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There's nothing quite like pulling a homegrown onion from the garden. Whether you've grown sweet onions for summer salads or sturdy storage varieties for winter cooking, timing your harvest correctly can make all the difference. Pick them too early and the bulbs may not reach their full size. Leave them in the ground for too long, and they can become more vulnerable to rot or splitting.
Fortunately, expert gardener Jamie Walton (@nettlesandpetals) has shared a simple way to tell exactly when your onions are ready to harvest—along with a tried-and-tested method for storing them so they last for months.
According to Walton, the biggest clue is the onion's stem or "neck." Rather than judging by the size of the bulb alone, he waits until most of the onion tops have naturally fallen over.
The Simple Signs Your Onions Are Ready to Pick This Season
A bent or collapsed neck is a sign that the plant has stopped sending energy to its leaves. In other words, the bulb has finished growing and is as large as it's going to get. If some onions are still standing tall while others have flopped over, it's worth harvesting the mature ones first and giving the others a little more time.
Once the onions are lifted from the soil, proper curing is the secret to long-lasting storage. Instead of trimming the tops straight away, Walton leaves them attached and hangs the onions upside down in a dry, well-ventilated spot that's out of direct sunlight.
He recommends leaving the onions to cure for around a month. During this time, the outer skins dry out while the neck shrinks and seals itself, helping to protect the bulb from moisture and decay.
Related: Stop Throwing Away Vegetable Leaves—a Gardening Expert Shares 7 Tasty Uses
How to Harvest and Store Onions, According to an Expert Gardener
After the curing process is complete and the necks have fully dried, the onions can be strung together and hung in a cool, dry place for long-term storage.
The gardener also points out that if you're hoping to keep onions for many months—or even use them for seed-saving in the following season—it helps to start with onions grown from seed rather than sets. Seed-grown onions generally store better, although some varieties are naturally better keepers than others.
With a little patience at harvest time and a few weeks spent curing your crop, you can enjoy homegrown onions well beyond the growing season. It's a simple extra step that pays off with fresher flavor, less waste and a pantry stocked with garden-grown goodness long after summer has faded.
Related: DIY Wooden Pallet Vegetable Washing Station Makes Harvest Cleanup So Much Easier
