Originally from Logan, Utah (home of USU), now living in northern Sweden just a few hours from the Arctic Circle. This is a GREAT video, informative and easy to understand. We will follow your instructions this year and see if we can get them dry enough and store them in our root cellar here on the farm. Thanks a million!
Here in my country (UAE) we water vegetables by piping, so when we want to harvest the onion we cut the water supply for about a month, during this period the neck of the onion bends over and it become ready for reaping. But you've done great job explaining well done.
@@cosmicsquirrel7642 once they flower the quality is shot, but you should harvest immediately to hopefully get something from them instead of nothing from them.
A wealth of information. I was disappointed to hear you say Walla Walla Sweets don’t store well since that’s what I’m growing this year. Thanks for the video.
Wish I could include a picture here of the drying rack I made of PVC pipe and 2”x4” fence wire. We dry garlic and onions on it. When not in use, the legs can be taken off the rack table and all of it stored. To dry garlic or onions, the tops are pushed down through the fence wire rectangles so that the bulbs are suspended by the wire with the tops hanging below. Airflow over the bulbs and underneath through the tops, dries them until the stems have dried clear up to the bulbs. Then they are removed along with any loose skin paper and roots trimmed back some. After that, they are ready for storage, etc.
All my onions are putting out scapes. They haven't fallen over, but I guess I should harvest them? I cut some scapes off today and saute'd in some oil, added some fresh tomatoes and lemon juice, but since they were a bit bitter I sprinkled some sugar in. Then tossed with some pasta. It was pretty good.... Note: I first chopped them into little sliver/rounds, then decided to keep the last bits about 1" long. Longer was better - could taste the flavor more.... A bit of S&P, then a sprinkle of dried oregano and it was a quick and easy way to use something that might have been discarded...
Sorry for my slow response. The flower stalks of onions do not bend over like the leaves will. And they will not usually store as long. I use the bolted onions first and store the onions that didn't flower. Onions are a biennial and require a chilling (not freezing) time after they get to a certain size to initiate the flower development. The years that I have the most bolting is when I get them planted too early, especially in my high tunnel, and they grow fast, but there are still plenty of days in the chilling range (usually about 35 - 45 F). Also I have had more bolting when I plant sets that come in a bag from the nursery. I never considered cooking the onion flower stem. I do cook the garlic scapes though. Thanks for watching.
Great information! Thank you for sharing. I keep running into the problem of my white onions rotting after I have cured them for 4 weeks. I've kept them in the unheated garage as suggested but perhaps this has been too warm. Also, is it possible that I've got some sort of disease in the onions that they pick up from the soil?
It's possible. Onions are quite susceptible to soil borne diseases. The typical recommendations from researchers is to not plant onion relatives in the same spot for about four years. That's quite a long rotation.
Very informative thank you as far as long day onions go what would you say is the best red and white onion for storage my research says copra for white and redwing for red but I haven't tested them yet in your opinion what are the longest storing onions?
Copra is the longest-storing onion I know. I'm not sure about redwing. As a general rule, the more pungent onions will store longer than the sweeter onions.
I have grown Ailsa Craig's for the past few years and managed to store them for 6 months. I was planning to give Walla Walla a go next year but storage seems an issue. When you say they won't store, what do you mean? What actually happens to the onions that are stored? HGV
I have had very little success storing Walla Walla onions more than six weeks. If you have ideal storage conditions you might get 8 weeks. The other options for poor-storing sweet onions is to process them (cut them up) and either dehydrate them--we have a lot of dried onions we use during the winter, or process them and freeze them. With all our produce we don't have a lot of freezer space left over so we dehydrate a lot of our onions. Onions don't require blanching and when you freeze them spread them out on a cookie sheet so them don't freeze into big clumps, then bag them and store in the freezer. Thanks for watching.
Here in Maine, we leave Walla Walla in the garden as long as possible until the necks are pretty much gone (late August) and then put in the refrigerator to maximize storage time. Of course, we also use them during the summer once they attain some size.
They will store quite well in the bottom of the refrigerator, but it's not quite cold enough and the humidity is a bit high for long-term storage. Thanks for watching.
The other thing to consider is that this video was not produced for production farming. The intent is to let home gardeners know how to prepare their onions for storage in "less than ideal" situations. Thanks for watching anyway.
![How to Cure Onions [for WINTER Storage on the Shelf]](/img/n.gif)
Originally from Logan, Utah (home of USU), now living in northern Sweden just a few hours from the Arctic Circle. This is a GREAT video, informative and easy to understand. We will follow your instructions this year and see if we can get them dry enough and store them in our root cellar here on the farm. Thanks a million!
as an EMG and researching everywhere, you provided the best education I found. Thank you.
Here in my country (UAE) we water vegetables by piping, so when we want to harvest the onion we cut the water supply for about a month, during this period the neck of the onion bends over and it become ready for reaping. But you've done great job explaining well done.
Is it ok to harvest if the onion is getting flowers ?
@@cosmicsquirrel7642 once they flower the quality is shot, but you should harvest immediately to hopefully get something from them instead of nothing from them.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've see onions been platt
Thank you! As a backyard (and front yard) onion enthusiast, I have a lot to learn. This really helped!
Great advice Ron - many thanks from southern UK.
This was wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
very informative video, nicely done! We really don't appreciate all the work our farmers do to bring us food. Thanks so much.
You certainly know your stuff and it shows! Thank you from Missouri.
Loving these videos. Lots of great information. Thanks for producing these.
A wealth of information. I was disappointed to hear you say Walla Walla Sweets don’t store well since that’s what I’m growing this year. Thanks for the video.
You can always chop them up and freeze them without blanching, or dehydrate them for dry storage. Thanks for watching.
Great information for a beginner,thanks.
An excellent presentation. Thank you.
Thank you for this video when it comes to onions you have explained everything there is to know.
Wish I could include a picture here of the drying rack I made of PVC pipe and 2”x4” fence wire. We dry garlic and onions on it. When not in use, the legs can be taken off the rack table and all of it stored. To dry garlic or onions, the tops are pushed down through the fence wire rectangles so that the bulbs are suspended by the wire with the tops hanging below. Airflow over the bulbs and underneath through the tops, dries them until the stems have dried clear up to the bulbs. Then they are removed along with any loose skin paper and roots trimmed back some. After that, they are ready for storage, etc.
That sounds like a handy drying rack. I have since acquired a rack of wire shelves that has worked very well for me. Thanks for watching.
Ron Patterson It works great!
Can I use the refrigerator to store onions? I live in northern Colorado.
That onion is massive! 👍🏻
32-36 degrees is about refrigerator temp...but I've always heard to not refrigerate onions. I think humidity should be pretty low in a fridge, too.
All my onions are putting out scapes. They haven't fallen over, but I guess I should harvest them? I cut some scapes off today and saute'd in some oil, added some fresh tomatoes and lemon juice, but since they were a bit bitter I sprinkled some sugar in. Then tossed with some pasta. It was pretty good....
Note: I first chopped them into little sliver/rounds, then decided to keep the last bits about 1" long. Longer was better - could taste the flavor more.... A bit of S&P, then a sprinkle of dried oregano and it was a quick and easy way to use something that might have been discarded...
Sorry for my slow response. The flower stalks of onions do not bend over like the leaves will. And they will not usually store as long. I use the bolted onions first and store the onions that didn't flower. Onions are a biennial and require a chilling (not freezing) time after they get to a certain size to initiate the flower development. The years that I have the most bolting is when I get them planted too early, especially in my high tunnel, and they grow fast, but there are still plenty of days in the chilling range (usually about 35 - 45 F). Also I have had more bolting when I plant sets that come in a bag from the nursery. I never considered cooking the onion flower stem. I do cook the garlic scapes though. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for your expertise. 👍👍
just the information I needed. thank you.
Is the higher sugar content of sweeter onions one reason they keep for a shorter time in storage?
Somewhat. Mostly it is because of a higher moisture content and a lower sulfur content. Thanks for watching.
Thank you very much from Cornwall UK.
Great information! Thank you for sharing. I keep running into the problem of my white onions rotting after I have cured them for 4 weeks. I've kept them in the unheated garage as suggested but perhaps this has been too warm. Also, is it possible that I've got some sort of disease in the onions that they pick up from the soil?
It's possible. Onions are quite susceptible to soil borne diseases. The typical recommendations from researchers is to not plant onion relatives in the same spot for about four years. That's quite a long rotation.
@@ronpatterson8751 Thanks Ron, Really appreciate your insights. I'll keep trying different varieties and rotating!
I’ve heard keeping them in garage keeps them from getting proper airflow. It could be bad info but just something to thing on.
Very informative thank you as far as long day onions go what would you say is the best red and white onion for storage my research says copra for white and redwing for red but I haven't tested them yet in your opinion what are the longest storing onions?
Copra is the longest-storing onion I know. I'm not sure about redwing. As a general rule, the more pungent onions will store longer than the sweeter onions.
Thank you for this. It was very informative.
Learned a lot thank you! Not the least of which, Utah has a monsoon season....
LOL. It's all relative. When your average precipitation is 6 - 8 inches, a monsoon would be 1/2 inch of rain.... Thanks for watching.
Can I just put in fridge after curing?
Thanks for the information! Cheers from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada.
Thanks for sharing
I have grown Ailsa Craig's for the past few years and managed to store them for 6 months. I was planning to give Walla Walla a go next year but storage seems an issue. When you say they won't store, what do you mean? What actually happens to the onions that are stored? HGV
They spoil quicker. They sprout quicker. I have also had Ailsa Craig store for about 6 months. I love the flavor of Ailsa Craig. Thanks for watching.
I grew those in Prince Edward Island, Canada, they were beautiful , I have a few this year as well. Australian Browns and Yellow of Parma this year
Thank you. from East Carbon. I went to harvest my onions, but got bulbs growing instead. I did something wrong
Thank you!
Thank you for the great informative vid
Is the process for harvesting and drying/curing shallots similar to this process? Thanks!
I treat my shallots the same and they store longer than the regular onions. Thanks for watching.
very helpful thanks
So, I am growing Walla Wallas this year and they will be ready for harvest soon. After they cure they will only last a month? YIKES! Is that true?
I have had very little success storing Walla Walla onions more than six weeks. If you have ideal storage conditions you might get 8 weeks. The other options for poor-storing sweet onions is to process them (cut them up) and either dehydrate them--we have a lot of dried onions we use during the winter, or process them and freeze them. With all our produce we don't have a lot of freezer space left over so we dehydrate a lot of our onions. Onions don't require blanching and when you freeze them spread them out on a cookie sheet so them don't freeze into big clumps, then bag them and store in the freezer. Thanks for watching.
Here in Maine, we leave Walla Walla in the garden as long as possible until the necks are pretty much gone (late August) and then put in the refrigerator to maximize storage time. Of course, we also use them during the summer once they attain some size.
What about storing them in bottom of a refrigerator?
They will store quite well in the bottom of the refrigerator, but it's not quite cold enough and the humidity is a bit high for long-term storage. Thanks for watching.
Thank you
Curing a week or two? Thought 5 days...in canada might need less!!!
Eating bull neck or sweet...yum
be sure to wear gloves so the onions don't cut your hands
Right. It's easier to leave them on my hands than to keep taking them on and off. Thanks for watching.
I didn't even know they were sick?
Extension Agents are mostly incompetent ...This guy obviously couldn't make a Dime farming.
Okay...I'm wondering why you would waste your time if you feel that way. I could show you the dimes.
The other thing to consider is that this video was not produced for production farming. The intent is to let home gardeners know how to prepare their onions for storage in "less than ideal" situations. Thanks for watching anyway.