A previous article about potato onions provided detailed information describing this unusual root crop, along with tips for growing them in the backyard garden. Today I wanted to share a couple of photos from this summer’s harvest of these unique onions.

Charlene left the following comment on a previous Veggie Gardening Tips Blog entry entitled Growing Shallots in which she inquired into curing shallots harvested from the backyard garden: “We live in the deep south part of Louisiana. Our shallots are ready for harvest now. You spoke of drying and curing… could you please elaborate?

I didn’t plant a single potato in the garden last year due to space constraints, but this year I’m looking to include at least one variety of heirloom potato. I settled on growing a fingerling type potato because I really like the waxy texture and the versatility that they offer in the kitchen. Fingerlings are just as easy to grow as the common standard potato varieties.

What’s a Potato Onion you ask? Well it’s definitely not a potato, not even distantly related to those starchy tubers. No, it’s not some weird genetic cross between a potato and an onion. Potato onions are actually a type of onion that has more in common with a shallot than either a potato or an onion, so don’t ask me how it got its name.

Rutabagas are one of my favorite root vegetables and if you’ve never tasted or raised home grown rutabagas you’re in for a treat. Many people are clueless about just how good rutabagas are, and I have to confess that I was one of them and missed out on enjoying this delicious vegetable in the kitchen as well as the garden for many years.

A friend was surprised recently when I commented that carrots aren’t always orange in color. You may also be surprised to discover just how many different colors of carrots the resourceful gardener can grow in an ornamental vegetable garden.

I recently planted Salsify, also known as Oyster Plant or Vegetable Oyster, in my garden and the seeds have already sprouted and began growing. Salsify is a rather uncommon root crop that is not often found growing in home gardens, but is actually a very care free vegetable to cultivate.

Fingerling Potatoes remain obscure even as their heirloom cousins such as the yellow fleshed and All-Blue varieties grow in popularity and show up regularly at the local grocers.
Fingerling Potato Characteristics
I like fingerling potatoes because they’re unusual, attractive, tasty, and easy to grow in the backyard garden. Fingerlings are also very productive and display very good disease [...]