A Question About Onions

[bobbi-j]

What do I do with them after I harvest them? They're ready to go - the tops are all dead. This is the first year we've had any onions to do anything with. Big, white ones - mostly baseball to softball size. In the past, they've been puny. Not even golf ball sized. I have dehydrated them in the past. Any other ideas? I wish I could keep them fresh. It's warm out right now - in the 80's - and humid. Does that make a difference as to how to keep them?

I am working on getting a cold storage pantry built into a closet that has two outside walls (NE corner of the house). A root cellar is not an option, but I thought this could be close. I want to wall off part of the closet, insulate the interior walls (exterior are already insulated, of course) and maybe vent it for fresh air exchange somehow. I figure we have potatoes, onions garlic and two different kinds of winter squash, and my sister-in-law has an abundance of carrots. Oh, and sweet potatoes if they grow. We might as well find a way to preserve and use them for as long as possible.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With onions make sure they are really dried out. Do not wash them. I've had problems in the past where I thought they were dry and put them in storage but there was just enough moisture left in the center to cause the middle of the bulb to rot. Make sure they are really dried out. I kept mine in the sun for a couple of weeks then stored them on drying racks for another couple of weeks. I hate the smell of rotting onions.

Once hey are cured, hang them in mesh bags in a cool dry shady place. I don't have a good place so mine don't last all that long.

I have chopped onions and frozen them in vacuum bags. They will get ice crystals in zip-loc freezer bags but the vacuum bags work great. They freeze into a solid lump but you can break them apart fairly easily with a mallet. I keep some in a zip-loc in the refrigerator freezer and when they run out, open another vacuum bag and use those before they get the ice crystals.

 

[digitS']

I don't know much about humid, Bobbi-j. I do want to reinforce what RidgeRunner said about drying.

Here in an arid part of the country, I dry them on a wood deck outside the greenhouse. The only sun hits that just before sundown.

I used to hang the onions on the north side of a board fence. That worked well.

My basement conditions must be good for onions, even if it probably too warm and dry for potatoes.

What kind of onions are they? Most sweet onions are not rated for long storage. There is a lot of difference between varieties.

Steve

 

[bobbi-j]

Thanks, Ridgerunner and digitS'! I have some plastic trays that are vented on the bottom that I can put them in and let them set on the deck in the sun - it's on the west side of the house so we get sun all afternoon. I think I'll bring them in at night, though, since it gets damp and dewy in the mornings. I'm not sure what kind they are - just that they're white. Right now my plan is to keep as many as I think I can, and dehydrate some. Freezing is a good option, too, but my freezers are getting full. I just froze 60 pints of sweet corn, and my broccoli keeps right on going so I'm freezing that as it gets ready. I also have peas from earlier this summer. I also have beef, venison and chicken taking up space. Shouldn't have to do too much grocery shopping this winter! Thanks again for your help and advice. I'm off to pick onions!

 

[baymule]

I hate the smell of rioting onions.

I don't mind the smell of rioting onions, it's when they loot and burn the grocery stores that I don't like.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Man I love auto correct or what ever caused that one.

 

[Smart Red]

I don't mind the smell of rioting onions, it's when they loot and burn the grocery stores that I don't like.

So that's why I always cry.

 

[lesa]

I kept onions from last year, in the veggie drawers of my fridge until summer. The ones I tried to store in the basement were no good. I am going for the fridge again, with this years onions. I do put a few paper towels in with them, in case of moisture.

 

[journey11]

Onions are easier to store than most things since you won't need a cellar for them. They need a dry, airy, room temperature place to store. I keep mine in a flat cardboard box, single layer, on my canning shelf. But I really prefer them dehydrated for most things. I love the convenience of just tossing them into stuff! But you can't saute a dried onion, now can you...

 

[Smart Red]

My onions are happy to coexist with my glads, dahlias, spuds, etc. in the basement. The room is cool (not cold) and dark, but not a proper root cellar. That's all I've ever used.

Still I plan to dehydrate as many as I can -- especially the reds and whites. The yellows seem to be the longest keepers.