When to dig up onions: the timing of harvesting from the beds for storage

There are many criteria by which it is determined when it is better to dig up onions. The quality of the bulbs and the duration of their storage depend on the correct harvesting time.

How to determine the ripeness of root crops?

Onion harvesting time largely depends on the variety and weather conditions. There are varieties with early, medium and late crop maturation. In cold regions, ripening time is longer.

It is possible to determine that it is necessary to remove onions from the beds by external signs:

• stems turn yellow, dry up;
• feathers from a vertical position gradually fall on the beds (if the summer is cold, then the feathers turn yellow later than the bulb itself ripens);
• bulb neck becomes thin and soft;
• maturity can also be determined by the bulb itself, dry scales should be freely removed from it;
• turnip tastes juicy, the plates are crispy, with a pleasant aroma.

In a mature bulb, the tops should lie on the ground. But the ripening of the bulbs is uneven, not all plants may turn yellow and dry out the feathers. Start harvesting as soon as most plants have tops.

Some vegetable growers are guided by the dates indicated in the lunar calendar. In this case, the harvest boundaries fall in mid-July and last until early August. The moon should be waning.

You can calculate the date of digging up the harvest in a simple mathematical way. To do this, 65-80 days are added to the date when the vegetable was planted. The number of days depends on the type of onion planted. The result will be the exact harvest date. In the case of rainy and cold summers, a few more days are added.

Collection Features

As soon as all external signs of onion maturity have been detected (the leaves have turned yellow, the neck has shrunk, and the outer scales have dried up), you can start harvesting from the site.

The onion is pulled out of the garden (it is better to use a pitchfork), gently shake off the ground and leave to dry. Do not beat the bow against each other, trying to get rid of adhering dirt. This causes damage to the heads and the onset of rotting.

Onions are harvested in the garden, folded in two or three layers. Periodically you need to turn different sides to the sun. If the weather is dry, warm, then it can be dried in this way for 7-10 days. In the sun, the onion finally ripens, dries and disinfects.

Preparatory work

Harvesting technology includes a number of recommendations that will help improve the quality of the crop and reduce the number of spoiled bulbs:

• Two weeks before the expected harvest, they stop watering, loosening and fertilizing the beds (these activities contribute to the growth of tops and delay the ripening of the bulbs). The bulbs will dry out, and this factor will favorably affect storage. If it rains, it is recommended to cover the beds with foil.
• A week before the proposed procedure, it is recommended to clear the bulb from the ground by half. Slightly exposed heads will receive more light.
• It is better to start harvesting in the early morning, when the sun is just rising.
• Cleaning is done in dry, sunny weather.
• When the onions are ripe, do not pull them out by hand. It is better to use a shovel or a pitchfork, carefully digging the ground.
• The dug up onions are laid out on a fabric panel, allowing to dry under the sun. If the weather is rainy, then the onions are cleaned in a well-ventilated area.
• Onions can be harvested for several days, but do not overexpose them in the ground.

It is not recommended to immediately cut the leaves. They have a lot of nutrients that will enter the bulb for a long time after digging the vegetable out of the ground.

If you start harvesting early, the bulbs will not be as dense and juicy, and the shelf life will be significantly reduced. If you overexpose the bulbs in the ground, then not only the taste will suffer, but the risk of rotting will also increase. Most bulbs start to crack and rot when overexposed in the ground.

Features of collecting in rainy weather

When the weather is not happy, vegetable growers are worried about the question: when to harvest onions in rainy weather? For harvesting, you need to choose the driest day. Most often, the crop dries longer and has little storage.

In wet weather, onion ripening is delayed. In this case, you need to know the techniques that help maturation. The bulbs, together with the roots and the ground, are lifted with a pitchfork (the roots are undermined) and left in this position to dry out the tops. You can move the earth away from the bulbs and trim the roots. All these actions will lead to rapid yellowing and drying of the tops, as well as the ripening of the bulbs.

If the weather is rainy, the bulbs should be put under a roof or in a room with good ventilation. You need to turn over periodically. After the onion dries, it is peeled from the upper husk, the leaves are cut off, leaving about 5 cm stumps.

How to accelerate ripening?

If the onion harvest time is approaching and the rainy season is approaching, and the feathers are still green and there is no hint of wilting, some measures can be applied.

• The lack of moisture will help speed up the ripening process. The beds stop being watered and the plant does not receive nourishment for development.
• You can undermine the roots by slightly lifting with a pitchfork. If the ground is loose and dry, then you can manually pull the leaves a little.
• You can expose the bulbs by pushing back the top layer of soil. But this method can only help if the head is set too deep.

If you planted a vegetable a little later than the due date, the tops will also help the bulbs to ripen. To do this, it does not need to be cut for another 7-10 days after harvesting the vegetable from the garden.

How to collect testes?

It is best to collect seeds for planting vegetables next year from your garden. After harvesting, bulbs are selected for seeds, which are distinguished by a high density, about 10 cm in diameter. The selected bulbs must be stored warm for three months. During this time, they will be covered with a large number of scales.

The planting of bulbs for seeds starts earlier, in the last days of April, as it takes more time to form seeds.Before placing in the holes, the neck is cut to juicy scales so that shoots appear faster. There should be a distance of about 25 cm between rows, and a distance of at least 15 cm between bulbs in a row.

At the end of summer (the last days of August) seeds ripen - nigella. Onion leaves begin to turn yellow and dry.

Be sure to collect the seeds correctly and ensure proper storage:

• Start collecting seeds when the pods begin to burst.
• Arrows are cut, bundled and hung under a canopy until fully ripe.
• Under the hanging arrows, be sure to lay paper where ripe seeds will fall.
• They grind the inflorescences on their own to get the remaining seeds.
• After that, it is recommended to select high-quality planting material. The seeds are placed in a glass of water. Those that surface are thrown away.
• The remaining, good seeds are spread on a fabric surface and left to dry.

The collected seeds are stored in a cloth bag, in a dry, dark place. After sowing seeds of nigella, onion sets grow. It matures in about 85-90 days. The collection can last from the end of July until the beginning of September. But do not leave until frost and heavy rains.

In order to preserve all the useful properties in the sevka, you need to harvest on time. The fact that the sevok is ripe can be recognized by external signs: the leaves become yellow, dry and lethargic, the neck is soft and dry. No need to wait for the leaves to fall on the beds. Such a crop is poorly stored, and after planting next year it will form only arrows.

Starting to dig up crops in dry weather. You can pull out by hand, there is also a way when the bulb is pulled out with a pitchfork.

Drying bulbs before storage

On average, the complete drying of the harvested crop takes two weeks. During the drying process, all pathogenic bacteria are destroyed. It is best to dry in the sun, right on the beds. Wind and sun rays are good for this process. At night, you can clean under a canopy so that the dew does not get wet again.

If the bulbs are left to dry in the garden even at night, then in the morning it is recommended to cover them with a film so that the dew cannot harm the crop.

When the onion dries a little, begin to cut the tops. Leave a stump 5 cm long. If you plan to weave braids, you can dry it together with feathers. Their length must be at least 15 cm.

Storage secrets from an experienced summer resident

Be sure to observe the storage conditions for onions.Only whole, dense onion heads are suitable for storage. They can be arranged in wicker baskets, wooden or plastic crates with holes, or nets. You can simply collect several heads together and tie them into a bundle with a rope, hanging from the ceiling.

You can weave braids from tops. In this case, after drying, the leaves do not need to be cut, they are simply intertwined together. All bulbs are well ventilated and rarely rot.

It is important to know at what temperature onions should be stored throughout the winter. It is best to store in a dark, cool place (for example, in a basement or cellar), where the air temperature is from 0 to +5. Humidity is not more than 80%. If the air humidity is higher, the risk of rotting and germination of the crop increases. The room must have good ventilation. If the onion is stored at home, then it should be kept away from heaters, with a good air supply.

Some experienced gardeners know their secrets on how to properly store the harvest. To prevent the process of decay, sprinkle the heads with chalk. Only such a bow can no longer be planted in the ground.

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