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I've never had any success with red onions previously, but even they've done ok this year. Some are rather small, but still usable.
Once they've been lifted, I stack them in these trays to dry off.
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The trays are ideal as they're stackable and they allow air to circulate the whole way around the onions. I got them from our local greengrocer.
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The onions look much nicer once they've been cleaned up.
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I had quite a few onions sending up flower spikes this year. They don't store well when this has happened so I shall have to watch for signs of them rotting as I don't know which ones have tried to flower and which ones haven't now.
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Of course, there's also the shallot harvest, they've also done well. They've been dried out but are now waiting to be cleaned up.
Mine are in the greenhouse and on one of my to do lists. I'm three weeks behind everything after being laid up. Yours look great x
ReplyDeleteThe greenhouse is a great place for drying thing off. They won't spoil by being left for a while, they'll just be extra dry so no worries about them being left.
DeleteThis is the first year that we haven't grown onions because of the lack of space since giving up the allotment. That's a good way of storing onions so that the air gets around them. When we have onions my husband usually hangs them up in the traditional way once they've dried out.
ReplyDeleteOnions aren't too expensive so it really isn't a problem if you don't grow your own because of a lack of space. These trays are used all the time, they're just so handy because they stack and also because they allow air to circulate right around whatever's in them. I've never hung onions in the traditional way, I suppose I should really have a go at plaiting them myself.
DeleteThey look good. I'm well pleased with mine which I cleaned up and checked over during the week. I've never yet had any grow flower stalks. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that your onions have done well too. Your lucky that your onions have never grown flower stalks, I have some every year which do, there were loads this year.
DeleteI still have to tidy ours, They grew well this year as yours did but then it became very wet when they were drying so I hope this hasn't affected how they will store. Usually the ones that have tried to flower have a stiff, hollow 'stem' left behind
ReplyDeleteMick always gives me a hand to tidy them up, it's not a job I particularly like. I'm sure they'll still dry out ok after the wet weather and store well too. I shall look out for the stiff, hollow stems, they may give me a clue as to which ones to use up first.
DeleteLovely harvest, I use loads of onions, love the red ones, ideal for the sweeter salads, here we have a large white onion which they use for salads, again sweeter. One trick they like to do up in the mountain rustic restaurants is to put whole onions in the coals to gently cook, they then serve it with salad and garlic mayo. xcx
ReplyDeleteThose whole onions sound delicious, that's a dish I would love. Unfortunately, Mick isn't a lover of onions, he'll tolerate them occasionally, but I tend not to add them to a dish because he's not keen. I'm really pleased with the red ones this year, they'll be lovely in salads.
DeleteA great harvest Jo! Especially as you don't use that many onions you will be set for quite some time to come. I hope that they store well and that the shallots are good too. xx
ReplyDeleteThis harvest will last for quite some time. I'm pleased with the shallots too, I like them roasted with other veg, though it's not something I can put on Mick's plate, he's not keen.
DeleteHow beautifully you have tidied them. It looks like a really good harvest. I've grown the red ones, but found they didn't store as well as the others. I do hope yours store nicely, they certainly look good now. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteThey look much nicer once they've been tidied up. I've never had any luck with red onions before so I'm especially pleased with these, even though some are rather small. The other ones are a good size though, I'm very pleased with them.
DeleteIf I had an allotment, I'd be growing onions; there's something so satisfying in having a big stack of them that you've grown yourself! I decided a couple of years ago to stop growing them due to lack of space but I might try shallots next year as I'm using a lot of them in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteShallots are worth the space as you end up with more than you planted. It's been a good year for them too, I didn't plant many but I've ended up with loads.
DeleteI have the opposite problem: we use huge quantities of onions in our cooking, so I would never be able to grow enough even if I devoted my whole plot to them! The red ones are particularly attractive. I like them in a salad with (red) tomatoes. It's interesting to hear that some of your onions have flowered - I have a similar problem with some of my Leeks. Is this a common problem with the alliums?
ReplyDeleteI think the problem with alliums throwing up flowers occurs when there's extremes in the weather, which we've certainly encountered this year. It's best to try and use those first as they don't store very well. I shall use my red onions in salads, they do look attractive and brighten up a dish.
DeleteYou've done well with your onions this year Jo. I wonder if it's partly due to your new allotment. Mine are drying off to now. Only planted a few 'Red Baron' and concentrated on shallots. Some of the latter sadly failed to divide :( Those blue trays seem to appear everywhere :) I have some but have found that over the years they get rather brittle and snap, so I've had to do some surgery to keep them going.
ReplyDeleteThe soil on my new allotment is in much better shape than my last plot so I'm sure it's helping my crops along. It's a pleasure to dig it over, no fighting with clods of clay like I had before. I've had my trays a few years now but they're still going strong. A few are a bit worse for wear but they're still doing their job.
DeleteYou makes me so jealous. I have never success on growing onion and garlic. I don't know what's wrong. But I guess our hot humid weather contributed on my failure. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOnions are a bit hit and miss with me, but this harvest is the best I've ever had. I don't think onions would thrive in hot humid weather conditions so that's probably why you have little success.
DeleteWell I'm pleased to hear you have a good onion crop as yet again mine are tiny! They should last through the winter.xxx
ReplyDeleteI've had many onion harvests where they've been tiny, some of these are whoppers though, I'm really pleased. They'll definitely last through winter, just so long as they store ok, as we don't use many onions really.
DeleteIt looks as though you have had a good crop! I think this year has definitely been fantastic for us growers, the only problem is that everything seems to be about four weeks early and autumn is now setting in.
ReplyDeleteI've had some things do well and some not so well, but that's the same every year. There's definitely signs of autumn about, lots of my plants are giving up already before they've really produced what they should, I'm not ready for the end of Summer yet.
DeleteWhat a wonderful harvest. I love onions and use them most days in cooking.
ReplyDeleteThey do look great cleaned up.
I don't think there will be many people that are ready for the end of summer :)
I love onions too, but I don't cook with them all that often as Mick isn't all that keen on them. I love them cooked or raw and ofen have a cheese and onion sandwich for lunch. It's looking more autumnal than summery today.
DeleteI like the idea of storing onions in those baskets. They look much better than the supermarket boxes we usually use. Glad we moved our onions and shallots into the plot greenhouse with the rain over the last few days.
ReplyDeleteThey often pop the baskets outside the shop for anyone to take if they want them, they're great for drying things off in because of all the holes, they allow the air to circulate. I don't think your onions would have dried off on the ground, not in the weather we've had just recently, there's definitely a nip of autumn in the air.
DeleteWow that's a lot of onions Jo and they look great. I haven't bothered bar half a dozen given to me that I found space for. I have plenty of shallots though.....
ReplyDeleteI don't grow as many as some do as we don't use that many, but it's nice to have some home grown ones, especially the red ones which I've done very poorly with previously.
DeleteI didn't grow any onions this year as I don't have as much space to play with - but seeing yours I wish I had now - I shall have to get more organised next year I think.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd bother if I didn't have enough space, they're one of the things we use the least of so it would be as easy to buy them really, but it is nice to say I've grown my own.
DeleteThat is a good harvest, better than mine and we eat a lot of onions! Mine are still very small, as always :(
ReplyDeleteThis is my best year yet. I've tried both sets and seeds but the sets have definitely done better so I'll be sticking with them from now on.
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