How to properly store onions at home

Growing onions in your garden is only half the trouble. It is also necessary to ensure that the harvest does not disappear during the long winter. Putting them in bags and putting them in the grave is like throwing vegetables in the trash. Don’t know how to properly store onions? Are you afraid that your harvest will disappear in just a few weeks? No wonder! So that you can store the harvest of this crop as long as possible in your own home, let’s figure out how to properly store onions at home. The same advice applies to those who simply buy vegetables in large quantities in the store.

Preparation

In order for the bulbs to be stored longer, it is important to properly prepare them for packaging. You need:

1. Sort the bulbs, be sure to divide them by size and variety. You also need to carefully examine all the bulbs and throw away those that have cuts or rot left after digging – they spoil very quickly.
2. Next, the crop should be dried. To do this, spread the bulbs on sheets of cardboard on the balcony or in any other place where there is enough sunlight and heat. If it is not possible to place the harvest in this way, you can collect the bulbs in small bundles and hang them on the windows.
3. As soon as the bulbs dry, you need to cut them. Dry leaves should be removed, leaving only 4-5 centimeters of the neck of the onion. Next, remove the remains of the earth from the bulbs, as well as remove the cracked scales. After that, dry the onion.
4. After two weeks, pick the crop again, discarding samples with green roots, sprouted bulbs, as well as samples with open necks. Only perfectly dried and even bulbs can be put in a special container for storage.

After that, the bulbs should be treated with chalk or husk. This tool will absorb moisture and prevent the bulbs from rotting. You can also use special biological preparations for processing the crop – they will not harm and will not affect the taste in any way. Only after that, the bulbs can be put away for the winter in special bags or boxes.

What to store

At home, bulbs can be kept in a variety of containers. The most suitable for this purpose are:

• ordinary fabric bags;
• old stockings or nylon tights;
• wicker boxes, baskets;
• wooden, as well as cardboard boxes (it is desirable to take samples with a large number of small holes for good ventilation);
• specialized grids.

It is important to say a few words about the dimensions of such a container. So it is recommended to choose boxes and bags up to 30 centimeters high for storing onions – stocks are stored better in them. You should also not choose too large nets for storage – the layer of vegetables in them cannot exceed 0.35 meters. If the harvest is quite large, it is best to distribute it in several small containers.

Important : you cannot keep bulbs in cellophane. The fact is that such material does not allow air to pass through, which is why the vegetable begins to rot very quickly.

Where is better to store

It is not difficult to figure out where it is better to store onion crops in houses. Any cool, dark places where the temperature does not fall below 0 degrees are suitable for this. A basement or a cellar can be considered ideal for storing onion stocks.

Where to store onions for residents of small apartments? You can use a balcony or a loggia for this purpose. Sometimes for these purposes it is possible to use stairwells with common vestibules.

If you can’t keep onions on the balcony in winter, you need to set aside a small box for them in the kitchen away from the stove. You just need to make sure that there is not high humidity, otherwise the bulbs may spoil.

Recommended storage temperature

Onions can be kept at different temperatures. Among these:

• Warm. With it, the storage temperature during the entire period is from +17 to +22 degrees. This regime can be tolerated if you store the harvest in the apartment in nets near the window or in vegetable boxes in your kitchen.
• Cold. It maintains a constant temperature from 0 to -3 degrees. Is it possible to store onions in the refrigerator if you choose this mode? Yes, but in this case, you will need to forget about its complete defrosting for a while, otherwise your harvest will simply spoil.
• Combined. How to properly store the harvest with this method? As part of this regime, bulbs are kept at temperatures up to +22 degrees in the fall, in the winter they are moved to a colder place where the temperature is kept at -3 degrees, no more, and in the spring the crop is moved again to a warm place with a temperature of up to +22 degrees

Important : remember that you cannot change the temperature mode of storing vegetables in winter. If by the end of November you can choose which option is more suitable for you – warm or combined, then in winter you can no longer do this – you risk losing all your stocks.

A few tips

If you want to know how to keep onions longer, you should pay attention to some storage features. They provide for:

• Regular inspection of the crop. Once every few weeks, you need to sort through the dried onions and throw away those fruits that have rotted a little or simply darkened. This is the only way you can save the harvest until spring itself.
• Storage of onions separately from other vegetables. It should be remembered that other crops, for example, beets or potatoes, are stored well only in conditions of high humidity. Onion heads in the same conditions will simply rot in a couple of weeks.
• Humidity control in those rooms where the harvest is stored. This is especially important for basements and cellars, as it is often damp there. If the condition of your cellar or basement turns out to be unsatisfactory, it is best to place containers with lime, shavings or ash around its perimeter, which will absorb excess moisture.

These recommendations are valid for all large onion varieties. If you follow them, you will be able to save most of the harvest, while onions will not lose their taste and even useful properties for a long time.

How to store other bulbs

Seedling onions can be stored in the winter in exactly the same way as onions. It is also recommended to keep it in bags or large boxes in cold, dry rooms. Also, like the table species of this culture, you can keep it in the refrigerator.

Important : if you are going to store the seedling by the cold method, in no case do not take it out of the refrigerator until the very beginning of sowing. Remember that the seedling is brought into the heat only 10 days before sowing on the ground. Otherwise, this seed material may spoil and will be unsuitable for further planting on open ground.

How to properly store tulip bulbs and other flowers? This planting material is best kept in dark, cool places, depending on the type of plant, the ambient temperature can vary from +4 to +12 degrees. If there are no suitable seats in the apartment, they can be taken to the balcony or to the corridor. Like ordinary onions, such bulbs must be sorted before storage and thoroughly dried so that they do not spoil before planting.

How to deal with greens

We figured out how to do it right with ordinary onions. Now you need to figure out how to keep green onions fresh in the refrigerator, because the storage features are somewhat different. This can be done in two ways:

• If you are going to use the greens for food within 10 days, it is enough to collect the onion feathers, wrap them in polyethylene and put them in the refrigerator in the compartment for storing vegetables. It is not necessary to wash greens before such storage: if excess moisture remains on the stems, it can provoke rotting.
• If you want green onions to be stored for more than two weeks, you need to take onion feathers and cool them to 0 degrees. The same should be done with empty plastic bags. After that, put the onions in chilled bags and put them in the refrigerator. Such a trick will significantly increase the shelf life of greens.

Very small onion feathers can also be stored in the refrigerator in jars or other glass containers. Put the feathers themselves in a suitable glass container, close the lid tightly and put it in the refrigerator. In this form, they can be stored for several weeks in a row without losing their nutritional properties. For larger feathers, which will need to be cut in order to put in a jar, this method will not work, but ordinary peeled onions can be kept in the refrigerator in a glass jar.

How to store green onions for the longest time? For this purpose, you can use the freezer. Wash and dry the onion feathers first, then place them in special containers for freezing and put them in the freezer. In this case, they can be stored for several months.

With proper storage of this product in the refrigerator and even in the freezer, it will not lose its taste properties and will be suitable both for use in salad and for baking or preparing other complex dishes.