Curing Onions

In June, I posted about the onions I planted in the spring. Check out this link to see how much the onions have grown in the past six weeks.

People often ask me how to tell when to harvest onions. The best way is to wait until the leaves start to fall over. If you plant in early spring, this will happen in August and September and even into October. Pull up the onions being careful to that the leaves are intact. Then cure them for two to three weeks. Most people recommend that you cure your onions in a shed or garage, but I am curing them in the garden beds. I will then cut the dried leaves within an inch of the onion and wipe off the dirt from the skin. Store your onions in a cool dry place with lots of air circulation. Here is a post about me storing 50 pounds of onions in my garage last winter!

Keep in mind that when you store onions, you should check on them every week or so. Be prepared to lose 10-25% of your onions to rot. If you feel an onion getting soft, remove it immediately from the rest of the onions or they will get soft and rot as well. Either discard the soft onion, or if it is not too damaged, use it right away.