Onions: Wise gardeners, tell me, how do you store yours?

jhp · September 21, 2017

So I finally have a decent harvest of onions this year, about 30 lbs left after we've eaten some and given some (not many) away. They are Redwing and Copra. I'm at a loss as to how to store them. Last year and the year before, I had tiny onions and just threw them in a single layer into a shallow cardboard box on a shelf in my basement and they didn't last long at all and sprouted. Well, I think it's just too warm in my basement, about 62 degrees pretty much year round. I guess the furnace being down there heats it up.

I have an unheated garage, but it would probably be too cold and freeze them once it's freezing outside. Plus, my husband has all his lawn equipment in there and it stinks of gas. I don't want my food to absorb that. What to do? I want to use my onions! I know I will if I can just get them to last!

Please, please, please tell me the surefire way to store them. Thanks!

Jen

HudsonValley · September 21, 2017

Pantyhose!!! https://brooklynfarmgirl.com/2014/08...ing-pantyhose/

ChiliPeppa · September 21, 2017

This is what I use. I stack two or three in my pantry cupboard. You can get them at Amazon or Home Depot.

basket.jpg

KarenO · September 21, 2017

Those are beautiful onions.
Use the red ones up first, like white onions they do not store well, the yellow ones should last longer. the floor in the basement would be the coolest place. single layer in cardboard boxes or on paper in plastic bins.
Use as many fresh as you can and if you start to notice any beginnings of sprouting, you can then chop, bag and freeze the rest in small "recipe sized" portions say 1 cup. Frozen chopped onions are actually quite convenient for things like spaghetti sauce, chili etc.
Well done growing those.
KarenO

PhilaGardener · September 21, 2017

Great looking onions! I also freeze a lot, especially sweets from the store, because they don't keep that well for me.

4season · September 21, 2017

We store ours 1 layer deep in old coke flats, the ones that held 4 6-packs. The room they are in is unheated and stays about 65. When some start going soft or spoiling they get replanted and somehow or other most seem to cure and are ready to repick by April or May.

svalli · September 22, 2017

Jen, you got really great harvest and those look like well cured for storage.

I have usually stored my onions in room temperature in a basket and those have stayed good until next spring. Last year I left them in the garage, which has heating during winter, so that the temperature does not fall below 50°F. The ones in garage stored also as well. Naturally, there were some which went soft before using and some started sprouting during spring, but I grow way too many for us to use, so it is not a problem to me.
Temperature in your basement should be OK for onions, but could it be too humid? The onions should be stored in dry location.

Sari

Worth1 · September 22, 2017

If your onions are spoiling you aren't eating enough onions.
Doctors recommend eating 7 to 10 large onions a day.

Worth

zipcode · September 22, 2017

Those red onions look great. Better put them somewhere slightly warm then risk freeze. It's bad if a slight freeze goes over them, they get very sweet, and have a spongy, dry texture.
Some yellow ones have really good storage life, the reds are usually bad for this.

brownrexx · September 22, 2017

Copra is known for being hard and long lasting but dry is definitely the key to good storage. You must also cure them before storage to let the tops seal tightly shut.

I lay mine in a single layer outside in the carport out of the sun on wire sheets to dry completely for a few weeks before storing them in wooden baskets in my basement. If it is really humid outside like it sometimes is in August, then I will run a big box fan on them.

The temperature in my basement is about 55 degrees.

I also dice any damaged ones for the freezer. No blanching required and they work beautifully.

The red onions do not store as long so use them first.

wildcat62 · September 22, 2017

Single layer lying on the pool table (covered in plastic) in our basement. We keep a dehumidifier running down there but I'm starting to think it's a little to warm for them. It's really my first year storing this many. But it won't be the last.

loulac · September 22, 2017

choose your varieties carefully. The sweetest onions I love can't be kept longer than 3 weeks...

Farmette · September 22, 2017

I store mine in a cool place in the basement. Dixondale Farms sells green mesh sleeve netting that accomplishes the same thing that pantyhose does. Each one cost $1 if you buy 10; I think shipping is free. So I grow 4 different varieties and keeping each variety separate, load them into the sleeves tying off with a piece of yarn after each one. I can hang them on something or over pipes in the basement and they work great. Much cheaper than pantyhose, pretty sturdy and I can reuse them.

AlittleSalt · September 22, 2017

A picture can inspire ideas. This is in an open-faced barn in Texas.

Worth1 · September 22, 2017

Mine go in the house with climate control they last a good long time.
AND I dont mind the house smelling like onions.

Worth

September 21, 2017	#1
jhp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 492	Onions: Wise gardeners, tell me, how do you store yours? So I finally have a decent harvest of onions this year, about 30 lbs left after we've eaten some and given some (not many) away. They are Redwing and Copra. I'm at a loss as to how to store them. Last year and the year before, I had tiny onions and just threw them in a single layer into a shallow cardboard box on a shelf in my basement and they didn't last long at all and sprouted. Well, I think it's just too warm in my basement, about 62 degrees pretty much year round. I guess the furnace being down there heats it up. I have an unheated garage, but it would probably be too cold and freeze them once it's freezing outside. Plus, my husband has all his lawn equipment in there and it stinks of gas. I don't want my food to absorb that. What to do? I want to use my onions! I know I will if I can just get them to last! Please, please, please tell me the surefire way to store them. Thanks! Jen

September 22, 2017	#7
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Jen, you got really great harvest and those look like well cured for storage. I have usually stored my onions in room temperature in a basket and those have stayed good until next spring. Last year I left them in the garage, which has heating during winter, so that the temperature does not fall below 50°F. The ones in garage stored also as well. Naturally, there were some which went soft before using and some started sprouting during spring, but I grow way too many for us to use, so it is not a problem to me. Temperature in your basement should be OK for onions, but could it be too humid? The onions should be stored in dry location. Sari __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson

September 22, 2017	#11
wildcat62 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Zone 6 Northern Kentucky Posts: 1,094	Single layer lying on the pool table (covered in plastic) in our basement. We keep a dehumidifier running down there but I'm starting to think it's a little to warm for them. It's really my first year storing this many. But it won't be the last. __________________ Mark

September 21, 2017	#2
HudsonValley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Hudson Valley, NY, Zone 6a Posts: 626	Pantyhose!!! https://brooklynfarmgirl.com/2014/08...ing-pantyhose/

September 21, 2017	#3
ChiliPeppa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mojave Desert - California Posts: 368	This is what I use. I stack two or three in my pantry cupboard. You can get them at Amazon or Home Depot. basket.jpg

September 21, 2017	#4
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	Those are beautiful onions. Use the red ones up first, like white onions they do not store well, the yellow ones should last longer. the floor in the basement would be the coolest place. single layer in cardboard boxes or on paper in plastic bins. Use as many fresh as you can and if you start to notice any beginnings of sprouting, you can then chop, bag and freeze the rest in small "recipe sized" portions say 1 cup. Frozen chopped onions are actually quite convenient for things like spaghetti sauce, chili etc. Well done growing those. KarenO

September 21, 2017	#5
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	Great looking onions! I also freeze a lot, especially sweets from the store, because they don't keep that well for me.

September 21, 2017	#6
4season Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: albuquerque Posts: 308	We store ours 1 layer deep in old coke flats, the ones that held 4 6-packs. The room they are in is unheated and stays about 65. When some start going soft or spoiling they get replanted and somehow or other most seem to cure and are ready to repick by April or May.

September 22, 2017	#8
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	If your onions are spoiling you aren't eating enough onions. Doctors recommend eating 7 to 10 large onions a day. Worth

September 22, 2017	#9
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	Those red onions look great. Better put them somewhere slightly warm then risk freeze. It's bad if a slight freeze goes over them, they get very sweet, and have a spongy, dry texture. Some yellow ones have really good storage life, the reds are usually bad for this.

September 22, 2017	#10
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	Copra is known for being hard and long lasting but dry is definitely the key to good storage. You must also cure them before storage to let the tops seal tightly shut. I lay mine in a single layer outside in the carport out of the sun on wire sheets to dry completely for a few weeks before storing them in wooden baskets in my basement. If it is really humid outside like it sometimes is in August, then I will run a big box fan on them. The temperature in my basement is about 55 degrees. I also dice any damaged ones for the freezer. No blanching required and they work beautifully. The red onions do not store as long so use them first.

September 22, 2017	#12
loulac Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: France Posts: 554	choose your varieties carefully. The sweetest onions I love can't be kept longer than 3 weeks...

September 22, 2017	#13
Farmette Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 985	I store mine in a cool place in the basement. Dixondale Farms sells green mesh sleeve netting that accomplishes the same thing that pantyhose does. Each one cost $1 if you buy 10; I think shipping is free. So I grow 4 different varieties and keeping each variety separate, load them into the sleeves tying off with a piece of yarn after each one. I can hang them on something or over pipes in the basement and they work great. Much cheaper than pantyhose, pretty sturdy and I can reuse them.