Tuesday, January 11, 2011

My Little Onion Chopper ~ day 11

No need in crying when your cooking up dinner.
Clever and effective idea the kids came up with.
In the past I have refrigerated the onions prior to cutting them up.
I thought that was effective but I am not always good at planning that far ahead.
Sad to report but these are store bought onions. (ha, actually this picture just above is celery, lol) Last year's harvest was marginal. This year Maine Man will try to grow them in ash as it has been said to be an effective way of growing onions. What about you? Do you have any tricks to cutting up onions without fighting back tears? How about growing onions? Any gardening tips to share? Would love to hear all your secrets!

14 comments:

doglady said...

Wearing contact lenses seems to prevent the onion fumes from being a problem. I like the kid's solution though.

Sue said...

I thought I was so cutting edge (scuze the pun) when I discovered that you can get the smell of onions off your hands by rubbing them on anything stainless steel. Now,I am SO going to try out the goggles. We had some luck growing onions (not very many), but most of our success can probably be attributed to us forgetting we had planted them and finding them long after we would have been likely to try to start pulling them up.

Sheryl at Providence North said...

LOL! Love the solution! I might try that myself. I have lots of ash, having a wood stove. I'm going to try digigng a lot of into the onion row next year. Thanks for the tip!

Kelly said...

That is a hoot. Kids are wise beyond their years. The sell glasses that seal around your eyes, bet they cost a fortune too. I just cut and cry. Tried and true method.

jean said...

Too funny! It's a great solution, though. When I saw the photo first, wondered what she was constructing.

andycamp said...

A great way to solve this problem if you don't have ski goggles handy is to use clear plastic wrap. Tear off a piece long enough to go all around your head. Wrap it around your head and tie it in the back. Your freshly wrapped eyes can safely see through the saran wrap and stay protected. You'll look a bit like a raccoon, or the Lone Ranger, but it's a nice trick to avoid crying.

Prairie Mother said...

Ha ha, that is hilarious! Good thinking country girl!

Tea Rose said...

I love the goggle trick! Very clever. Not sure us grown ups would look as cute in goggles though. :-)

We have pretty good luck growing our onions in homemade wood plank 4x8 raised beds with a top soil mixed with mulch, sand and our fertilizer of choice that year (usually chicken bedding from previous cleaning). The onions get real big with the soil being that loose.

Justine said...

That is really a fabulous idea! I will have to try that next time I am crying like a baby at a corny romance movie.

Anonymous said...

Hi there - this is my first look around your blog - I love it. I do believe you know my sister - Coco. Anyway, we grew yellow & red onions in 2010- reds did great, yellows not so great...some of that can be attributed to the geese & ducks pulling them out or eating their tops & chicken scratching them out. & my solution to cutting them - my husband does it!

Anonymous said...

No effective way to cut up onions here without the tears though. We haven't planted onions here before though.

Amy

katiegirl said...

Refrigeration helps out too, but I don't plan ahead either! I find just cutting them as quickly as [safely] possible is the best way for me.

The Unusual Farmchick said...

I am SOO getting me some goggles. And some kids who will cut the onions for me. ;)
I am most curious to hear more about this "ash" use in the onion growing. This is THE year {or at least I keep telling myself} I will have success with growing onions. They will-scratch that-MUST be bigger then an egg is round. I have a bag of fireplace ash & a husband wanting to dump it on the garden. Would you mind explaing any particular method you use {just a handful mixed in a square ft dirt area or...?} Much thanks ahead Chica! :) Last years onions were bigger then normal {o.k more like not looking like starter bulbs} so this year is for success.

Country Girl said...

DL, that is interesting. I would have thought contacts would have made it worse.
Sue, never knew the stainless steel trick.
Andy Camp that is a good one! ;)

Coco's sister, THANKS SO much. Love the feedback, much appreciated.

UUFC, MM says he will mix wood ash with soil (heavier on ash) and will mulch heavy with hay. One of our friends always grows the biggest/baddest onions ever and he contributes it to wood ash. We will see.