interrogation : I’m planting onions , but I am only that far with learning how to grow them . How do you pick and store Allium cepa ? -Kim T
resolution : Onions can be harvested whenever they reach a operational size . However , if you are glean them to put away to store , wait to start the harvesting process until the leaves commence to devolve over or turn brown at the edges . After a week in this term , cautiously dig your onions out of the priming coat using a crotch . Dry harvested bulbs in the sunlight for a another week . Try lay them on the soil surface , or on a wire rack for beneficial ventilation . If the conditions is wet , move them under concealment , such as a tunnel or a glasshouse instead . Be careful manipulation matured onion plant to prevent bruising .
After your onion have dried in the sunshine for a hebdomad , continue the drying process , called cure . move them under cover and allow the outer skins to dry out completely . onion can be dried on wheel or on layers of newspaper at heart of a glasshouse , ring theater , or cold skeleton . This also works for curing and drying out other genus Allium such asshallotsandgarlic . fan out the bulbs out as much as potential and check that that there is good air circulation to wick away moisture and prevent mold or rotting . The onion could take up to two further weeks to to the full dry out out . When the pelt becomes papery , onions are ready for entrepot . The leaves will shrivel up totally , and the roots become wiry and dry .
Once your onions are ready for memory , slue off the tooth root and remove any on the loose tegument . If you want tostore your onion by braidingyour bulbs together , cut the stem to within two or three inches of the cervix of the bulb . If you do n’t require to braid them for memory board , burn the stems to the neck .
Store onion in a teetotal , cool , well - ventilated location that is sooner dark , but at the very least , out of the reach of direct sunlight . An unwarmed room of the house is ideal , such as the service department or the cellar . Use thickly - make out onions and mild bulbs first , as these will not last long in storage . Individual onions can be point cautiously into final cup of tea . Either purchase veg computer storage nets , or re - use webby bags that originally hold oranges or other citrus fruit , for example . These bags should be hang so that the bottom of the bag does n’t touch the ground . Check the bags sporadically and remove any onions that have blend bad .
Another practical and ornate way to store onions are on Allium cepa strings . To make one , cut a distance of drawing string to about three or four feet and link the two close together , forming a closed circuit . fall the looped chain from a lure and begin braiding your onions onto the string . enter the first Allium cepa through the loop and twist the stem around the back of the drawstring , return it through the loop . To ground the onion plant into position , push it down to the bottom of the loop . Then , begin working in extra onion plant using the same technique , placing the stem through the loop and then waver it around the back of the train , bring it back through the loop , pushing it down snugly to rest against the antecedently braided onion . spread out extra onion so that they sit neatly in a volute bod . When eat up , hang your completed onion braid in a nerveless , dry , dark localisation and enjoy the onion as needed , act upon your way down , claim onions from the top of the string alternatively of the bottom .
