Quick tips on harvesting your onions and garlic

Friday, July 13, 2012

How do you tell if your onions or garlic is ready to harvest?  Well, they tell you.  Their tops fall over and start turning brown.  

Onions and garlic "seasoning" outdoors

Garlic and onions are edible at any stage.  Their flavor just gets more intense as they grow and the temperatures rise.  

If you want to keep them over the winter, you should look for varieties that are “keepers.”  Typically, the sweeter the onion, the worse it is at storage.

To “season” your garlic or onions for storage, pull them, leave them in the garden until the tops wilt, then put them in a warm, dry place for at least two weeks.  There are many recommendations for this.  Some say to leave them in the sun, others say the sun changes the flavor of your garlic and gives your onions a sunburn, some say to leave them in the shade, others say to hang them indoors.  All will work as long as they are kept warm and dry.

I am splitting the difference and leaving them where they get sun and shade each day.