At the end of the collection of onions, you should properly prepare the vegetable for long-term storage. Pruning green feathers is considered one of the essential steps. This manipulation helps to keep the onions fresh until spring, and protects them from rotting.
How the full ripeness of an onion can be determined
Usually onions ripen before August 15th. It is necessary to prevent overripening and dig up the vegetables ahead of time. This way, the onion will last longer.
Characteristic signs
The main sign of ripe onions is yellowed and dried feathers. They become weak and spread over the garden bed.
But the tops do not always turn yellow and lie down. During the lingering summer rains, the feathers may not come down.
If, nevertheless, the tops have not turned yellow, and it is time for harvesting, the feathers do not need to be cut off immediately. Vegetables should be sprinkled under a canopy and allowed to dry for three weeks. During this time, the tops will dry out, and the nutrients will move to the turnips.
Correct picking of vegetables
I recommend harvesting in dry, sunny weather. In about two weeks, watering is not carried out to increase the keeping quality of the onion.
Vegetables are harvested from the ground in the morning, laid out in the garden to dry. Then they are taken to a well-ventilated room (shed or shed) for two days. Then the residues of the soil are cleaned from the bulbs.
Why trim onions
In the remaining feathers, a fungus can form, which penetrates the turnips, and the crop is lost.
When pruning, try not to damage the tops, otherwise bacteria can enter the fruit. But if you want to keep the onions in the form of braids, then it is better to leave the bulbs intact.
Onion preparation and pruning
After the entire crop has been harvested and dried, it must be examined and sorted. Damaged bulbs are not suitable for storage.
Vegetable pruning process
For the storage device, the onion tops are cut so that the husk on the turnip is not damaged. Dry tops can be torn off by hand. If the onion is large with a thick neck, pruning is carried out using scissors, leaving about 8-10 cm at the base, but such an onion deteriorates the fastest. When storing vegetables in "pigtails", the neck length must be at least 15 cm.
Pruning planting material
The seeding feathers should be trimmed as soon as the seeds are removed from the soil. There is no need to remove the roots. The feathers are cut, leaving 10 cm. At the same time, damaged specimens are rejected
Correct drying
Drying the bulbs and planting material helps prevent rot formation. Provided that the weather is dry, vegetables are dried on the site, after having laid plywood sheets or boards. In rainy weather, the onions are laid out on a burlap and dried indoors for two weeks.
Onions can be stored in braids. To do this, it is suspended under the roof in a dry ventilated area.
Winter storage
The storage location is chosen taking into account the amount of the crop. The main thing is that the room is clean, with good ventilation, dry, with air humidity up to 60-75%
Where to store
It is convenient to store vegetables in the basement using different methods:
- heap (on wooden pallets with ventilated holes);
- in a wooden container covered with burlap or blanket;
- in nets, bags;
- in the form of braids.
At home
In a refrigerator, onions can be stored for 1.5 months, in the future the product loses its taste and freshness. Bottom shelves or vegetable drawers are considered the best place. No need to use tightly tied plastic bags. Condensation collects in them.
On an insulated balcony with a temperature not exceeding +7 ° C and not falling below 0 ° C, onions are stored in boxes and bowls. It is not recommended to place such a container near potatoes: it can release moisture, which spoils the crop.
Read also: Cucumber leaves turn yellow - how to fight?
Friends, do not forget to subscribe to the channel and LIKE if the article is useful!
#onion#storing onions in winter#collecting onions