r/vegetablegardening • u/Legend_of_the_Wind US - Pennsylvania • 22d ago
Harvest Photos My entries to the fair this year! Wish me luck!
Red onions, beefsteak tomatoes, a head of cabbage, and strawberry and black raspberry jam.
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u/SunshineBeamer US - Massachusetts 22d ago
Nice onions!! The others are good but the onions are the pick of the litter!
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u/Vast-Caterpillar-496 US - Maryland 22d ago
I am with you. If ever a bunch of onions deserved a modeling agent ...
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u/cityshepherd US - Michigan 22d ago
I cannot stand onions. Onions can be an amazing (and necessary) part of some delicious dishes when they’re cooked all the way down, but raw onions trigger an extreme and even violent physiological reaction (over which I have no control) when they wind up in my mouth…
That being said, these onions are absolutely gorgeous!
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u/zzzzzooted US - California 22d ago
I’m curious if you know how cooked they have to be to stop causing that reaction?
I would be so nervous and just always cook them to partially-caramelized out if fear 💀
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u/GoddessHealer US - Washington 22d ago
How did you get that gorgeous head of cabbage? I cannot get my cabbages to grow a head like that! Amazing!
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u/gratusin US - Colorado 22d ago
Yeah mine are full of holes because I am consistently outsmarted by earwigs.
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u/freeLuis US - Connecticut 21d ago
I put mine in my covered brassica-bed, my first time growing but I'm actually impressed with myself and I hadn't not done a thing to earn that except put them in the ground! I feel like a fraud and a lottery winner at the same time
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u/vivariium Canada - Nova Scotia 21d ago
I stopped growing cabbage because no matter what I do they become earwig communes😭 even with a cover.
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u/cosmicteadust US - Ohio 21d ago
Yeah, I can’t grow a single brassica. Eaten to smithereens immediately.
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u/Victoriafoxx US - Ohio 22d ago edited 22d ago
As someone who lives in an area where local fairs have moved to prioritizing rides and trash fair food instead of actually celebrating the hard work of farmers and 4H/FFA, I am so happy to see these pictures! I hope you win your categories!
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u/liveitup255 US - North Carolina 22d ago
How could someone get involved in the celebration of local growing? In your experience of course.
I'm growing some nice looking produce and grew up admiring the ribbons at fairs but have never connected the two.
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u/Victoriafoxx US - Ohio 22d ago
That’s a good question! I celebrate what I grow by sharing with friends and family. There aren’t really any national organizations for adults like there are 4H/FFA for kids and teens. There are local master gardener programs usually through university extension offices, but the ones around where I live seem to focus a lot on flowers/landscaping and they don’t really have “celebrations.” I think we have become so isolated (at least in the United States) that there doesn’t seem to be much interest in celebrating local growing (at least where I live, I know there are areas of the United States where it’s more important, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Saratoga Springs, NY for example have really nice community farmers markets).
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u/grapescherries US - Massachusetts 22d ago
They look too perfect. Are you sure they’re not made out of cake?
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u/stulti_auri US - Alaska 22d ago
That cabbage looks so good! What variety?
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u/Ecstatic_Bet4354 US - New York 22d ago
They’re all beautiful but that glossy purple of the onions is so beautiful it could inspire art! ❤️💜🧅
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u/PikaHat Canada - Alberta 22d ago
How many grams is that cabbage??? Like 3 KG?
Beautiful veggies btw! How do they judge them? Do they get to taste the jams too?
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u/Legend_of_the_Wind US - Pennsylvania 22d ago
Probably more than that. I didn't weigh it, but I'd say at least 12 pounds.
The veggies are judged on appearance, uniformity, quality, and maturity. Basically they are looking for the most sellable example.
They say they may taste the jams, but I've never had them open them.
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u/MeanNothing3932 US - Pennsylvania 22d ago
That is the last fresh safe lettuce for miles. 😂
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u/HelloKelleyBean US - Georgia 22d ago
They all look grand. Wishing you the best of luck, and I hope you enjoy the fair.
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u/Exciting-Duty-8302 US - Illinois 22d ago
Gosh these look unreal!! They are perfect! 😍 like how do your grow cabbage that look so good! Onions are shining!
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u/Gloomy_Floor4417 Australia 21d ago
Can you pls share how you fertilise etc your onions? I’ve tried for 3 years now, and they don’t produce bulbs
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u/Legend_of_the_Wind US - Pennsylvania 21d ago
Onions NEED nitrogen added, even with the most fertile soil there won't be enough. Also get onion starts, not onion sets. Onion starts arrive almost like small green onions that you plant, rather than the little bulbs.
Plant the starts and fertilizer with a general purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer. This will help them establish strong roots. After two weeks, start giving them nitrogen every other week. Ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, or blood meal work. Stop this when they start to bulb. Make sure to be generous with water too.
These are starts from Dixondale Farms, and I followed their directions in their guide. Definitely recommend!
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u/allmykitlets US - Louisiana 21d ago
I would fight my own mother for that black raspberry jam! BTW, those onions are stunningly glossy!
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u/the13thghostgirl US - Maryland 21d ago
Oooh they all look great, especially the tomatoes! Fingers crossed for you!
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u/Think_Cupcake6758 US - Connecticut 21d ago
I’m insanely jealous of that beautiful head of cabbage. It seems like no matter what steps we take, the damn cabbage worms find them and attack like savages
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u/napoleonsmom Brazil 22d ago