My tomato’s aren’t producing as much, my onions were similar to yours..I’ve came in from my garden countless times this year just crying. It’s sad, but we learn, and there’s always another year. Here’s to hopefully a better harvest next year🤞
I’m in Saint Charles and I think it rained 3 days the entire summer here. I have had an awful growing season but I’m planting out fall crops hoping to make up for it. Sorry for your season as well. It’s a bummer all around.
Every garden season is a mystery. We can never know what will happen. You didn't do anything wrong. It's always disappointing when things do not turn out the way we hoped. 🌻
@@Cindyscrossstitch I always think of the pioneers how they managed each year. No place to order seed or share with neighbors. It’s a wonder how they survived.
Oh, Bre, I'm so sorry that you lost so many onions! I know you are sad and disappointed, but you will come back from this even stronger and with more knowledge! You still inspire me!
So sorry Miss Bre.... I know too, how heartbreaking it is when the babies you've nurtured from germination fail or don't thrive. It's such an investment of blood, sweat, heart and soul that can crush one's spirit. It's historical as any farmer or gardener will attest to. It's ok to grieve it. There is hope and purpose to then push through the pain and try again. Thanks for all your inspiration. xo
I am so heartbroken for you!! knowing how much effort you put into those onions and your pure excitement after harvest. I am so sorry that this happened! thank you for sharing your missteps and teaching us. I am so sad for the harvest lost, but know you will come back with a killer harvest next year! ❤
Hi Bre, I'll say it was during storage, mostly due to light and moisture in the ambiance. They may be perfectly fine and suddenly they get all moldy because condensation builds up on the bulbs during storage. Don't store them close to walls. What hurts the most is that they'll probably were good until not long ago, rain came and screwed everything up.
the sunflower looks like it's a shower head - awwww! i'm so sorry about your onions. we had terrible rains up north here too, and sooooooo many of my strawberries got wrecked. weather is fickle everywhere. i'm glad you've got a freeze dryer to salvage the onions you do have. however, you are truly inspirational! thank you for sharing both the good and not so good with us all
Bre! I am so sorry this happened. So heartbreaking! You’re holding up better than I would I think lol thank you for sharing, been loving watching your journey
Ugh 😢 i felt your loss in my own stomach 😅 they were gorgeous, brag worthy onions! I got onion root maggots (never even heard of that) this spring for the first time and lost all my onions except my red ones. Hopefully we both have a bumper crop next year. I love my onions and garlic as well
I love Kohlrabi! It's native here in Germany and when it's in season I eat it almost every day raw or in soups, the greens as an addition to salad or cooked! I just love this type of cabbage where you can eat really everything!
The heartache of losing months of hard work in just minutes is a reminder of the unpredictability of gardening and life itself. Your resilience in the face of such challenges is truly admirable, and it's clear that your passion for nurturing the earth will carry you through this setback. And I am Floating Village Life, Hit follow and let's explore together!
To think growing up we got fish and kelp for free to beef up our gardens ❤. This was 60 years ago I knew my parents taught us valuable tools. Now we have no room for a garden…sad😢. Perfect size garden! My father was great. Sorry for your loss. There was 11 of us so not much loss
Ugh that sucks about your onion harvest 😮😢 you put so much hard work and effort into your beautiful garden. I hope you're able to figure out what happened, and you will keep getting better and better❤❤❤
Sorry to hear that about your onions. You were really happy about that harvest. There's going to be loses though. Every garden will have something messed up that the gardener has to fight. Hope that next year is better.
Bre you're still good! The main reason I watch your channel is that we both share a passion for Alliums. I am in central Florida and have to deal with a TON of humidity storing all my onion varieties. I start harvesting in May and finish my later varieties in mid-July. Like you, I usually still have usable onions into late January early February. That late in the storage season, they all begin to have a layer of black mold. This is what is awesome about onions though...LAYERS! I cut through the outer layers that are affected and get to the inner protected layers and they are firm and perfectly fine. Its like built in security levels. Remove and discard the affected layer and the inner onion is perfect and firm. Not one issue ever using them like this. Rinse thoroughly of course. Hole this helps. Love your channel!
Hello, I found your channel a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed catching up and watching your beautiful garden, I'm so sorry you lost all the onions. You'll have to remember to sanitize your racks for next years crop. Good luck with your autumn garden. I'm looking forward to seeing everything you are growing . Sending love from our family to yours x 🥦🌽🫑🍅
Your videos are always so real, with the ups and downs, it's really refreshing ! But your onions are not really lost ! I was also very happy with the new soil I was experimenting with, until I found out most store soil is made with peat, and harvesting it is very detrimental to the environment... So I'm back to compost, experimenting with everything dead I can put my hands on. So I'm guessing, what I'm trying to say, is that those onions are not edible, but you can return them to the ground, and they will feed other vegetables, and so on ! Nothing is ever lost forever in gardening !
I had the same issues with dozens of my onions. Same as you, had a wonderful harvest. Once dried I found many soft onions and at least 2 dozen with the same black mold. Never seen it before.
I get mold here in MN all the time. If the onion feels firm then I'll cut/peel off a layer past where the mold ends then make a giant pot of caramelized onions with what I can save. Freezes great!
So sorry to see the terrible onion harvest you've had!! This year was not my year for tomatoes, they all got taken out by pests. Just wanted to let you know that I received a whole 40lb box of onions from Azure that had the same problem. I was able to peel most of them down to nice white, firm flesh. Then rinsed everything, chopped them up and froze them in vacuum sealed bags.
I just love how this shows you putting your heart and soul into something you love to do, despite major challenges. You're an inspiration and this is such valuable information you're sharing. I'm a gardener too. I lost some beautiful onion seedlings that I started from seed within about a month of planting them out my first year attempting to start a big onion crop. It was definitely some kind of blight. I remember I felt helpless and upset, but still even in that loss, loved my garden and continued to be so grateful to be able to work in it and enjoy it. My garden teaches me more about myself than almost any other goal I've pursued in life. I love my humanness even more because of my garden. It's so humbling at times, but so wonderful too.
I garden in Kansas also and this was my first year growing Walla Walla onions. They looked great when I harvested them. After I cured them to put in storage I found that most were rotten. I was so disappointed because they had looked great.
Oh girl. I feel for you on your onion harvest. I too take pride in growing my onions as they are a key staple in my kitchen. They take so long to mature and it really requires so much dedication to grow them. I live in South Carolina and we too have had quite the year regarding the weather. I only ended up getting 4 quarts of chopped onion this year. Nowhere near the amount of what’s needed. The only thing I can do it at try again. And so I shall. ❤
I am so sorry for your loss with your onions. I know how hard you work and I saw how excited you were at harvest. Thanks for sharing. This will be a lesson for us all. Sending hugs.
My heart goes out to you! I know mishaps are expected, but that was a beautiful crop! Better days! Better harvest! Better healthy abundance of your amazing garden! I believe this for you! Take care! 😊
Sorry about the onions! That sucks. You should contact local farms to see if they have bulk organic onions you can buy to make up for it. Not ideal, but you’ll have more onions.
Girl I’m so sorry. Thank u for sharing such a big loss with us. I know this had to be so hard for u. You have taught us and have learned for yourself. So don’t be too sad. But ur sadness is very normal too. I don’t garden but I can’t imagine losing that much work
I loved the shot of the laundry basket filling. I’m sorry this happened to you! My grandfather and I lost our figs this year due to abnormal rain (between the hurricane and just normal costal rain) and it is heartbreaking when that happens! Losing something you have worked on and feel excited about really really sucks. But next year you will get to try again and I am sure it will be even better!
I think bok choi is the same as pak choy! I think it's just different transliterations into English. You should look into Kamatsuna. It's a mustard green similar to bok choi except it is heat resistant and won't bolt in the spring once warm weather hits (like my bok choi did)
Sounds like maybe next year you and hubby can figure out a way to protect the onion beds from heft winds with some higher wind breaks around them to keep them from crackin open? You could even create a removeable side part for a bed that breaks enough wind to keep them safer next year. Similar to you, I had the most amazing year ever for almost all of my crops, especially growing over 130lbs of summer squash. The one things that really died this year were the pear trees who simply could not stop getting infected with blight or fungal problems.
Yes Im trying to figure out what I might what to do with them next year at the moment! Ive been thinking of doing something like that. The blight has defiantly been strong this year! Sorry about your pears!
I get these kinds of onions from time to time (but it's not rare) from stores so i think it's a widespread issue, interesting to know more about it! I know it was disappointing for you
it happens quite often to me to find this problem in onions i buy honestly... i peel off the bad layers, cut off the soft parts and just use the rest. haven't had a problem with it, especially if you cook them I think it's gonna be safe
Hey Bre, I love the angle at 24 minutes - a sunflower shower😅🌻 And I am so sorry for the loss of your onion harvest 😢 I lost 36 of my tomato plants this year and now I can’t really preserve tomatoes this year. But I feel like there’s never a perfect garden year... the conditions are so different every time but that’s also what makes gardening interesting too - you never completely know what you are going to get. Much love to you from Southern Germany and thank you so much for you beautiful and real videos❤️
So sorry for the loss of many of your onions. It’s disappointing with all the time and effort that goes into growing. I’m sure you’ll pivot and learn from this experience! 😢
Okay so I am in India and we regularly see black mold on our onions. We just peel off an extra layer and wash them before use. They won’t store very well but we still use them 🤷♀️
I’m in Eastern Kansas and it has rained SO much this year. I didn’t have to water even once and had so many problems with fungi because of it. My chickens also got lice because they couldn’t dust bathe in the constant mud. 100% humidity every day could DEFINITELY have messed them up in storage. Even inside and even with a fan on them, I’m not at all surprised that they couldn’t dry out well with all the rain we got this year. So sad, RIP so sorry.
Im so sorry. I know what it feels like because my mom and grandma have a huge garden and we had a severe storm (it lasted all day, it was like a flash flood). Our pumkins and peppers are beat from ice. My mom also has a green house with flowers and she had a ton of them on the floor and they washed away. On the other hand some bearly survived. This year has not been the best for the least. ❤
I've had this happen also. Maybe I shouldn't have but I used them anyway. 😮 I just peeled away the bad stuff and washed them well and used the good parts anyways. Also, In the past I had dried my onions in the garage and always had some black mold show up. This year i dried them inside in a cool area and I havent had any mold so far. 🤷🏼♀️. I wondered if the garage was too warm and humid.
This happened to me last year with all my onions😭 my green tops broke off during a storm and I didn’t think too much of it! After harvest, noticed almost 100 of my 290 onions were all molded. So sorry you dealt with this
Recouping what you can is not a total fail AND most important of all is you learned something from this. Research ahead of time is always important. A good gardener knows when to take notes and carry on for next time! I see potential for you in the future. Take care.
I lost 70 onions in late winter due to a freak storm system and was devastated. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel getting to that point and losing them. I'm so sorry!
Sorry about the onions. I didn't get any garlic from my first time growing it over winter. Turns out, the poor drainage of the pots I was using (only 1 hole in the bottom of each) made them all rot before even emerging in spring. Very disappointing to lose a crop you're so excited about. Keep at it, there are many more gardening days and successes ahead!
I’m so very sorry. Thank you for sharing this info. I can’t help but think about farming and farmers trying to make their living growing food for everyone. Such an important need but at the mercy of Mother Nature.
I think it was a good move to process the remaining onions. It’s truly devastating to lose so much of your harvest. Great idea supplementing your loss with green onions. Bunching onions are supposed to grow through the winter.
It could be the soil too. I am in AZ and we have to buy soil. You would be shocked at the amount of pests and problems in the soil that you buy. Just a thought. If you switched brands or the soil is infected. We also had a tiny area of sod grass and all of our dogs were suddenly covered in ticks. Pulled out the sod and no more ticks 🤔🤷♀️
There's always next year, it might be a loss today, but you learned something as well. How are your corns doing? I sow mid June (we're on the same zone), so far only 1 corn harvested, and you're right, we suddenly have chilly mornings, hopefully our corns will get mature on time.
So sorry that happened!!! I know how frustrating it is to be counting on your harvest and then to have to throw it away. All that hard work 😢. Sometimes Mother Nature says "eff around and find out". At least onions haven't been AS affected by inflation as some other produce and they're easy to find.
Sorry for your loss on the onions. Hopefully you can find a way to prevent the mold I the future. I'm exactly like that, I seriously dislike the cold, and cold for me is anything below 70 degrees.
I have bought onions from the store this year and found that they had the black mold inside. A friend of mine who lives several states away told me that she did too. Perhaps the extra wet summer has caused this problem to farmers all over the country? Kansas, Florida and a organic farm in CT are too far from each other to be a regional problem and they have very different types of soil. Weather seems to be a more likely common problem.
It’s so wild to see gardens in different areas. I’m in Florida, not much grows in the summer and what does gets neglected because it’s far too hot to keep up with the garden. Our Summers are most places winters. With that said, I’m more than excited for Fall & winter because everything will come back to life lol
@@itsbreellis Sounds like it, especially with those winds you've described. I am so sorry for you major loss this year on the onions, gardening has so many different lessons for us haha.
I’m sure you know this, but you can cut that mold off and still use the onion. Of course it ruins their ability to be fresh for months, but still partially usable! I’m sorry that happened!
100%! Ive had successful years in the past so, ill try again next year even though it makes me worry now. I plan to do some research and see how I many be able to prevent next year!
I lived in New Orleans and I always built my beds up so no plants would be standing in water. Unless irises or taro. Then pile leaves on the roots bc we would always get one or two cold snaps that would kill some plants 😭
Wow that is so sad. My onions didn’t do well this year at all but to do so well and then loose them all is such a bummer. Please tell me where you get your aprons- I love them!
I do know that any openings for onions or garlic at the top can be an issue because it opens the bulb up to the elements. Do you ever re-plant these which start to sprout to grow your own seeds for the next year? Onions bloom generally on the 2nd year of growth. I have not mastered large onions yet but I'm encouraged with the growth of some Multiplying onions I am growing. Some get replanted from bulbs, year after year but the seeds may give me and even better yield. Fear Not and Keep Growing...
I had this on both my onions and garlic. I dont know if it was the exact same thing as yours but my onions and garlic were both flattened 3 different times by storms. There was lots of breakage f the tops. I didnt loose a ton but but I did have this for the first time this year. Chin up girl, there's always next year!
A bad onion season a few years back, I did this. I cut out the bad, chopped the rest and caramelized them in the crockpot. Then I froze it in 1 cup portions in ziplocks. Really salvaged the onions in an appealing way.
Here in Slovenia have a saying/proverb: "Drought takes half of the harvest, a lot of rains takes everything".
I'm glad you're processing/drying this onions, so not completely lost. Keep up the good work.
It's never a failure if you've learned something new! I'm sorry you lost so many this year, that's an absolute shame.
Yes very true!! & Thank you!
Thank you for showing this onion issue...as sad as it is, you are helping alot of gardeners learn. I'm really sorry.
Thank you! ❤️
@@itsbreellismy grandfather has a garden and something always has to go wrong but you learn really
This happens a lot down here in New Orleans because we're wet and humid. Go through and cut out the bad and save what you can. You can soak in vinegar and water if keeping the good onion pieces makes you never. Getting a little out of the bad onions is better than getting nothing
My parents movec to Amite and they want me to come help them start a garden next year. I’m trying to learn as much as possible about that area because I grow in Missouri and it’s very different here. Thanks for the heads up about onions.
Ive had that several times. I try to cut back on watering as they get ready to pull. The ones that I do get mold on, i just cut it up and remove all the mold and maybe one more layer then chop and freeze. I had fresh chopped onions for over a year and it was great.
Good to know! I cut back like I normally do, but the rain had terrible timing this year. Almost wonder if creating a cover would help me in those situations!
I’m so very sorry. It was so wonderful of you to share what happened so we can all learn about what to look out for. I know next season will be amazing for you. 💕💕💕
I’m so sorry! Any type of loss in the garden is devastating. I had major loss with my corn this year so I completely empathize. Wishing you a successful harvest next year 🥰
Thank you! Same to you!!
Same! I had to Google it to figure out what was wrong with my corn. Found out apparently it was a fungus called corn smut. Which I then learned is a delicacy in Mexico. Apparently Chefs pay top dollar for it. So good news is it wasn’t a total failure, after all I grew a rare crop. Bad news, I don’t know any Chefs that are willing to buy it. 😜😂
@@crystalmorrell9536 a lesson learned
@@CraftsandGardening go around town and somebody will offer cash before you say anything
I am so sorry for your loss of onions . But please don't be upset everything is a learning process and you are amazing at what you do in the garden. You have taught me so much and I am about to soon start my first garden. YOU ROCK BRE.... 💪 And I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS ❤
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
Your onions were so beautiful, Bre! Onion perfection! How awful to have lost so many. Dang! I'm so sorry. You worked so hard for them. 😩
Hello from Abilene, KS. I had the same issues with my onions this year. The wind and the rain. Next year, I will put some type of fencing horizontal 8 inches or so above my onions to support the leaves. I hope that will help.
Had a similar thought! So sorry to hear about your onions!
You can definitely rinse and cut off the mold....as long as they aren't soft. Done it many times before
That's what I do. Cut mold off and keep going. No need in wasting the whole onion.
I had a loss as well I had a 137 tomato plants in my polly tunnel during the evening I went to water the garden and polly tunnel only to see all the leaves on my Tom's had been scorched by the sun. I had to rush out and buy shade cloths . I have only about 30 plants left now the burnt ones gave up and died. So upsetting I know how you feel I could of cried.
NoOoOo!!! But you're the onion queen. My heart is so sad for you. Some losses hit so hard when gardening.
Yes they do!!
RIP moldy onions. 😢. I completely understand being upset. That’s a big bummer! I do love how you framed the shot of you under that sunflower, what a fun perspective. I also didn’t know chickens sing when they lay an egg, thanks for teaching me that!
hens sing when they lay eggs, it is called the "egg song"
Your cats are adorable! We don’t currently have a garden, but watching all these videos this summer makes me want to plan one for next year ❤
I live in Kansas as well, possibly the same city as you and I had the exact same thing happen. This was my first year growing onions, and they were beautiful! I grew the same variety of onion as you and put them in my garage to cure. Thought all was good until I started to clean them up. I ended up chopping and putting in the freezer. Hope we have a better year next year!!
@julienulik2855 Yes, it has been an abnormal year for us fellow gardeners here in Kansas. Best wishes to you for the fall gardening and next spring.
Ugh this is just devastating. Thank you for making this - such high highs in gardening but the lows can be SO low. I wish this had not happened to you, but documenting it for other gardeners is really helpful.
I am so, so sorry about the crop loss. I had a massive failure in my garden this spring when I innocnetly put dairy compost on my young garden; everywhere. Grow bags, Greenstalks, raised beds, pots… I herbicide contaminated my entire garden and had to rip out three beds. I was devastated for weeks. So I get it. Must be even harder when you thought you’d grown everything successfully. World’s biggest digital hug! 🤗
Ugh that sounds sooooooooo tough!!!
Oh dear. You poor thing. 😢
We have very humid conditions in Australia. If it makes you feel better, often in the green grocer stores here you can buy sacks of onions with the black mould on it.
They just don’t store so well in long term larder storage. But they are fine to just cut off and slice for freezing as a form of storage.
This isn’t the case for premium grade onions - which are heaps more expensive.
I’m really hoping that next year you will have much less of this mould issue.
You did such an amazing job this year. Hold fast and try again because you did such a wonderful job!! ❤
Thank you so much!!
Was about to say, I find it hard to buy red onions that don't have mould at the stem base. They won't store, but you can still eat the bottoms. Maybe a good candidate for the onion powder reserves.
I live in southwest Missouri and the rain was INSANE this year. My whole garden took a hit 😭 usually I have so much zucchini squash and cucumbers to last me, my friends and my family for a year. This year I had enough to make FOUR loaves of zucchini bread and 10 pints of pickles. My tomato’s aren’t producing as much, my onions were similar to yours..I’ve came in from my garden countless times this year just crying. It’s sad, but we learn, and there’s always another year. Here’s to hopefully a better harvest next year🤞
I’m in Saint Charles and I think it rained 3 days the entire summer here. I have had an awful growing season but I’m planting out fall crops hoping to make up for it. Sorry for your season as well. It’s a bummer all around.
This happened to me last year. Everything got so waterlogged it got root rot and died. So depressing!!!
Every garden season is a mystery. We can never know what will happen. You didn't do anything wrong. It's always disappointing when things do not turn out the way we hoped. 🌻
@@Cindyscrossstitch I always think of the pioneers how they managed each year. No place to order seed or share with neighbors. It’s a wonder how they survived.
Oh, Bre, I'm so sorry that you lost so many onions! I know you are sad and disappointed, but you will come back from this even stronger and with more knowledge! You still inspire me!
So sorry Miss Bre.... I know too, how heartbreaking it is when the babies you've nurtured from germination fail or don't thrive. It's such an investment of blood, sweat, heart and soul that can crush one's spirit. It's historical as any farmer or gardener will attest to. It's ok to grieve it. There is hope and purpose to then push through the pain and try again. Thanks for all your inspiration. xo
Thank you so much for the kind words!
You can freeze dry those onions that have mold to have some on hand when finished with the good onions.
I am so heartbroken for you!! knowing how much effort you put into those onions and your pure excitement after harvest. I am so sorry that this happened! thank you for sharing your missteps and teaching us. I am so sad for the harvest lost, but know you will come back with a killer harvest next year! ❤
Hi Bre, I'll say it was during storage, mostly due to light and moisture in the ambiance. They may be perfectly fine and suddenly they get all moldy because condensation builds up on the bulbs during storage. Don't store them close to walls. What hurts the most is that they'll probably were good until not long ago, rain came and screwed everything up.
Check your dring racks to make sure it doesn't happen again. Truly sorry for the loss of the biggest part of onions 🌰 😢
Gosh, after a long winter here in Aotearoa New Zealand I am just so excited for our summer! I really understand that sadness as summer ends.
the sunflower looks like it's a shower head - awwww! i'm so sorry about your onions. we had terrible rains up north here too, and sooooooo many of my strawberries got wrecked. weather is fickle everywhere. i'm glad you've got a freeze dryer to salvage the onions you do have. however, you are truly inspirational! thank you for sharing both the good and not so good with us all
Bre! I am so sorry this happened. So heartbreaking! You’re holding up better than I would I think lol thank you for sharing, been loving watching your journey
Ugh 😢 i felt your loss in my own stomach 😅 they were gorgeous, brag worthy onions! I got onion root maggots (never even heard of that) this spring for the first time and lost all my onions except my red ones. Hopefully we both have a bumper crop next year. I love my onions and garlic as well
Ugh sorry to hear what you have dealt with as well! Wishing you a better season next year too!
24:07 it looked like you were showering under the sunflower 😂
😂 loved that shot
I love Kohlrabi! It's native here in Germany and when it's in season I eat it almost every day raw or in soups, the greens as an addition to salad or cooked! I just love this type of cabbage where you can eat really everything!
I would love to know a good soup recipe for it if you would like to share! Never thought about throwing it in a soup but sounds amazing!
sandwich with butter, ham and finely sliced kohlrabi.... heaven!
I add it to my classic jewish chicken soup and its great :) @@itsbreellis
The heartache of losing months of hard work in just minutes is a reminder of the unpredictability of gardening and life itself. Your resilience in the face of such challenges is truly admirable, and it's clear that your passion for nurturing the earth will carry you through this setback. And I am Floating Village Life, Hit follow and let's explore together!
100%! Thanks for the kind words!
To think growing up we got fish and kelp for free to beef up our gardens ❤. This was 60 years ago I knew my parents taught us valuable tools. Now we have no room for a garden…sad😢. Perfect size garden! My father was great. Sorry for your loss. There was 11 of us so not much loss
Ugh that sucks about your onion harvest 😮😢 you put so much hard work and effort into your beautiful garden. I hope you're able to figure out what happened, and you will keep getting better and better❤❤❤
Sorry to hear that about your onions. You were really happy about that harvest. There's going to be loses though. Every garden will have something messed up that the gardener has to fight. Hope that next year is better.
100%! Thank you!
Bre you're still good! The main reason I watch your channel is that we both share a passion for Alliums. I am in central Florida and have to deal with a TON of humidity storing all my onion varieties. I start harvesting in May and finish my later varieties in mid-July. Like you, I usually still have usable onions into late January early February. That late in the storage season, they all begin to have a layer of black mold. This is what is awesome about onions though...LAYERS! I cut through the outer layers that are affected and get to the inner protected layers and they are firm and perfectly fine. Its like built in security levels. Remove and discard the affected layer and the inner onion is perfect and firm. Not one issue ever using them like this. Rinse thoroughly of course. Hole this helps. Love your channel!
Hello, I found your channel a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed catching up and watching your beautiful garden, I'm so sorry you lost all the onions. You'll have to remember to sanitize your racks for next years crop. Good luck with your autumn garden. I'm looking forward to seeing everything you are growing . Sending love from our family to yours x 🥦🌽🫑🍅
Your videos are always so real, with the ups and downs, it's really refreshing !
But your onions are not really lost !
I was also very happy with the new soil I was experimenting with, until I found out most store soil is made with peat, and harvesting it is very detrimental to the environment... So I'm back to compost, experimenting with everything dead I can put my hands on.
So I'm guessing, what I'm trying to say, is that those onions are not edible, but you can return them to the ground, and they will feed other vegetables, and so on !
Nothing is ever lost forever in gardening !
Yes very true!! Thank you so much for the outlook!
What a great perspective :). Green thumbs up👍
Coco coir is a good peat alternative. I have been using it for several years now with great results.
@@Just-Nikki Oh thank you ! I will look into it !
I had the same issues with dozens of my onions. Same as you, had a wonderful harvest. Once dried I found many soft onions and at least 2 dozen with the same black mold. Never seen it before.
I get mold here in MN all the time. If the onion feels firm then I'll cut/peel off a layer past where the mold ends then make a giant pot of caramelized onions with what I can save. Freezes great!
We lost all of our tomatoes this year and its honestly an awful feeling... I hope next year we are more lucky, sorry for your loss!
So sorry to see the terrible onion harvest you've had!! This year was not my year for tomatoes, they all got taken out by pests.
Just wanted to let you know that I received a whole 40lb box of onions from Azure that had the same problem. I was able to peel most of them down to nice white, firm flesh. Then rinsed everything, chopped them up and froze them in vacuum sealed bags.
Sorry to hear about your loss. Thank you for sharing it. I learned something as a result
I just love how this shows you putting your heart and soul into something you love to do, despite major challenges. You're an inspiration and this is such valuable information you're sharing. I'm a gardener too. I lost some beautiful onion seedlings that I started from seed within about a month of planting them out my first year attempting to start a big onion crop. It was definitely some kind of blight. I remember I felt helpless and upset, but still even in that loss, loved my garden and continued to be so grateful to be able to work in it and enjoy it. My garden teaches me more about myself than almost any other goal I've pursued in life. I love my humanness even more because of my garden. It's so humbling at times, but so wonderful too.
I garden in Kansas also and this was my first year growing Walla Walla onions. They looked great when I harvested them. After I cured them to put in storage I found that most were rotten. I was so disappointed because they had looked great.
Oh girl. I feel for you on your onion harvest. I too take pride in growing my onions as they are a key staple in my kitchen. They take so long to mature and it really requires so much dedication to grow them. I live in South Carolina and we too have had quite the year regarding the weather. I only ended up getting 4 quarts of chopped onion this year. Nowhere near the amount of what’s needed. The only thing I can do it at try again. And so I shall. ❤
Yes!! Wishing you a better season next year!
The garden has something for us to learn each year.
I am so sorry for your loss with your onions. I know how hard you work and I saw how excited you were at harvest. Thanks for sharing. This will be a lesson for us all. Sending hugs.
My heart goes out to you! I know mishaps are expected, but that was a beautiful crop! Better days! Better harvest! Better healthy abundance of your amazing garden! I believe this for you! Take care! 😊
Sorry about the onions! That sucks. You should contact local farms to see if they have bulk organic onions you can buy to make up for it. Not ideal, but you’ll have more onions.
Girl I’m so sorry. Thank u for sharing such a big loss with us. I know this had to be so hard for u. You have taught us and have learned for yourself. So don’t be too sad. But ur sadness is very normal too. I don’t garden but I can’t imagine losing that much work
I loved the shot of the laundry basket filling. I’m sorry this happened to you! My grandfather and I lost our figs this year due to abnormal rain (between the hurricane and just normal costal rain) and it is heartbreaking when that happens! Losing something you have worked on and feel excited about really really sucks. But next year you will get to try again and I am sure it will be even better!
Gosh, that sucks! You're a resilient gardener though so keep your head high even with this disappointment. There's always next season.
I think bok choi is the same as pak choy! I think it's just different transliterations into English. You should look into Kamatsuna. It's a mustard green similar to bok choi except it is heat resistant and won't bolt in the spring once warm weather hits (like my bok choi did)
So sorry about the onions. Hopping for a better success next yr.
Sounds like maybe next year you and hubby can figure out a way to protect the onion beds from heft winds with some higher wind breaks around them to keep them from crackin open? You could even create a removeable side part for a bed that breaks enough wind to keep them safer next year.
Similar to you, I had the most amazing year ever for almost all of my crops, especially growing over 130lbs of summer squash. The one things that really died this year were the pear trees who simply could not stop getting infected with blight or fungal problems.
Yes Im trying to figure out what I might what to do with them next year at the moment! Ive been thinking of doing something like that. The blight has defiantly been strong this year! Sorry about your pears!
I get these kinds of onions from time to time (but it's not rare) from stores so i think it's a widespread issue, interesting to know more about it! I know it was disappointing for you
it happens quite often to me to find this problem in onions i buy honestly... i peel off the bad layers, cut off the soft parts and just use the rest. haven't had a problem with it, especially if you cook them I think it's gonna be safe
Just cut off the moldy part and slice the onions thin and caramelize and can them, Onion jam is amazing during the winter.
Hey Bre,
I love the angle at 24 minutes - a sunflower shower😅🌻
And I am so sorry for the loss of your onion harvest 😢 I lost 36 of my tomato plants this year and now I can’t really preserve tomatoes this year.
But I feel like there’s never a perfect garden year... the conditions are so different every time but that’s also what makes gardening interesting too - you never completely know what you are going to get.
Much love to you from Southern Germany and thank you so much for you beautiful and real videos❤️
So sorry for the loss of many of your onions. It’s disappointing with all the time and effort that goes into growing. I’m sure you’ll pivot and learn from this experience! 😢
Okay so I am in India and we regularly see black mold on our onions.
We just peel off an extra layer and wash them before use.
They won’t store very well but we still use them 🤷♀️
Thank you for sharing your real life with us heart ache and all. This is how we can all become better growers.
I’m in Eastern Kansas and it has rained SO much this year. I didn’t have to water even once and had so many problems with fungi because of it. My chickens also got lice because they couldn’t dust bathe in the constant mud. 100% humidity every day could DEFINITELY have messed them up in storage. Even inside and even with a fan on them, I’m not at all surprised that they couldn’t dry out well with all the rain we got this year. So sad, RIP so sorry.
Im so sorry. I know what it feels like because my mom and grandma have a huge garden and we had a severe storm (it lasted all day, it was like a flash flood). Our pumkins and peppers are beat from ice. My mom also has a green house with flowers and she had a ton of them on the floor and they washed away. On the other hand some bearly survived. This year has not been the best for the least. ❤
I've had this happen also. Maybe I shouldn't have but I used them anyway. 😮
I just peeled away the bad stuff and washed them well and used the good parts anyways.
Also, In the past I had dried my onions in the garage and always had some black mold show up. This year i dried them inside in a cool area and I havent had any mold so far. 🤷🏼♀️. I wondered if the garage was too warm and humid.
This happened to me last year with all my onions😭 my green tops broke off during a storm and I didn’t think too much of it! After harvest, noticed almost 100 of my 290 onions were all molded. So sorry you dealt with this
Sorry you did as well!!
Recouping what you can is not a total fail AND most important of all is you learned something from this. Research ahead of time is always important. A good gardener knows when to take notes and carry on for next time! I see potential for you in the future. Take care.
I lost 70 onions in late winter due to a freak storm system and was devastated. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel getting to that point and losing them. I'm so sorry!
A loss is still a loss! Sorry to hear of yours!
Im so sorry for your onion loss ,you really inspired me to grow onions here in south africa.Keep.planting amd you will come back stronger
Sorry about the onions. I didn't get any garlic from my first time growing it over winter. Turns out, the poor drainage of the pots I was using (only 1 hole in the bottom of each) made them all rot before even emerging in spring. Very disappointing to lose a crop you're so excited about. Keep at it, there are many more gardening days and successes ahead!
I’m so very sorry. Thank you for sharing this info. I can’t help but think about farming and farmers trying to make their living growing food for everyone. Such an important need but at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Yes! Defiantly gives you a greater appreciation for how food is grown!
I'm really sorry to hear about your onions, Bre! That must be so frustrating. I wish I could help, but I'm sending positive vibes your way.
I think it was a good move to process the remaining onions. It’s truly devastating to lose so much of your harvest. Great idea supplementing your loss with green onions. Bunching onions are supposed to grow through the winter.
It could be the soil too. I am in AZ and we have to buy soil. You would be shocked at the amount of pests and problems in the soil that you buy. Just a thought. If you switched brands or the soil is infected. We also had a tiny area of sod grass and all of our dogs were suddenly covered in ticks. Pulled out the sod and no more ticks 🤔🤷♀️
There's always next year, it might be a loss today, but you learned something as well. How are your corns doing? I sow mid June (we're on the same zone), so far only 1 corn harvested, and you're right, we suddenly have chilly mornings, hopefully our corns will get mature on time.
So sorry that happened!!! I know how frustrating it is to be counting on your harvest and then to have to throw it away. All that hard work 😢. Sometimes Mother Nature says "eff around and find out". At least onions haven't been AS affected by inflation as some other produce and they're easy to find.
lol mother nature defiantly does that!
I get onions from the local farms and the stores that I have cut off the affected areas and then processed. I freeze dry mine.
So sorry for your loss. I Love your "ramblings" and you! Take care and stay strong!
Thank you!!
Thanks you for showing this Onion issue. As sad as it í, you are helping alot of gardeners learn. ❤❤❤❤❤
oh Bree…..I want to cry for you because I know you were so excited for this year’s onion harvest.
So sorry for your onion loss 😩 I’ve lost a bunch of my plants to an animal this summer and it hurts!
Hi Bre look on the bright side, only one woopsie in all the great things you’ve done this year.
Yes!! Thats exactly how Im moving on. Theres always going to be that one thing that does go to plan.
Sorry for your loss on the onions. Hopefully you can find a way to prevent the mold I the future.
I'm exactly like that, I seriously dislike the cold, and cold for me is anything below 70 degrees.
Glad Im not the only one!
I have bought onions from the store this year and found that they had the black mold inside. A friend of mine who lives several states away told me that she did too. Perhaps the extra wet summer has caused this problem to farmers all over the country? Kansas, Florida and a organic farm in CT are too far from each other to be a regional problem and they have very different types of soil. Weather seems to be a more likely common problem.
It’s so wild to see gardens in different areas. I’m in Florida, not much grows in the summer and what does gets neglected because it’s far too hot to keep up with the garden. Our Summers are most places winters. With that said, I’m more than excited for Fall & winter because everything will come back to life lol
The last few summers for us were way hotter! Kansas can be all over the place and unpredictable sometimes!
@@itsbreellis Sounds like it, especially with those winds you've described. I am so sorry for you major loss this year on the onions, gardening has so many different lessons for us haha.
So sorry to see this loss! I can imagine it’s very hard. Wishing you all the best. I love your videos and how you share your journey and tips
Thank you so much!
I’m sure you know this, but you can cut that mold off and still use the onion. Of course it ruins their ability to be fresh for months, but still partially usable! I’m sorry that happened!
Oh. 😁. Didn't watch the whole video before I jumped in. Good job on your garden
My heart is breaking with you. I'm so sorry. It's always sad to lose a crop, but losing one that takes so much time is devastating. 🖤
100%! Ive had successful years in the past so, ill try again next year even though it makes me worry now. I plan to do some research and see how I many be able to prevent next year!
I lived in New Orleans and I always built my beds up so no plants would be standing in water. Unless irises or taro. Then pile leaves on the roots bc we would always get one or two cold snaps that would kill some plants 😭
Wow that is so sad. My onions didn’t do well this year at all but to do so well and then loose them all is such a bummer. Please tell me where you get your aprons- I love them!
Hmm, I’m going to double check my onions. Thanks for sharing
I do know that any openings for onions or garlic at the top can be an issue because it opens the bulb up to the elements.
Do you ever re-plant these which start to sprout to grow your own seeds for the next year?
Onions bloom generally on the 2nd year of growth.
I have not mastered large onions yet but I'm encouraged with the growth of some Multiplying onions I am growing.
Some get replanted from bulbs, year after year but the seeds may give me and even better yield.
Fear Not and Keep Growing...
Still allot of good onion there.
Processing, slice, dice, Freeze some or dehydrate and vacuum seal in jars.
Awwww...so sorry on your onions. I know they can throw a curve ball at ya . You still did great!!!!
I had this on both my onions and garlic. I dont know if it was the exact same thing as yours but my onions and garlic were both flattened 3 different times by storms. There was lots of breakage f the tops. I didnt loose a ton but but I did have this for the first time this year. Chin up girl, there's always next year!
Im so sorry to hear you dealt with it on both crops!!