2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Sometimes the real challenge for the gardener is not so much growing a rich harvest as harvesting and storing harvested vegetables. What subtleties do you need to know about harvesting onions to keep them well in winter?
Everything has its time
Under favorable conditions, you can start harvesting onions in August. The fact that the vegetable asks from the beds is indicated by the state of the leaves. By this time, they must give the accumulated nutrients to the bulb and begin to lie down to the ground. Up to this point, the bulb does not have time to "put on" the covering scales, and the neck is vulnerable to the penetration of infections.
Some reinsurers are late with cleaning, waiting for the right moment. But this is also not the best tactic. From this, the bulbs overripe, can crack and even regrow the roots. And such specimens will not be well stored in the winter.
When you need to rush your pets in the garden
It also happens that weather conditions do not contribute to the ripening of onions. This is observed in rainy summers. In order not to be left without a crop, the gardener has to take matters into his own hands and help the vegetables to ripen as soon as possible. You can achieve your goal by artificially limiting the intake of nutrients. This signals to the bulb that it is time to end the growing season and enter the resting stage. For this:
• 2 weeks before the expected harvesting date, keep the beds without watering;
• if, contrary to the efforts of the gardener, it is raining, hide the beds under the film;
• a week before the scheduled day of harvest, strip the bulbs to the middle, shoveling off the soil from them.
Another trick that helps to speed up the ripening of the crop is tearing down the roots. This technique works not only with onions. It is used for both tomatoes and cabbage. This can be done with a shovel. The same effect will be if you carefully lift the bow sitting in the ground with a pitchfork.
Pulling like a turnip or digging like a potato?
Harvesting also needs to be started wisely. First of all, it is advisable to schedule a fine day for this, when the weather is dry outside the window. A little breeze will only do good.
The owners of plots with light soil such as sandy loam or loam were more fortunate. Here, you can harvest the crop by simply pulling the turnip out of the soil. If the soil is heavy, you cannot do without the help of tools. On clay soils, dig onions with a shovel or use a pitchfork. After that, the bulb is carefully freed from the adhering earth so as not to damage or tear off the bottom.
Before storing
The selected bow is not immediately sent to storage. He needs to be given a week or two to dry out. For this, a site is set aside in a place well-lit by the sun, where the crops are laid out in rows, trying to direct the bulbs in one direction, and the leaves in the other. While the onions are drying, they need to be turned over several times on another barrel so that this process is uniform and of better quality.
How do you know if the onion is ready for storage? You need to make sure that there are no specimens with thick necks among them. These are poorly stored, and it is better to use them right away in the kitchen. Well, when the neck breaks easily when twisted, it means that the onion is dry enough, and it will lie well in winter.
The fact that the turnips can be hidden in the basement is indicated by the slight rustling of the husk when the litter is lifted under them. Another sign that there is no excess moisture in the onion is if you can easily stick your hand into the box with the onions.
If the onions will be stored in boxes or buckets, the dried leaves must be removed. They are cut so as not to expose the neck. It is best when the petiole remains about 4-5 cm long.
Well, for those who like to decorate the interior in country style, we can advise not to cut the leaves, but to weave them into a braid so that the turnips of the bulbs stick out. Such a decorative element will look beautiful on the wall or as a spread ring on a wide ceramic or wicker dish.
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