Drying out onions?

[Capsid]

I've dug up my onions this weekend and had 2 lovely hot days to dry them out a bit but the green stems are still...well green. If it rains I plan to store them in a cold frame but the green leaves are very bulky and won't help the drying process. Would it be best to cut off the green stalks or wait a bit longer?

[burnie]

I always leave them to dry out,mind before I lift I bend over the tops and make sure they're dying off,lift them and lay them on their sides on the ground and a week later put them some where dry.But some years I do loose a few to rot and other years none and it's not to do with if they get rained on either.Contrary things plants,I reckon they must be female!!!(no doubt some may disagree)............(joke,well very nearly)

[SueA]

I would have left them until the tops started dying off a bit before I lifted them but I would just leave them somewhere to dry off for longer & not cut the tops off. I wouldn't store them with green tops though but they should start to 'brown off' after a few days in this sun, I'd try & leave them on a wrack in the sun before you put them under cover anywhere.

[Capsid]

I would have left them until the tops started dying off a bit before I lifted them but I would just leave them somewhere to dry off for longer & not cut the tops off. I wouldn't store them with green tops though but they should start to 'brown off' after a few days in this sun, I'd try & leave them on a wrack in the sun before you put them under cover anywhere.

Most of them had bent over and were laying flat, so I had assumed they were ready for pulling. I needed the space too.

[SarzWix]

Capsid, I plaited mine last year while the stalks were still a bit green - it helped with the plaiting because if they're completely dry they tend to break etc. None of them rotted in storage. How are you planning to store them once they're dry?

[queen of the cobs]

I tend to cur off the green leaves - there are always a few that aren't quite ready when all the others are, and I lift mine all at once.

Beware though, it's going to rain tomorrow, so maybe best to dry them inside.

[Winged one]

I left mine on the windowledge in the garden for about 3 weeks, where they saw a fair bit of rain but it drained off them relatively quickly (and they were somewhat protected by being right in against the wall IYKWIM). I was planning on plaiting them up late yesterday afternoon when I came home from the plot - to find that OH had been bored while I was there and trimmed off all the roots AND the stalks, putting them in a basket in the kitchen. But the stalks had gone lovely and dry with that process. (If he does that to my storing ones in a few weeks, there'll be SLAPS!! At least the ones he did will be used up within about 2 months or less.)

[Capsid]

Capsid, I plaited mine last year while the stalks were still a bit green - it helped with the plaiting because if they're completely dry they tend to break etc. None of them rotted in storage. How are you planning to store them once they're dry?

I store mine in wire racks in the garage. I still have some left from last year which I allowed to dry out over 3-4 weeks. I want to store this year's in racks sooner to get them out of the way and also to trim off the green stalks as when they dry they cause a mess.