Onion curing?'s

[gixxerific]

Yeah yeah it's me again.

This time I want to know how YOU cure your onions. I have been all over the net and YouTube even asked this question on another forum and the thoughts on this are all over the place.

Do you cure in the sun or not for the first day or two? Do you leave the stems, roots on while curing? Do you hang them or lay them on a table? Basement or hot garage.

I was thinking about putting them in the garage with a fan on a table with leaves on for now.

Sorry so many questions I have never had a good enough onion crop to worry about saving them. I had some onions last year they weren't great but they all rotted fairly quickly, I am wondering if it is what I did with them after I pulled them. Which was nothing but putting them in the basement. I sure don't want this to happen again.

[jal_ut]

Mid August if the tops have not fallen over on their own, I mash them down. I usually pull the onions about the first week of September. I want the tops pretty well shriveled/dried up, not still green.

They need to be dried. I pull them and lay them out on the floor of the shed for a couple of weeks. One layer deep so the air can circulate around them. When the tops are very dry, I cut the tops off. The roots should be dry and brittle now so I just rub them off. Then bag the onions in a mesh onion bag and hang them in the garage. When really cold weather approaches I take them down the basement. I don't want them to freeze. Sometimes it will freeze in the garage when it gets down around zero and below.

[jal_ut]

I will add, don't get in a big hurry to pull your storage onions. They keep very well in the ground. I like to get them pulled and pretty well dried before frost, but the timetable I gave above works well here. Our first frost avg Sept 18.

Yes, if no storms are expected, you can dry them out in the garden in the sun for a few days. The sun is not going to hurt them. You don't want them getting rained on though. Its back-pedaling.

I still have a few storage onions that are usable from last season. They keep pretty well here in dry Utah.

[gixxerific]

Thanks James, I already pulled the I want to use that space for something else. Maybe these will store for a good long time. Next year I won't be in such a hurry.

[jal_ut]

Ya, the space I devote to storage onions is taken for the whole season. I plant early in April and pull them just a couple weeks ahead of fall frost.

On the Egyptian onions I plant for green onions I can get three crops in the space, or follow onions with something else. Another plan is to follow radishes with Egyptian onions.

I planted way more onions than I need hoping they would go good at the farmer's market.

What are you planning to plant in the space? I am thinking about a late crop of peas, but would have to get them in right now to have enough time to finish. I don't know how they would do in the 90 deg weather coming up? My early crop is about on. It will take them about 11 weeks. If I plant now I have 11 weeks until frost. I have tried late peas before, but jerked out the early crop and replanted there. I never have quite enough time to get two crops like that.

[gixxerific]

Dang, again James. What would we do without you. I wasn't thinking about peas. I put in watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe hoping they produce before the frost. They should be alright I have 3 1/2 months or so.

I still need to get peas in again they were great this spring. I also have Brussels sprouts I have been growing inside for quite some time that I want to put out. I never had good luck, or should I say any luck with them so far.

But this year seems to a record breaker in every category so far. So let's keep that trend going.

I will put the peas out so I remember to do something with them. If you know me I will find space for then somewhere.

Maybe the roof.

[jal_ut]

I wasn't thinking about peas. I put in watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe hoping they produce before the frost.

Good luck with that. It would never work here. Those are full season crops for me.

Beets would likely make it for you too. I have some late beets that are about an inch tall now.

I should get off my butt and go plant something.