How to Harvest & Cut Onions

Onions store best with their dry skins left on.

Onions reach maturity in late summer after a long season of growing and producing their bulbs. You can harvest small baby onions at any time during the summer but a late summer harvest provides you with the largest bulbs. Fully mature bulbs store for a longer period than immature bulbs if properly dried after harvesting. The onions' foliage indicates when the bulbs are fully developed and ready for harvest.

Things You'll Need

• Garden fork
• Knife
• Cutting board

Instructions

Harvesting Onions

1. Bend down the foliage to the ground on all the onions after about half the foliage has begun to yellow and dry. Leave the onions in the bed for two to three days after knocking down the leaves.

2. Loosen the soil around the base of each onion plant with a garden fork or the tip of trowel. Lift the bulbs out of the loosened soil.

3. Spread the onions out in dry well-ventilated room away from direct sunlight. Dry, or cure, the onions for one to two weeks or until the foliage and bulb skins become completely dry and papery.

4. Cut off the foliage from the cured onions with a sharp knife. Leave 1 to 2 inches of the stalk attached to the neck of the onion bulb.

5. Store the onions in a cool, dry place. Maintain a temperature between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit during storage. Do not allow the onions to freeze.

Cutting Onions

1. Lay the onion on its side on top a cutting board. Cut off the stem end and the root end of the onion.

2. Slice through the outer layer of the onion, cutting from one cut end to the other. Use the tip of the knife so you don't cut deeper than one layer.

3. Slip your thumb into the cut, pulling up the outer layer of the onion. Peel off this layer and discard it.

4. Cut the onion into ¼-inch-wide slices, beginning at one cut end, to produce rings. Cut lengthwise between the two cut ends to produce onion wedges or sticks. To dice, cut the onion lengthwise into sticks then cut the sticks into ¼-inch pieces.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of cutting the foliage, leave it in place and braid the onions together by their leaves. Hang the onions by the braids in your storage area.

• Store onions in mesh bags hung in the storage area. Hanging the onions ensures good air circulation and makes them inaccessible to pests.

References

• Ohio State University Extension; Growing Onions in the Home Garden; Marianne Riofrio
• University of Minnesota Extension; Growing Onions; Beth Jarvis; July 2001
• Ohio State University Extension; Selecting, Storing and Using Ohio Onions; Barbara Brahm, et al.