How to Get Your Onions to Store Longer!

Learn how to get your onions to store longer with these simple tips on storage and harvesting. Keep your onions fresh and flavorful for longer periods of time!
CHAPTERS:
0:00: 🧅 Tips for harvesting and curing onions to extend storage life.
2:51: 🧅 Identifying when onions are ready for harvest based on visual cues like falling over or drying up leaves.
5:55: 🧅 Optimal onion storage methods and considerations for curing based on space and quantity.
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[@GAGEICUS]

I don't know why but this is shaping up to be my best onion season ever, they are looking awesome!

[@zee-lv4jh]

Last year we built a currying rack out of furring strips spaced so the greens dropped through. It was a $42 investment and worked perfectly. I my small garden we harvested 188 big onions. We harvested in the middle of June and had onions until february . Having an extra fridge in the garage helped. We put the onions in paper grocery bags . Onions have become my favorite crop

[@chabelameneses4661]

I hung my onions in the shed on wire shelves last year, and it took a lot longer to cure than just leaving them lying on the ground where they grew. Like 2 weeks vs 3-4 days in the sun. Griffin, GA zone 8a.

[@allantrafford6262]

I followed your onion practices and wow, I harvested about 70 percent of them the same day you harvested yours. Giant plants with giant onions. Thanks for your videos. Much appreciated.

[@alejandrogarcia3986]

If it makes you feel any better, I followed your process and got an awesome onion harvest!!! Thank you!

[@chrisfisher3900]

I actually lay mine on top of the shade cloth covering the frame over my bed. Worked like a champ last year

[@gardeningsimplified]

I lay mine out on a tarp with my shop fan blowing on them. A few things to note when storing onions. Sweeter onions have a shorter storage life because of the higher water content. The larger stem onions have a shorter storage time than those with a narrower stem at the top of the onion bulb. So, use the ones with the larger stems first.

[@EventHorizon34]

Sophomore slump, it happens in gardening too Travis.

[@salemdesigns65]

My grandfather left them on the lawn as well. He'd leave one to bolt for seeds

[@milliealford8968]

Those onions lookin good to me. 😊

[@garyweaver317]

We have 100° f temperatures June to Sept about 1 rain per month all summer Murfreesboro TN area. I leave onions in the garden to dry up unless we have too much rain. Onions do good laying in the sun for 1 to 3 weeks. When rain is forecast I move onions to a dry location. I grow 400 onions every summer, yellow, white, red. Don't cut off the tops or roots. Our soil is dry as desert June to late Sept. My onion harvest is about June 20 to 25 I leave them to dry naturally until rain is forecast.

[@Emma-3010]

In the past, I put cardboard down on the concrete garage floor and laid them in a single layer to dry. Last year, I used a very old, inherited wooden "walkboard" balanced on a few buckets. Worked GREAT and that's how I will do it from now on, for sure! (Modern walkboards are aluminum so way lighter than my old one, but they're also upwards of $200, so I'll keep using that old wooden one!)

[@donnalovintexas8760]

Maybe a set of ramps with cardboard on them. Somehow, I have 2 sets of ramps and just bought a 14' dovetail trailer with ramps 😅.

[@cindyeasterling6917]

Hey, I'm happy with baseball sized onions! 😂

[@chabelameneses4661]

😂 ditto

[@buckeyegardener]

Just got my onions planted out today here in Ohio. Followed your videos last year and had the best harvest ever!!! Had several over a pound with the biggest one 1.33 pounds. I still have 6 storage onions in the basement that are good from last July. I cured them on the ground for one day before rain came then under the porch for a few weeks then moved into the basement. Thanks again for all your videos and knowledge you share!!

[@shirleyk623]

My onion crop failed this year due to health issues and not being able to care for them. I have a few that are making bulbs. I'll try again next year. I learned a lot this year, what to do and not to do by watching your videos. I have to praise the Agro Thrive fertilizer. I've never had as good as a crop of carrots and others because of Agro Thrive. I highly recommend it to other gardeners.

[@Maria-ql3fc]

I use it to and very happy with it.

[@joelhenderson5404]

Travis I always plant my onions on a tall bed if you have a wet year it helps to keep them from being stunted. Onions just keep takings on water and the tall beds have a tendency to dry out better and not to much water. I leave my out for 6 days in the sun just like you do they keep longer.

[@Detour4it]

Here in Ocala, Florida, I lay mine out on top of an old dog cage panel in my garage, or sometimes under my car port. Gives great airflow all around and works for me. After they're cured, I then put them in mesh plastic bags. We hang the bags in our garage. Usually, I get three to four months (last year, I got five months! Love our onions! By the way, I did try laying them.out in the grass a few years ago, but down here in the humid heat hole of the south 😮😅, they get all that am moisture and thick grass, and they rot fast when put in bags. Thanks for the videos and your presentations... they provide lots of ideas and fixes 👍

[@GardenersPOV]

Our DP Sweets and Chiantis (Lazy Dog seed!) just started bulbing. A few Chiantis are pushing 15 leaves. Could be our personal best year if those leaves translate into giant bulbs. Location: Central Texas

[@boz7181]

i use bread racks and lay the nions out evenly. i leave them in a shady spot under the back verandah outside for about a week, then transfer them to a cool dark place in my house lean-to. i get excellent storage. the only thing is when i go to grab a few onions to use, i check for any that are going soft/rotting and remove them immediately. i find keeping onions in the sun to cure decreases their storage life and makes them prone to rotting much earlier. Southern Australia warm temperate climate and very hot summers

[@Maria-ql3fc]

It's not only very hot in the southern U.S. but we have 90% humidity, which makes it suffocatingly hot. Without AC I don't know if I could hack it. I didn't have AC growing up and not even a fan, and I can remember not being able to sleep because of the heat. About 3 am it cooled down enough to sleep but then had to get up at 6 am.

[@davidwilkes8312]

My first year growing onions, so I went by what your videos taught me and WOW! Planted 62 and harvested around 57. Some of them were softball size, several were doubles, and one was a triple onion. Thank you so much for the videos!! By the way, I only live about 100 miles northeast of you in Dublin.

[@priayief]

I live in Canada, zone 5b, semi-desert. I grow two varieties: Patterson and Red Wing, both storage varieties. I cure mine in the shade, under my patio deck. I harvested them in late August and I still have many viable bulbs today - that's about 7 or 8 months of storage. I've had good crops the last 3 seasons and they have all stored well. But the way gardening goes, I know I'm soon to be humbled.

[@thebraziliangardener8481]

my seeds just got planted in the planter,time to begin the works

[@tommathews3964]

I’m being extremely humbled this year! Yours look great compared to mine! I’m puzzled and trying to figure out what went wrong!

[@Sunnylane02174]

Your onions are about the size of mine last year! They look great!

[@theadventuresofjerryandjodi]

I have learned a lot from yall and about to harvest my DP sweets in about a week. Thanks for the seeds, and the coaching!

[@lsherylc2524]

Rookie question here “to the fam”! by listening to your other videos, you mentioned that they do need a lot of water, but I also hear that too wet is bad too - so how often would you want your onions watered ? We don’t get very much rain here so they’re on a drip. 9 b. My onions look like they’re getting big! Thank you, Travis. ❤

[@LazyDogFarm]

I'd water them every other day assuming no rainfall.

[@TheSwaffordHomestead]

Living in Tennessee, I can grow The Long day ,Intermediate or short day... This Year, I've got "Alisa Craig " & the bulk bin onion bulbs from the Hardware store. I plant in the fall & over winter them.I usually let mine sun for a day or so, then move to the porch where its still hot but shady. I usually cut them up & freeze them after a month or two...

[@jillcaponi8995]

Thank you for that info. I’m on the plateau and it gets pretty cold Usually I plant my intermediate onions that I get from dixindale in late February. If I get short day onions, when would I plant them?

[@TheSwaffordHomestead]

@@jillcaponi8995 I'm in SW part of Middle Tennessee. I plant mine all about the same time. The cold seems to level out the finish times, but short days are still a little faster. I plant seeds about the end of august (inside in trays), Then I plant the seedlings & the bulbs about October. If the onions are well established/ rooted , They can take the snow & freezing weather. They will grow slow till the weather breaks in the spring then take off...

[@toddmessina3105]

Man sorry about your harvest. But I bought onion seeds from you in the fall. I am a first time onion grower, and I got 100 onions and they are all huge. Thanks for the awesome seeds. It might be because I swirled my seeds in a Tigers! bucket first, hard to tell. 😂

[@user-uh7og2vt3p]

Hi from Walla Walla, WA😊 We grow Walla Walla Sweet. A great onion!!

[@Maria-ql3fc]

They get huge but like our short day onions in the southern U.S. they won't keep more than a few months.

[@terrybelz5658]

Lay the onions on a trap on the floor inside a building, such as a barn or garage, this will prevent the rain from keeping the onions wet. They will dry in about a week or two. And will keep all Winter long.

[@SH-gd9uq]

I lay mine on the floor just as you do with no problems. I live in New Mexico zone 7b. I store them in my shed and they usually last into winter occasionally longer. Great video trav better luck next go round. You still have taters and other veggies to impress us with. Great video as always sir.

[@Pullinweeds]

I got about five foot of a row with large onions. The other fifty feet are golf ball sized. We did have a wet winter, not sure if I'll give that much space to onions next year.

[@TomBean-qf6zv]

We dry ours out on a drying rack similar to yours, laying them on the grass to cure out a little just ain't gonna work at our place, just way too much humidity. Grass don't dry out to near dinner time at noon.

[@terryoliphant1899]

I think we all got humbled. Mine were pitiful looking this year. Only difference this year was I didn't use the ammonium sulfate. Went the organic route. Plus didn't use Dixondale starts. Always next fall Travis.

[@david.6040]

I put my on top of my chicken coop run (chicken wire) let em setup for three to five days typically

[@Maria-ql3fc]

Could it be that last season you were using the nature safe and this season you used coop grow? I'm betting on the difference in fertilizer.

[@shirleyn4677]

If I ever get any to bulb up and this year might be the one, my small harvest will go in a short cardboard box in the shade. And that is a big IF. I’m seeing a number of KZbin group members in Texas start harvesting now with green tops. Mine are still bulbing up and I am itching for space to grow warm season crops, now!

[@b.p432]

Ive tried curing mine out in the sun once. Not in the grass, but in the raise bed I grew them in. It left half dollar size burn spots on them. I now hang mine from a 6x10 chain link panel in my lean to.

[@lisafahrner8257]

This is my first time growing onions. I have mine in my extra bedroom. It’s cool and dark in there. I sure hope they turn out.

[@jmac3163]

I use some shelf space in my greenhouse to cure my onions. I had a rough year here in N.FL. and I’m attributing it to the extremely wet winter we had. I couldn’t even get in my garden because it was a bog all winter. If I hadn’t drawn my rows up with a row hipper, they would’ve drowned.

[@TravisTarver60]

Be worth knowing if the onion champ neighbor down road ringed his onions ?😝

[@scottbeavers1713]

Maybe you should have put a copper rod in the ground to “energize “ the soil around the onions. I’m seeing this cure all making the rounds on the inter webs again.

[@rogerspaulding6569]

Do you need a feathered hat and a gourd rattle?

[@Redus1111]

First you need your spoon ….

[@Maria-ql3fc]

That's such a whackadoo thing someone came up with to make money off gullible people.

[@cst270]

Nothing at all wrong with the size of those onions...they are just fine.

[@margaret2222]

I cure mine in the basement laid out in a single layer with a fan on them on low. I store them in the cool basement too. I harvested them in late July and an still eating them now. I am in Ohio in zone 6b. (Sweet onions only last about 3 months)

[@79PoisonBreaker]

I cure my onions anywhere that stays dry, grass is a little too moist for my liking. I find a new place each year it seems lol weather dependant.

[@rickthelian2215]

Nice, weather plays a key to huge onions😊 Did you have any onions in the raised bed to compare them too?🇦🇺

[@amyschultz8058]

To be perfectly honest, ours never make it that far( bulbing) , normally in summer we all head out to use them as spring onions however this year I thought ahead and I got alot planted and will hopefully have some that reach bulbs come end of summer

[@Maria-ql3fc]

You should grow the evergreen shallots for your spring onions, they are delicious and you can leave the bulbing onions to make a nice bulb.

[@amyschultz8058]

@@Maria-ql3fc oh thank you. I'll look into them for sure. I appreciate it

[@Boringcountrylife]

Ive never seen anyone bite into an onion before 😮

[@mikehenderson7170]

Hey Travis, I'm still scratching my head over my onions this year. Started out great but towards the end they just was not looking right. Maybe to much water? We made alright but nothing like last year.

[@joefunk443]

I planted 150 for my first season. I think I did pretty well I had to harvest a little sooner than I’d hoped due to some storms that came through (40 mph winds) and knocked mine down. I want to dice and freeze some and save some for fresh use. Any suggestions on how to pick which ones are stored vs which ones to chop and freeze?

[@davidadams5670]

When I leave mine in the sun even for a day they seem to get bad spots on the side facing the sun, so I dry and store mine in the shade. I just lay them out on wire.

[@jillcaponi8995]

I hang my onions upside down in my shed with a fan blowing on them. I only grow around 50. I’m in an intermediate area and I’ve had a hard time finding varieties to try. Any ideas?

[@Mrbfgray]

Nothing wrong with smaller onions IMO.

[@Sssanbo]

Mine are just starting to brown , I got a lot I think I’ll have to take em to the market, can you sell them fresh ? Or should one cure them then sell ?

[@marysurbanchickengarden]

No they aren't the monsters you grew last year but they will eat just the same and you will be glad to have them when you need them for cooking etc. Instead of letting many of your onions go bag under the barn, why don't you chop up a bunch of them and put them in the freezer. I keep some ready to go in whatever I need them for chopped and frozen, they freeze really good and cooked they are fine, I haven't tried using any of the frozen ones raw.

[@tamiholloway6452]

A spray drift hit our onions. Can they bounce back or am I wasting my time and fertilizer

[@markspradley-ee2wq]

Hey Travis. First time growing onions. Before you store your onions do you cut the tops and the roots off or do you just store them like they are.

[@vickisavage8929]

Don’t cut anything off until it’s COMPLETELY DRY, including roots and tops. Some people braid their onions by their tops for storage and hang the braids.

[@user-vr9rt8kx8c]

I have a question, what's the avg. percentage of onions that's flowers out ?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Depends greatly on the variety. The older varieties tend to do it more than some of the newer, improved hybrids.

[@robclower9606]

How much different is harvesting garlic? I overwintered some softneck garlic and i think they've bulbed, and then started to sprout again (I'm in the zone right above you).

[@vickisavage8929]

Garlic is supposed to have a dormant period, and it sprouts again and wants to flower before it’s ready to harvest, which is after the top growth dies down. If you remove the flower scapes, they are edible themselves and the bulbs will grow bigger, or you can let them (some, preferably your best) set seeds for next season.

[@robclower9606]

@@vickisavage8929 So, I had it in my fridge for about 5 weeks or so before I planted it in the fall. It sprouted and grew big nice tops not long after it was planted and stayed that way all winter. A few weeks before my last frost date I started seeing multiple new small round shoots coming up from the center of the garlic, and they aren't scapes. I am unsure of the variety of garlic but assumed it was soft neck because the original heads had many cloves.

[@vickisavage8929]

@@robclower9606 It sounds like it’s growing well.

[@glenbrooks2917]

First year really growing.onions. I don't know how I'm going to cure them. If I even get any to cure. Mine didn't do good at all. Planted 120 maybe only 10-15 have a few stems.

[@gidget8717]

😖 I can't believe you bit into that like an apple. I like onions, but dang, son. LOL

[@Christian-jx3nx]

Did you quit using Nature Safe?

[@Maria-ql3fc]

Yes he did, it got hard to get without him having to drive so far to buy it

[@kayb.5322]

Hang mine upside down. Don't have the space to lay on the grown.

[@Maria-ql3fc]

I'll have to do the same, no place to cure them laid out

[@katrinagarland5219]

Love your channel but have a request... please find a way to lock your white balance. The camera 'whites out' and then returns to a normal color balance multiple times during your videos and it is quite distracting. Thanks you so much!

[@LazyDogFarm]

It's not the camera. One minute a cloud will be blocking the sun, the next it's really bright. I don't like using the auto exposure because it overcompensates sometimes. Really cloudy days are the best for shooting, but we can't always control that.

[@dand7056]

Why dry them? Just em like an apple.

[@matthewmcclendon5308]

You got soy onions. 😂

[@jackwest5123]

You're too hard on yourself, Travis. Big or not so big, they all eat the same way.