These onions, still in the soil at Potrero Nuevo Farm, are being tricked into storage mode. Due to growing conditions and the cool weather in Half Moon Bay, onions need to be coerced into storage mode for the duration of the winter months ahead. In order to hurry the onions into drying out and turning their skins papery, the stalks are bent sideways. This small push signals the nutrients to move from the leaves to the bulb. This term is called, DYING BACK. Bending onion stalks was just one of the ways I participated on the farm during my stay in August. Other chores included thinning rows of carrots, harvesting lemon cucumbers and milking Fresca and Squirt, the resident goats. Cooking and eating on the farm is a dream since the kitchen has a huge garage door that overlooks a half acre garden, where the food you are eating was in the soil just minutes before and the goats are bleating from the hills behind.
-CY
Comments