Tomatoes and Onions Go Together, Right?

We've been in another dry spell and I decided it would be a good idea to get the onions out of the garden before fall rains hit. So yesterday morning I enlisted the aid of my Under Gardener (which is the title a British gal once told me they call someone working under the Head Gardener in England) in the harvesting of our onions.

To my dismay I found these onions that nearly fill a 5-gallon pail in various stages of decay. Some had just a soft spot and others were well on their way to ishy-mushy compost. They were scattered throughout the three raised beds I had onions planted in. Most were growing right next to a perfectly good, solid onion. Papa Pea suggested it might be some kind of a fungus that had attacked them.

But the good news is I think we've got enough onions that will cure nicely and last us through the winter. Above are pictured about two-thirds of them spread out in a shed to dry. A bit of work left after they've cured to get them cleaned up and stored in mesh bags but I'm thrilled to see the good harvest we got.

I hadn't picked any of our cherry tomatoes in a couple of days and knew a whole bunch of them were ripening at once. Papa Pea helped me pick them and this was our harvest.

A total of 18-1/2 pounds of cherry tomatoes! Can you believe that? I couldn't. All from two plants I started indoors and planted in a raised bed. These were the same tomatoes that only a very short time ago I feared weren't EVER going to ripen. What do they say about patience being a virtue?

So far today I've gone up to get milk, done a couple of errands in town (still crowded with tourists - ugh), started some cottage cheese and sat down to write this post.

It's nearly noon now which means I should be thinking about lunch. Then I'll be preserving the tomatoes and making some more refrigerator pickles. Hubby has asked for help in putting the finish on the garage floor in the area of the utility sink and new washer. Methinks all of that should pretty well take care of this day.