Does anyone know of any forms out there for tracking information when preserving foods. I’m particularly looking for dehydrating foods, but would be interested in canning, fermentation, or anything else too. I’ve look online but not seeing something like I’m envisioning. I want something that lets me track what works and what doesn’t. And help me to better understand timing and temps for dehydration of my harvests. I’m still learning to dehydrate, so would love to have a form that lets me track what is in dehydrator, temp, time, additional time added, notes etc. Thanks!

I have good news: Onions are one of the easiest plants in the garden to read. Unlike other plants (I see you, watermelon 🍉), where it can be a lot harder to tell, onions basically 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 you when they're ready. 𝟯 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿: - Your first big clue is when the neck (that's the part where the leaves meet the top of the bulb) flops over onto the ground. - Your second sign is when the outer skin starts turning dry and papery instead of smooth and green. - The third indication is when about half the leaves start yellowing and drying out. BUT WAIT (there's more 🤣), don't rush to pull them just yet. 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 Once the tops flop and start browning, give it another one to two weeks before you pull anything. This does two things: - It lets the onion finish sealing its neck shut, which is what keeps moisture and bacteria out during storage - And it lets the bulb pull the last bit of energy out of the dying stalk. Skip this wait, and you could end up with onions that don't seal properly and rot faster in storage. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 - Stop watering three to five days before you plan to harvest. This gives the outer layers and the soil around the bulb time to dry out, which matters a lot for both pulling them easily and preventing them from trapping excess moisture. - Wait for a dry day if you can. Onions have shallow roots, so on dry soil you can just grab the bulb and gently pull straight up. Wet soil makes them harder to pull, and extra soil can stick to the bulb, which traps moisture you don't want. A couple things to keep in mind: - Pull from the bulb, not the stem. Yanking on the stem can snap it. - Once it's out, gently brush off the dirt with your hand. - Don't peel off any of the outer papery layers yet. Those are doing a job (protecting the bulb), and you'll want them for curing. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 If you're planning to store your onions rather than eat them right away, they need to cure first. Lay them out in a single layer somewhere shaded with good airflow, out of direct sun. A covered patio, garage, or shop all work fine.

If you've ever gone out to check on your tomatoes and found the bottom of the fruit looking dark, sunken, or rotted... that's blossom end rot (also called BER). And I think it's one of the most 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 issues in the garden. I'm currently dealing with this in my own garden, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to clear this up! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: "𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗶𝘂𝗺" The most common thing you'll see people say is that blossom end rot is a calcium deficiency, so you need to add more calcium to your soil. You'll find all sorts of remedies: - Drop Tums (antacid tablets) in the ground near your tomato plants - Pour milk into the soil or spray it on the leaves - Add bone meal or crushed eggshells and so on... These recommendations 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 aren't wrong, because yes, blossom end rot 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 have to do with calcium. And the plant IS having trouble getting enough of it. BUT, in most cases, there IS enough calcium 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹. Especially if you've been adding compost, using organic fertilizers, and taking care of your soil health. 👉 The real issue is almost always 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗦𝗼, 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴? Plants absorb nutrients through water. When the watering is off, everything else struggles. 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿: Dry soil means the plant has no way to pull nutrients up through its roots. No water = no nutrient uptake. 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿: Excess water can actually wash/leach nutrients out of your soil. Waterlogged soil also makes it hard for roots to absorb nutrients properly 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 they're present. Both extremes produce the same result: the plant can't get enough calcium to the developing fruit, and you end up with blossom end rot. (Boo). ✨ A consistent, appropriate watering schedule is one of the most powerful things you can do for your garden. ✨ If you want more guidance on how and when to water, I covered this in detail in my recent post on watering HERE.

As of this exact second, the doors are officially open to something completely new: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗜𝗬 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆! This program is designed to walk you through an entire growing year, from bare soil to a stocked pantry. You'll go from an overwhelmed beginner to growing a productive organic garden in a 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 of the time it would take to do it alone 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹? To help you completely trust your own decisions, predict issues before they happen, and build a repeatable food system for your household. I built this Academy out of my own raw frustrations from when I first started out 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗼, combined with the feedback from the 1,100+ members in this community. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼: 🐓 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 and build true food security 🍅 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 for food that actually tastes the way nature intended 👧 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 and teach your children or grandchildren exactly where real food comes from 🥗 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 by eliminating toxic pesticides and synthetic herbicides from your diet 🧘 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 of moving your body, breathing fresh air, and connecting with the earth ...this Academy is your roadmap to make it happen. Today, we draw a line in the dirt. No more piecing together fragmented tutorials, no more expensive mistakes, and no more settling for a chaotic backyard that drains your energy instead of feeding your family. 🔒 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰-𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽: 🌱 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟭 | 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲: The "measure twice, cut once" foundation. Prep your soil, plan your garden, and set up for a strong season. 🌿 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟮 | 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁: Master indoor seed starting, direct sowing, proper transplanting techniques, and succession timing. 🛡️𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟯 | 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁: Diagnose problems fast and keep your garden protected year-round. 🥫 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟰 | 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲: A dual-purpose phase. Learn to preserve your harvest while simultaneously preserving your soil through winterization and regeneration so next season starts from a position of strength.

My son is trying to take care of my garden while I’m in the hospital. I planted onions at the beginning of the season. When do they need to be harvested and how do I harvest them?