There are many criteria that determine when it is best to dig up onions. The quality of the bulbs and the duration of their storage depend on the correct timing of harvesting.
How to determine the ripeness of root vegetables?
The time to harvest onions largely depends on the variety and weather conditions. There are varieties with early, middle and late harvest ripening periods. In cold regions, ripening time increases.
You can determine that onions need to be removed from the beds by external signs:
- the stems turn yellow and dry out;
- 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);
- the neck of the bulb becomes thin and soft;
- maturity can also be determined by the bulb itself; dry scales should be freely removed from it;
- The turnip tastes juicy, the slices are crispy, with a pleasant aroma.
For a mature bulb, the tops should lie on the ground. But the ripening of the bulbs occurs unevenly; not all plants may turn yellow and dry out. They begin harvesting as soon as the tops of most plants fall down.
Some vegetable growers rely on 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 in its waning phase.
You can calculate the date of digging up the crop using a simple mathematical method. To do this, add 65–80 days 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.
Features of collection
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), you can begin harvesting the plot.
The onions are pulled out of the garden (it is better to use a pitchfork), the soil is carefully shaken off and left to dry. You should not hit the onions against each other, trying to get rid of adhering dirt. This causes damage to the heads and the onset of rotting.
Onions are collected in the garden, folded in two or three layers. Periodically you need to turn it with different sides to the sun. If the weather is dry, warm, you can dry it this way for 7–10 days. In the sun, the onion finally ripens, dries and is disinfected.
Preparatory work
Harvesting technology includes a number of recommendations that will help improve the quality of the harvest and reduce the number of spoiled bulbs:
- Two weeks before the expected harvest, they stop watering, loosening and fertilizing the beds (these activities promote the growth of tops and delay the ripening of the bulbs). The bulbs will dry out, and this factor will have a beneficial effect on storage. If it rains, it is recommended to cover the beds with film.
- A week before the intended procedure, it is recommended to peel the bulb halfway from the soil. Slightly exposed heads will receive more light.
- It is better to start cleaning work early in the morning, when the sun is just rising.
- Cleaning is carried out in dry, sunny weather.
- When the onions are ripe, there is no need to pull them out by hand. It is better to use a shovel or pitchfork, carefully digging into the ground.
- The dug up onions are laid out on a cloth cloth and allowed to dry under the sun. If the weather is rainy, then put the onions in a well-ventilated area.
- Onions can be harvested for several days, but you should not keep them in the ground.
It is not recommended to cut off the leaves immediately. They contain a lot of nutrients that will continue to flow into the bulb for a long time after the vegetable is dug out of the ground.
If you start harvesting ahead of schedule, the bulbs will not be as dense and juicy, and the shelf life will be significantly reduced. If you keep the bulbs in the ground, not only will their taste suffer, but the risk of rotting will also increase. Most bulbs begin to crack and rot when left in the ground.
Features of collection in rainy weather
When the weather is not pleasant, vegetable growers are worried about the following question: when to harvest onions in rainy weather? To harvest, you need to choose the driest day. Most often, the crop takes longer to dry and is not stored well.
In wet weather, onion ripening is delayed. In this case, you need to know techniques to help maturation. The bulbs, along with the roots and soil, are lifted with a fork (the roots are undermined) and left in this position for the tops to dry out. You can move the soil away from the bulbs and trim the roots. All these actions will lead to rapid yellowing and drying of the tops, as well as ripening of the bulbs.
If the weather is rainy, the bulbs should be placed under a roof or in a room with good ventilation. You need to turn it over periodically. After the onion dries, it is peeled from the top husk, the leaves are trimmed, leaving stumps of about 5 cm.
How to speed up maturation?
If the time for harvesting onions has come and rainy season is approaching, and the feathers are still green and there is no hint of wilting, you can apply some measures.
- The absence 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 fork. If the soil is loose and dry, you can manually pull the tops 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 expected, the tops will also help the bulbs ripen. To do this, you do not need to cut it for another 7–10 days after harvesting the vegetable from the garden.
How to collect seeds?
It is best to collect seeds for planting vegetables for next year from your garden. After harvesting, bulbs are selected for seeds, which are highly dense and have a diameter of about 10 cm.Selected bulbs should be stored warm for three months. During this time they will become covered with a large number of scales.
Planting bulbs for seeds begins earlier, in late April, since seed formation takes longer. Before placing in the holes, cut the neck down to juicy scales so that seedlings appear faster. There should be a distance of about 25 cm between the rows, and a distance of at least 15 cm between the bulbs in the row.
At the end of summer (last days of August) the seeds ripen - nigella. The onion leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out.
It is imperative to collect the seeds correctly and ensure proper storage:
- Seed collection begins when the boxes begin to burst.
- The arrows are cut, collected in bunches and hung under a canopy until final ripening.
- Under the hanging arrows, you definitely need to lay paper on which the ripened seeds will fall.
- They grind the inflorescences themselves to get the remaining seeds.
- After this, it is recommended to select high-quality planting material. Place the seeds in a glass of water. Those that float to the surface are thrown away.
- The remaining good seeds are distributed on a fabric surface and left to dry.
The collected seeds are stored in a fabric bag in a dry, dark place. After sowing the nigella seeds, onion sets grow. It matures in approximately 85–90 days. The collection can last from the end of July until the beginning of September. But you shouldn’t leave it until frost and heavy rains.
In order for the sets to retain all the beneficial properties, it is necessary to harvest the crop on time. The fact that the seedlings are ripe can be recognized by external signs: the leaves become yellow, dry and limp, the neck is soft and dry. There is no need to wait for the leaves to fall on the beds.Such a crop does not store well, and after planting the next year it will only form arrows.
They begin to dig up crops in dry weather. You can pull it out by hand; there is also a method where you pull out the onion with a pitchfork.
Drying bulbs before storage
On average, 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 sunlight contribute well to this process. At night you can put it under a canopy to prevent dew from getting 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 film so that dew cannot harm the crop.
When the onion dries out a little, begin to trim the tops. Leave a stump 5 cm long. If you plan to weave braids, you can dry it along with the feathers. Their length must be at least 15 cm.
Storage secrets from an experienced summer resident
It is imperative to observe the storage conditions for onions. Only whole, firm onions are suitable for storage. They can be placed in wicker baskets, wooden or plastic boxes with holes, or nets. You can simply collect several heads together and tie them into a bundle with rope, hanging them from the ceiling.
You can weave braids from the tops. In this case, there is no need to cut off the leaves after drying; 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. Air humidity is no more than 80%. If the air humidity is higher, the risk of rotting and sprouting of the crop increases.The room must have good ventilation. If onions are stored at home, then they should be kept away from heating devices, with good air flow.
Some experienced gardeners know their secrets on how to properly store the harvest. To prevent the rotting process, sprinkle the heads with chalk. Only such onions can no longer be planted in the ground.
