🧅 When to Harvest & How to Cure Onions

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I have good news: Onions are one of the easiest plants in the garden to read.

Unlike other plants (I see you, watermelon 🍉), where it can be a lot harder to tell, onions basically 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 you when they're ready.

𝟯 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿:

Your first big clue is when the neck (that's the part where the leaves meet the top of the bulb) flops over onto the ground.
Your second sign is when the outer skin starts turning dry and papery instead of smooth and green.
The third indication is when about half the leaves start yellowing and drying out.

BUT WAIT (there's more 🤣), don't rush to pull them just yet.

𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁

Once the tops flop and start browning, give it another one to two weeks before you pull anything.

This does two things:

It lets the onion finish sealing its neck shut, which is what keeps moisture and bacteria out during storage
And it lets the bulb pull the last bit of energy out of the dying stalk.

Skip this wait, and you could end up with onions that don't seal properly and rot faster in storage.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺

Stop watering three to five days before you plan to harvest. This gives the outer layers and the soil around the bulb time to dry out, which matters a lot for both pulling them easily and preventing them from trapping excess moisture.
Wait for a dry day if you can. Onions have shallow roots, so on dry soil you can just grab the bulb and gently pull straight up. Wet soil makes them harder to pull, and extra soil can stick to the bulb, which traps moisture you don't want.

A couple things to keep in mind:

Pull from the bulb, not the stem. Yanking on the stem can snap it.
Once it's out, gently brush off the dirt with your hand.
Don't peel off any of the outer papery layers yet. Those are doing a job (protecting the bulb), and you'll want them for curing.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺

If you're planning to store your onions rather than eat them right away, they need to cure first.

Lay them out in a single layer somewhere shaded with good airflow, out of direct sun. A covered patio, garage, or shop all work fine.

The sweet spot is 75-85°F (24-29℃), but if you're somewhere hot (hi, that's me 👋), don't stress if you can't hit that.

A fan pointed at your onions to keep the air moving makes a huge difference when the ambient temp is working against you. (This is what I do).

Curing takes about two to four weeks. I'll cover exactly how to know they're done curing and how to get them ready for long-term storage in a future post, so keep an eye out.

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Have you harvested onions before, or is this your first year growing them?

P.S. I've also added this + more details into the Onion Growing Guide in the Academy Classroom.

Want to see for yourself? Try it for 7 days free, HERE.

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🧅 When to Harvest & How to Cure Onions