Many owners of private gardens and summer cottages are engaged in cultivating onions on their plots. A lovingly grown crop of root vegetables can supply the family's needs for this spicy vegetable until the beginning of next summer, naturally, provided that ideal storage conditions are created. But even the best methods for storing onions will not help if all the conditions for digging up the crop are not met.
Proper harvesting and drying of the onion harvest is the key to high shelf life of the heads. According to reviews from experienced gardeners, in the middle zone it is advisable to completely dig up the onions before August 10th. It is believed that at the end of summer the growth of the aboveground part of the seedlings is again activated, and this leads to the outflow of nutrients from the roots (bulbs) to the leaves and peduncles.
Preparing bulbs for long-term storage
Onions should not be harvested after prolonged rainfall or in wet soil. If weather forecasters predict rain, and the time for digging up the bulbs is already approaching, then a film is stretched over small and narrow beds, and drainage ditches are dug on large plantations.Moisture accumulated in the heads significantly impairs keeping quality. This turnip should be used for food as quickly as possible. Ideally, onion beds, like garlic beds, stop watering 3 weeks before harvest, and harvesting is carried out on dry soil.
The next important step is thorough drying of the bulbs. The heads, along with the stems, are laid out in one layer on burlap or wrapping paper and dried, if the weather is dry, first for about a week under a canopy, and then in a barn or attic (another 2-3 weeks).
Fully ripened bulbs are selected by hand, determining by touch the dryness of each root collar (it should be thin and make a characteristic crackling sound). It is these heads that can remain fresh until the next harvest.
The remaining onions are put in a kitchen drawer to be used for culinary purposes first.
Another way to increase the shelf life of onions is to burn dry roots over the flame of a gas burner or candle. With the help of fire, the root bed of the root crop is sealed, through which phytopathogens most often penetrate, causing rotting and damage to the crop.
Onions are stored in vegetable stores under the following conditions:
- air humidity from 70 to 80%;
- temperature from 0 to +2°C;
- organization of constant air circulation.
Options for storing onions in an apartment: container, location, conditions, features
In the apartment, onions are stored warmly at a temperature of +16 to +20°C. The place for vegetables is chosen to be dry and constantly ventilated. Root vegetables are not kept in the refrigerator, since the air humidity in this device is high. The heads should not be placed in airtight plastic bags, since in the absence of ventilation, rotting processes begin very quickly.
Onions brought from the dacha are first laid out in a mountain near the heating radiator that is on, so that the heads are properly warmed up. In this form, root vegetables should lie for 24 to 36 hours.
One of the popular methods of storing onions is in braids or buns.
The dried stems in such heads are not cut, but woven together with twine, or cut to a height of about 20 cm and tied into bundles. Small bundles are hung from the ceiling and on the walls of the pantry, kitchen, hallway and other secluded corners of the apartment.
Housewives often keep onions and garlic in old nylon stockings or tights. In improvised bundles, hung on the walls or attached to the ceiling, the bulbs are well ventilated and remain fresh for a long time.
When storing in boxes, the layer of bulbs should not exceed 30 cm. In this case, the container should be well ventilated. Wooden boxes with holes, cardboard boxes with holes, or mesh plastic vegetable containers work well.
No less popular is storing onions in small bags made of natural fabric and large-mesh polyester mesh.
The optimal number of bulbs to store in each net is 5-6 kg.
The harvest is stored in secluded corners of the house, for example, in the entryway, pantry, vestibule or on an insulated loggia.
For all planting options, bulbs must be periodically inspected, selecting sprouted or rotten specimens. Remember that one rotten bulb provokes spoilage of up to 2 kg of crop. The heads with hatched feathers can be placed in water or planted in the ground to produce lush greenery.
And do not forget to select the onion peels remaining during storage, storing the covering scales in paper bags or gauze bags.With the onset of the summer season, using an infusion and decoction of the husk, you can feed seedlings and seedlings with microelements and protect many garden and vegetable plants from dangerous pests (aphids, mites, caterpillars).
Anyone can preserve the onion harvest throughout winter and spring. It is enough to adhere to the above recommendations in order to use root vegetables grown at the dacha until next summer.
