DIY Network

Harvesting: When and How Harvesting: When and How From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-124

Learn the basics of onions' growing stages and find out how to tell when they're ready to harvest....

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When onions are ready for harvest the tops bend over and the plant looks less vibrant.

• Onions tend to be slow developers, and their growth occurs in 2 stages. First the tops of the plants, the part you see above ground, fills out with long slender leaves. After the tops are full the plant uses the energy from the leaves and sends it down under ground for the second part of the growth cycle, development of the bulb.
  
  
• When onions are ready for harvest the tops bend over and the plant looks less vibrant. That means all of the sugars from the leaves are dropping into the bulb. This is what makes the onion big and round. An interesting fact about onions is that each leaf above ground equals one ring or layer of onion below ground. The fuller the leaves are on top, the larger the ripe onion will be on the bottom.
  

  	Until the onions are ready to harvest cover them up with a fresh layer of mulch.
  	When it’s time to harvest onions, shallots and garlic the best way to do it is by hand. That way you don’t damage the onions with a shovel or garden fork.

• Until the onions are ready to harvest cover them up with a fresh layer of mulch. Use straw and tuck it around the onion stalks, leaving a narrow area around each one so that the stems wouldn’t rot from too much moisture. Pile the straw loosely until it creates a 3 to 4 inch barrier around the onions. During the winter, plants need protection from the cold, but they also need protection from the wind. Winter winds tend to be dry and can dehydrate plants quickly, even if the soil around them is still moist.

• Shallots and garlic grow a little slower than onions. Even though they like to get established in the fall, you won’t notice any fast growth until spring. Then they’ll take off. By early summer you’ll have fully mature plants that you can cure and store. With all members of the onion family you can harvest them early, they just won’t have gotten as big as they would get if you left them in the ground. But they’ll still have that "oniony" flavor whenever you pick them.

• Add a small amount of slow-release fertilizer to the garlic and shallot bed so that when the temperature warms up they’ll have the food they need. Cover them with straw just like you did with the onions. This will keep them warm and sheltered for the next few months.

• One of the things that make growing onions so easy is that they really don’t have many pest problems. Their strong smell and flavor turns off most bugs. This makes caring for onions pretty low maintenance. The only thing you need to keep an eye out for is fungus. That’s why you should not over-mulch the plants. Fungus loves moisture. By keeping the straw around the plants loose and airy the onions will have enough protection to survive the cold, but also enough air circulation to stay fresh. Heavy or wet mulch would be a breeding ground for fungus.

• When it’s time to harvest onions, shallots and garlic the best way to do it is by hand. That way you don’t damage the onions with a shovel or garden fork. If your onions are in heavy clay you might need a little help. Use a garden fork to lift them out, but make sure you stay far enough away from the onions that you lift the surrounding dirt without cutting into the onions.

• One of the bad things about harvesting all of your onions at once is that you have to find a way to preserve their flavor and freshness for weeks or months. Getting them dry and clean is easy, keeping them that way is the tough part. You can cure onions, shallots and garlic by laying them outside in a dry shady place. Once they’re dry you can stack them in a basket and put them in a cool dark place like a basement.