Onions are a favorite of many housewives, cooks, and gardeners. It has a characteristic spiciness and taste, thanks to which it can be consumed fresh and used in the preparation of various dishes, such as salads, soups, meat, twists, marinades, sauces and much more. To get a tasty and good vegetable from your garden, it is important not only to use the correct agricultural cultivation techniques, but also to harvest the crop correctly.
Note! The most popular type of onion is onion , so the information in this article applies primarily to it. But in addition to onions, there are other popular types of vegetable crops: onion sets, winter onions, family onions (shallots), leeks . Signs of ripening, rules for collecting and preparing for storage are also true for these types of onions!
When to dig up onions planted before winter?
It would seem that this is a fairly simple question, and an experienced gardener will be able to determine the harvest period without difficulty. However, in reality this is not the case, because the timing of collection is significantly influenced by climatic conditions, weather in a particular period of time, as well as the type of onion and planting time.
When to dig up onions planted before winter:
- Onions that were planted before winter, that is, a winter crop, are harvested 2 months earlier than those planted in the spring.
- On average, the ripening time for onions that are planted in the spring is 70 days, which is about two and a half months.
Harvesting
In what case will onions continue to grow after cutting?
Green onions are often grown at home in egg trays, plastic containers, and tetra packs of juice and milk.
The containers stand on the windowsills, and housewives cut off the arrows to use them in cooking.
But it is important to cut correctly, that is, so that the onion continues to grow after cutting; you need to pinch it off above the growth point. If you don’t know where it is, then simply cut it so that a few millimeters of green feather remain on the bulb.
In this case, the vegetable will grow further and give you its harvest.
When to dig up spring-planted onions?
A crop that was planted in early May can be harvested at the end of July.
When to dig up onions planted in spring:
- However, this rule only works in central Russia, the Moscow region. If these are regions with a more severe climate, rainy and cold summers, and late spring, then the crop will have to be harvested much later.
- On average, harvesting takes place between the end of July and the beginning of September. In the northern regions and Siberia, harvesting is possible even at the beginning of September. However, it is worth focusing not only on the timing of planting, but also on the appearance of the crop.
Drying onions
When to harvest onions: signs of ripening
There are several signs that will help you determine when harvest time has come. The readiness of onions for harvest can be judged by the following signs.
When to harvest onions, signs of ripening:
- Green feathers bend towards the ground, turn yellow and begin to dry out.
- The neck became exposed and dry.
- The top of the onion head is visible.
If you see this happening to a garden crop, you can start harvesting. There are a lot of subtleties that do not allow you to harvest the crop immediately after it ripens. In particular, this is worsening weather conditions. It is believed that it is best to harvest on a dry and sunny day, before which there has been no precipitation for 3-5 days. It is best to harvest when the soil is completely dry. This simplifies the process of digging up the crop and improves the keeping quality of the onion.
Onion
Drying and preparing for storage
They dug up the onion, but what to do with it? Dry it of course! And this is the most important part of the harvest preservation procedure. If the days are dry and hot, then it is better to leave the crop in the garden until the evening. And in the evening, look what the night will be like. If it is going to rain or there is dew, what should you do? It's better to put it under a canopy. Night moisture can destroy the entire crop.
To avoid dragging it outside the next morning, leave the onions under a canopy. The main thing is not to cut off the tops. How long should the tops remain with the turnip? Two to three weeks until it completely dries out and turns yellow.
If you cut it right away, the pathogenic bacteria will “sit” on the cut, and then the turnip will begin to rot. It is important to dry thoroughly.
How to dry correctly: spread the onions along with the tops in one layer on burlap or paper. Turn each onion several times a day. This procedure is mandatory, especially if you have to dry it along with the tops, which in some places remain green.
By the way, when you sort through the bulbs, select the soft ones, then throw them away, otherwise they will ruin the entire harvest.
The soft turnip harbored bacteria that most likely infected that area. After digging, the bed must be disinfected.
When are onions harvested for the winter, after a rainy summer?
What to do if the summer is rainy and the onions take a very long time to ripen? There are several tricks that gardeners resort to. To speed up the ripening process, you can completely stop watering 10-14 days before the expected harvest date.
When harvesting onions for the winter, after a rainy summer:
- In the northern regions, in order to speed up the ripening of the crop, it is dug up a little over a few days. For these purposes, use a pitchfork, exposing 1/3 of the onion. It is necessary that the neck, feathers, and the third part of the head rise above the soil level.
- All the beneficial substances go into the bulb, and the green feathers begin to fade, turn yellow and reach towards the ground. This allows you to speed up the ripening time, and simplifies the task in the northern regions, which are characterized by rainy, cloudy summers with a small number of sunny days.
- Some gardeners recommend undermining the roots using a pitchfork; however, they do not completely remove the heads from the ground, but leave them until the green feathers dry.
Onion in spring
How to speed up the ripening of onions and prepare them for harvesting
If you understand that the optimal harvest time is approaching, but the onions are not yet showing signs of ripening or rains are expected (you cannot harvest during them), then you can apply some stimulating measures. To speed up the ripening of onions, you can perform the following manipulations:
- Watering stops 2 weeks before harvesting . You need to stop watering even if the weather is dry.
- You can slightly undermine the suction roots so that the bulb begins to feed from the leaf mass. Gently grab the tops and tug lightly, as if you want to pull them out of the ground, while they should remain in the ground until fully ripe. For the same purpose, you can lift the onion with a pitchfork. This manipulation should be done very carefully on clay soil (the stem can be torn off) or sandy soil (the bulb can be pulled out completely).
- If the soil in the garden bed is dry and soft, then you can dig up each onion a little to expose its upper part . Thanks to this exposure, the covering scales will begin to ripen more intensively, which means that ripening will be faster.
Advice! If it begins to rain shortly before harvest, it is recommended to protect the plantings. To do this, you can place arcs in the garden bed and lay a film on them. At the same time, you should not cover the sides with film: the places should be open for ventilation.
This is especially important if you practice the 3rd method (exposing the bulbs in the ground): if you do not protect them from precipitation, they will quickly begin to rot. Also, with the 3rd method, you should especially not water the garden bed.
Important! It is not recommended to trim the feathers to stimulate ripening, otherwise you will deprive the bulbs of nutrients.
How can you dig up onions if they are not ripe?
If the summer is cold and rainy, you have tried all the tips to speed up the ripening of the crop, but this has not yielded results, you need to dig up onions with green feathers, but in no case tearing them off.
How can you dig up onions if they are not ripe:
- It is necessary to carefully remove the bulbs from the soil, while preserving the feathers.
- They need to be laid out on a dry cloth under a canopy and left to dry the top part for about 5-7 days.
- As soon as the feathers are dry, you can cut them off and prepare the onions for storage for the winter.
Onions for storage
Harvesting Tips
The onion crop should always be harvested before the rains, in dry, preferably hot, weather. If the weather is hot, then the dug up onions can be left to lie on the ground so that the bulbs absorb everything that is useful in the tops.
Now let's look at how to dig:
- It is best to dig up the bulbs with your hands, so you will not damage a single turnip. There is no need to pull with force, it is better to dig under it and then pull it out. It is important that the scales remain in place, so the turnip will be stored longer.
- You can pry it with a pitchfork, and then carefully select each bulb from the clod of earth.
- It is necessary to pull out each bulb separately so as not to damage the scales.
- You cannot immediately trim the tops; the bulb still takes away useful elements from the feather.
When harvesting, do not smash the bulbs against each other to clear the soil. Such bulbs will not be stored for long. It’s better to put them into action right away: make preparations or use them first for food.
When to harvest onions from the garden: timing for collecting sets
The harvest time depends on weather conditions and the amount of precipitation in summer. It is necessary to focus on the condition of the onion neck.
When onions are harvested from the garden, the timing for collecting the sets is:
- Harvesting is usually done before the first frost, in late summer or early autumn. You need to wait until the onion neck becomes dry. Please note that if you are late in removing the onion set from the soil, it will begin to grow new roots, which will negatively affect the keeping quality of the vegetable.
- Thus, saving it until spring for replanting will be quite difficult. However, if you dig up such bulbs ahead of time, they will quickly dry out or rot. Storing seedlings that were collected ahead of schedule is quite problematic. Accordingly, you may not get a good harvest next year.
Sevok
How to properly collect onions for storage?
Onions harvested ahead of time, or vice versa, after additional roots have grown, are stored much worse. To preserve the harvest for as long as possible, you need to take the right approach to harvesting it.
How to properly collect onions for storage:
- Many gardeners are divided in their opinions; some believe that it is necessary to pull out the heads by holding the feathers, while others believe that it is best to use a pitchfork for this purpose.
- It is not recommended to use a shovel to avoid accidentally cutting the onion head. Some gardeners smash the heads together to remove the layer of soil. However, this is not recommended, as the top part of the onion can be damaged, which will significantly shorten its shelf life. If feathers accidentally come off while removing the onion from the soil, such a head should be used immediately for cooking. They don't last long.
- It is recommended that after harvesting it leaves approximately 1-2 cm of roots, and 2/3 of the length of the feather. Only after the onion is completely dry, this will happen after 2-3 weeks, is part of the stems and feathers cut off. You need to leave about 7-15 cm.
- It all depends on how you are going to store the onions. If you plan to weave onion heads into braids, then leave the tops about 15 cm long. If the bulbs are stored in boxes or nets, then you need to leave about 5 cm. Onions ready for storage are distinguished by husks that easily break into pieces and are well dried .
Good harvest
Storage conditions
It is best for the harvest to be in a cool and dark pantry, where the temperature does not exceed 5-10 °C. If this is not possible, a dark place in a dry, ventilated area where the temperature is maintained at 18-20 °C is suitable. Subject to storage conditions, onions will remain fresh for a long time.
Onion storage container:
- wooden or plastic boxes with holes in the walls for air circulation;
- 5 kg cardboard boxes with holes;
- nets for vegetables made of nylon for 3–5 kg;
- wicker baskets;
- linen bags.
Since vegetables need a constant flow of air, they are poured into containers in a layer of no more than 50 cm. Otherwise, the product may spoil. The containers are installed above the floor using shelves or stands.
5 mistakes in growing onion seedlings
Onion heads will remain usable for a long time if agricultural practices and correct storage conditions are observed. Therefore, experienced gardeners advise not to neglect the instructions for growing and storing crops. This will lead to a reduction in the percentage of errors and obtain a good result.
When to dig onions in Siberia?
Siberia is a region in Russia with rather harsh climatic conditions. That is why the timing of harvesting onions, as well as other vegetable crops, differs significantly from those accepted in central Russia.
Siberia is distinguished by some peculiarities of weather conditions:
- Spring with frequent frosts
- Changeable weather characterized by strong winds
- Dry, very hot summers or, conversely, endless rains
When to dig onions in Siberia:
- Thanks to this, it is worth concluding that there are no uniform rules, as well as terms for harvesting onions. It all depends on the specific year, as well as the weather in the spring and summer. In Siberia, it is best to harvest at the very beginning of September or at the end of August, depending on the selected variety. It is worth giving preference to early or mid-season varieties. Later species may not have time to ripen sufficiently and will be unsuitable for storage in winter.
- The main condition for onions to remain throughout the winter is the formation of a dense, scaly film, as well as husks that tightly envelop the heads. If the onion is dug up early, the shell will be very thin, fragile and brittle, and will not be able to protect the head from the effects of rot, dampness, mold, and drying out.
- Most often, such onions are stored for only a short time; they are recommended to be used for food immediately. That is why it is necessary to choose varieties that ripen quite early and form a dense shell and scales. Proper harvesting has a huge impact on keeping quality. As for Siberia, it is necessary to harvest on a dry, sunny day.
Acceleration of maturation
How do you know when onions are ripe?
Ripeness can be determined by several factors.
How to tell if onions are ripe:
- According to the time of disembarkation. As mentioned above, on average, from the moment of planting onion sets to harvesting the heads, approximately 70 days should pass. On average, the ripening time of onions depends on its variety. Early varieties ripen much faster.
- Focus on the condition of the bow . If the tops are on the ground, dry out or turn yellow, then it is time to harvest. The neck should dry out and become quite thin.
- Focus on the lunar calendar . Many gardeners use the lunar calendar to help them harvest their crops.
- Consider rainfall and weather conditions. If the summer is rainy, you may have to speed up the ripening process of the bulbs.
Harvesting
When to dig onions according to the lunar calendar?
Experienced gardeners take into account not only the timing of growing season, which is 70-85 days, but also the lunar calendar. There is an opinion that it is best to carry out work related to the garden during the waxing Moon, but this does not apply to onions, as well as root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. The condition of plants is influenced by the Moon.
When to dig onions according to the lunar calendar:
- It is believed that the waxing Moon is closer to the Earth, and the waning Moon is further away. That is why it is recommended to collect fruits that are above the ground, or a feather on the growing Moon, and the bulbs themselves - on the waning Moon.
- During the growing Moon, all the juices are in the part that is located above the ground, that is, in the feathers or tops. During the waning moon, immediately after the full moon, on the contrary, there is a movement of juices and saturation of the bulbs with nutrients. That is why you need to wait until the full moon and start burying the onions.
- However, if you see that the onion has ripened, you should not wait for the waning Moon, so as not to spoil the harvest. If the onion sits in the ground for a long time, it will be much more difficult to store it in the winter. Therefore, when determining the timing of the onion harvest, it is necessary to use an integrated approach: assess the signs of readiness of the heads, take into account the vegetative ripening periods, as well as the lunar calendar.
Harvest
Mistakes when harvesting onions
Onions go through several stages before being stored. It needs to be grown, prepared for assembly, removed, dried, and storage conditions organized. At each stage, gross mistakes are possible, resulting in negative consequences.
Possible mistakes:
- Digging up unripe or overripe specimens.
- Failure to comply with temperature and humidity indicators during collection.
- Harvesting onions in wet weather.
- Sharp temperature fluctuations when transferring bulbs from the garden to the house.
- Watering the crop immediately before harvesting.
- The proximity of healthy specimens to unripe bulbs.
- Low tops trimming. The optimal option is 4 cm.
- Early feather cutting.
- Short and poor quality drying.
- Drying the bulbs in a heap.
- Storing the onion harvest together with other vegetables or root crops.
These are just a few of the mistakes that gardeners can make when sending onions to storage.
When to harvest onions: reviews
It is very difficult to guess the weather and accurately determine the ripeness of onions. Poor keeping quality is not always associated with incorrect harvest dates.
When to harvest onions, reviews:
Victoria . I don’t have a garden, but I have a small plot near a private house. I grow parsley and onions on it. This year I decided to plant regular onions. Focused on the state of the green part. When the leaves began to wither, dry out and turn yellow, they dug up the onions. The heads are quite decent in size, with a dense husk. I did not intend to store it for a long time, since there was little planting material. We ate it in just a couple of months.
Miroslava . I have a large dacha where I grow almost all vegetable crops, including onions and garlic. Onions turned out to be one of the difficult crops for me, since I couldn’t guess the harvest time. The year before last I was guided by the lunar calendar, as a result it did not last long. I think I left it too long in the ground; it needs to be dug up much earlier. Last year, the onions were stored longer, as a dense film and several layers of dry husks formed. But the heads turned out to be small. I think it's a matter of lack of feeding. In general, I am satisfied with the quality of the onion; it was well stored in a net on the balcony.
Olga. I have a large family, so I use a lot of onions over the winter. I start planting onion sets in early spring. I harvest in early September, since I live in Siberia. Due to the rainy, cold summer, it does not always have time to fully ripen. This is why I often speed up the ripening process. I dig it out 1/3 with a pitchfork, leave it to dry under a canopy, without tearing off the tops. Only after the onion is ripe do I cut off the tops and carry out final processing and preparation for storage. Usually there are no problems. I rely on planting dates and weather conditions. After all, Siberia has changeable weather, often cold summers, and several days of heat.
Onions
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Gardeners claim that crops collected on a rainy day are stored much worse. It is necessary to allocate another 7-10 days for complete drying under a canopy. This worsens the taste of onions and also shortens the shelf life. That is why gardeners tend to dig the crop out of dry soil on a sunny day.
