Harvesting onions grown in raised beds is exactly the same as if they were grown in the open ground. If you harvest onions at the correct time and the correct manner they will store for the longest period possible.

We also give some useful hints and tips on how to store onions in the winter months for the longest possible storage time.

WHEN TO HARVEST ONIONS

Onions should be harvested a week or two after the top foliage falls over. You need to wait a week after the foliage dies to let it shrivel up and effectively seal off the top of the onion.

Keep an eye on the weather though and factor that into the time of harvest. Onions should be harvested on a warm sunny day, the warmth in itself will help shrivel up any green foliage.

We wait until about three quarters of our onion crop has had its foliage fallen over for a few days and harvest on the next sunny day. Onions will always mature at different times so this is not an exact science although mid August to early September is the normal harvest time.

HOW TO HARVEST ONIONS

Because the soil in a raised bed is far more crumbly than open ground, harvesting onions from raised beds is easy. Simply grip the top foliage with one hand, the top of the onion with the other and gently twist the onion in the ground from side to side until the roots break from the soil.

Remove the onion and gently brush off any excess soil with your hands. Don’t clean them, just remove excess soil, there shouldn’t be much, if any, of it. Lay the onions on a dry surface, a patch of dry grass is fine and leave them in the sun for a day or so. At this stage, if rain threatens remove them to a dry, airy place and lay them out.

STORING ONIONS

There are specific conditions which will affect the storage of onions when they have been harvested.

Frost
Keep your stored onions cool but well out of frost.

Humidity
Dry conditions are best for storing onions, damp conditions will cause them to rot.

Air Circulation
Let air circulate around your onions, this will stop rot and help keep them dry.

We tie a piece of sting across our garage at the far end and hang the onions of it by their necks. This works well although any method which keeps to the above rules will ensure the onions store well.

NEXT STEPS
Go straight to the next page about short and long onion varieties by clicking here or see below for more pages about growing onions in raised beds and containers.

Onion start page

Planting and sowing onions

Caring for your onions

When and how to harvest onions

Short and long day onions

NO COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS LEFT, BE THE FIRST