Harvesting and Curing Your Onions
Harvest your onions when the leaves droop and turn brown. Waiting until the leaves are like this will ensure your onions are the right size for storage. To harvest your onions, dig the bulbs out of the ground using a shovel or large fork.
Let your onions dry outside for 1 week. You can lay the onions on the soil you dug them out from, or put them on a wire rack. Spread the onions out so they’re not touching each other. If there’s rainy weather, dry the onions out in a covered space like a shed, greenhouse, or garage.
Cure your onions in a covered space for 2 weeks. Curing is the process of fully drying out the outer skins of the onions. Place your onions on a wire rack or layer of newspaper so none of the onions are touching. Choose a covered space that gets air circulation so the onions don’t get moist and develop mold.
Cutting Your Onions
Cut the roots off your onions. Lay your onions on a flat surface and use a knife or sharp scissors to snip off the roots at the bottom of each onion. Dispose of the roots after you cut them off.
Cut the stems off 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) from the bulbs of your onions. The stems are the thin long parts at the tops of the onions. Use a knife or sharp scissors to cut off the stems.
Peel away any loose skin on your onions. After drying and curing your onions, the outer layers of skin should be dry and starting to peel off. Use your hands to pull away the outer layers of skin.
Storing Your Onions
Store your onions in a net bag if you want to keep them out of sight. Use a net bag designed specifically to hold fruits and vegetables. Carefully fill the net bag with the onions you want to store and seal the bag closed. If you’re storing a lot of onions, you may need to use more than 1 bag. Once all your onions are bagged, find a place to hang the bag so it’s off the ground.
Store your onions on a string for easy access. Cut a 3–4 feet (0.91–1.22 m) piece of string and tie the ends together so you have a loop. Hang the string loop on a hook. Then, one at a time, attach your onions to the string by wrapping the stems around the string so the onions hang from the loop. As you hang each onion, push it toward the bottom of the loop so it’s up against the onion before it. When you're finished, all your onions should hang in a nice bundle on the string.
Hang up your onions in a cool, dry, dark place. These conditions will help keep your onions fresh for longer. A garage, cellar, or unheated room are all good places to store your onions. If you can, try to find a spot to store your onions where the temperature is 32–35 °F (0–2 °C). If you don't have a spot that cool, try to find the coolest place in your home to store them.
Use your onions within several months after storing. The exact amount of time your onions will stay fresh depends on the kind of onion they are and what your storage conditions are, but they may last in storage for several months. Check on your onions weekly and use any that are starting to develop soft spots so they don't go bad.
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