get word when to harvest onions for the dependable relish — plus , which varieties to grow and how to bring around and store them so they last for calendar month .
If you expend a hour browsing savory formula , you ’re bound to work across a recipe that anticipate for onions . From beefburger toppings in the summertime tocozy French onion soup in the fall , onion are utilitarian twelvemonth - rotund . Fortunately , they areeasy to acquire in your garden .
Best Onion Varieties for Storage
Properly stored , onion plant can last for month . The good store onion varieties have a high sulphur content — they’ll make you call out — and a substantial flavor . meek - flavor orsweet onion varietieswill in all probability only keep for a few weeks . Good farseeing - store alternative admit ‘ Stuttgarter ’ , ‘ Yellow Globe ’ , ‘ Copra ’ , ‘ Patterson ’ , ‘ Redwing ’ , and ‘ Ebenezer ’ onions . Most of these ( except for ‘ Redwing ’ and ‘ Ebenezer ’ ) are yellow mixed bag and hardy inUSDA Zones3 - 9 .
check into withyour local cooperative filename extension officeto determine which character of onion rise best in your area .
When to Harvest Onions
A good rule of pollex for when to reap onionsis to hold off until one-half of the leaves have died back . As onions approach due date , “ they begin accumulating H2O and sugars in the bulb and force sugar and nutrients from the leave into the bulbs , which causes the farewell to die back and the tip to flop over , ” says Genevieve Higgins , extension vegetable production pedagogue at the University of Massachusetts . Higgins admonish , “ Do n’t wait until the foliage on every flora has fallen , or you launch the peril of the plant that matured earlier becoming over - fledged . ”
Use a garden forktoloosen the soilaround the plant , taking care not to skewer the onions . Then lift the onion bulbs out of the ground and encounter off the surplus filth . If the soil is open already , you’re able to pull them up by hand . Do n’t remove the leaf .
“ It ’s good to leave the peak on onion until they are fully cure . Cutting off the tops before the neck opening is cured down cater an entering stage for bacteria and fungus , which can lead to bulb rotting , ” say Higgins .
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apply any Allium cepa with flowers as before long as possible , as they do not store well .
Curing Onions
right set is all important for storing onions . The outer layers of the bulb must dry out sufficiently to protect the interior part from rot and mildew . They can be cured outdoors in teetotal conditions by lay them on top of the soil or on a sportsmanlike , ironical airfoil . Do n’t wash them ; just sweep off sluttish dirt .
“ Be careful not to allow for Allium cepa out in excessive heat or excessive wet . restrained warm and wry conditions are helpful when curing , so if it ’s sunny out , get them dry where they are , ” says René Hardwick , director of public and manufacture relation for the National Onion Association . “ Excessive exposure to moisture or sun in the cure process could run to radioactive decay or collapsed layers . ”
Allium cepa can also be cure in agarage , backyard shed , orcovered porchwhere they ’re protect from wet conditions . “ The finish is to attain dry circumstance and temperature below 85 ℉ for two to four weeks . Make certain the structure where you ’re curing your onions has secure airflow and ventilation . open up the doors and use sports fan to move the air around , ” say Higgins .
How to Know When Your Onions Are Cured
you’re able to tell when your onion are well cured when the tabu skin layers ironical to the point of making a rustling sound when they ’re move . “ The necks of onion should dry down so that when you top the neck opening between your thumb and cursor finger , it feels dry and not slippery inside , ” says Higgins .
When the onions are cure , brushing off any remaining soil and loose layer . Then switch off the tops about an column inch or so above the bulb ( unless you require to braid the onions for storage ) , and trim the root . Sort the onion and separate any that are damaged or have n’t cure sufficiently and employ them right by ( onion rings , anyone ? ) .
How to Store Onions
“ The idealistic condition for long - terminal figure storage is 32 ℉ with 65 - 70 % relative humidity , ” enounce Higgins . Although these condition may be hard to keep at home , onions are forgive . “ Often , storing cured onion in a barn or garage where they cool off down with the outside temperature is unspoilt enough , ” says Higgins . Just be sure to avoid high temperature and exposure to sunlight ( which willtrigger sprouting ) and keep the store area well - air .
Store the onions ontrays or in open binsto improve airflow around the bulbs and keep a alert center for bad medulla or sprouts . Alternatively , you’re able to store them in a mesh bag , wire basket , or crate . You could even plait them for hanging . Check them regularly and fling any that show signs of putrefaction . Above all , do n’t store onions nearpotatoesorapples . Spuds and apples emit high-pitched levels of ethylene gas , a natural plant endocrine that touch off mouth off .
When you have a good harvest , it ’s well worth the effort to bring around and hive away your Allium cepa properly , allow you to enjoy them for many month to come . That means , you ’ll be prepared whenever the craving foronion diporfajitaskicks in .
Frequently Asked Questions
When stored in a dry , dark topographic point , some ruddy onion , like the ‘ Red Wethersfield ’ variety , may last as long as a year . Other varieties , like ‘ Agelaius phoeniceus ’ and ‘ Red Zeppelin ’ onions , will likely last six to 10 months .
Most white onions are softer and milder than red and yellow onion plant , and their shelf biography is short . However , when stored the right way , some white Allium cepa potpourri , such as ‘ Sterling ’ and ‘ Ringmaster ’ onion , can be stored for four to six months .
Sweet onions contain fewer sulfurous compound than pungent onions . They have a higher sugar and water content and thin , papery skin — all of which shortens their ledge life . enclose sweet onion bulbs individually in newspaper publisher towels and stack away them in the crisper draftsman of your refrigerator , where they last three to six months . They only last four to six weeks when salt away at room temperature .
If you cry when cutting onions , sulfurous compounds are to charge . When you slice into the onion , the onion ’s cellphone release those chemical compound into the strain . So , it ’s not the smell that causes you to pluck up , but a substance that devil the center and induction tears . It ’s a modest Leontyne Price to make up for increased storehouse time because those sulfurous compound inhibit bunk .
