Picking Farm Grown Onions
My vegetable garden just keeps on giving - this week, some beautiful farm-grown onions.
The onion, Allium cepa, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Onions are hardy, easy to grow, and can be grown in a variety of soils and climates. I plant a lot of onions every year. I use them in my cooking, and in sandwiches and salads. And I share many of them with family and friends.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- It’s so rewarding to be able to pick so many fresh vegetables from one’s own garden. This week, I harvested lots of onions.
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- I plant a good amount of onions every year. It is one of the most favorite crops here at the farm.
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- My onions are started from seed in the greenhouse and then planted outdoors in the garden bed in spring.
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- I plant red onions, white onions, and yellow onions. Here, Phurba carefully plants them using a dibber.
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- They are planted when temperatures are still a bit cool. Early planting gives the onions time to develop tops and store energy for the bulbs.
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- Here they are all planted in early June.
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- By late July the onions are starting to show through the soil, but they are still small and the top leaves are still very green.
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- Onions require 90 to 100 days to mature from seed, which is around four months. From sets, onions are ready to harvest after around 80 days, or just under three months.
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- Onions are edible at any point, no matter how small they are. Here I harvested a few early season onions – they look very good.
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- A week later, the leaves are beginning to brown.
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- And this week, the tops of the onion plants have withered and turned brown naturally – a clear indication they are fully mature and ready to harvest.
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- The onion leaves are also quite dry. This happens at the “neck” of the onion, where the leaves meet the bulb, and signals that the plant has stopped growing.
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- To pick, Elvira carefully and gently pulls the onion up by its top. It’s important to keep the stem intact to prevent the possibility of rot.
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- Most of these onions are medium to large in size.
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- Fortunately, very few animals eat garden onions.
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- Enma fills the crates. When picking, use containers that provide good air circulation such as these milk crates.
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- Be sure to pick onions when they are dry, meaning never after a rain shower. Picking them whey they are dry prevents spoilage.
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- Elvira picked lots of red onions, which are most often used for their color and mild flavor in salads, salsas, and other raw preparations.
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- Yellow onions are full-flavored and are a reliable standby for cooking almost anything. White onions are often used in prepared salads, white sauces, and classic Mexican cuisine. They’re also loved in soups, stews, braises, and rice pilaf.
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- Once all the onions are picked, they are taken to my carport where they can cure. Curing is a process of preparing the onions for long-term storage. During the curing stage, the outer layers of the onions dry out, tightening around the bulb and creating a protective layer that keeps the onion firm and fresh for a longer time.
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