Drying out onions

[blue411]

Ive just pulled up my onions and i know they have to be dried out but for how long and when will be able to use them (vey impatient)

[scarey55]

You can use them straight away if you like. They are dried out before storing and I normally leave them for a couple of weeks to dry and then string them together for storing. Make sure that they are really dry and that you don't have any damaged ones though.
Enjoy!

[HeyWayne]

Make sure you keep them ventilated when drying too. Wellie's got a great contraption for dryign her shallots (have a sneaky on her blog).

Mine are on wire mesh in the greenhouse - but then my greenhouse isn't really a greenhouse, more a green cupboard.

[Hellbell]

D'you think it'll be okay to dry the onions out in the house (spare bedroom) as I don't have a greenhouse and the weather's not so good at the moment? Or if not would it be better to leave them outside but try to rig up some sort of canopy over them to keep them dry?

[scarey55]

I would say, take them inside - as long as it isn't too hot in the spare bedroom, they should dry out nicely.

[Hellbell]

Right then, I think I'll give them a go inside. There's no heating in there and I can leave the window open a tiny bit to keep it ventilated. If it doesnt work then I'll have to quickly make onion soup, onion tart, onion .....

[JennieAtkinson]

[QUOTE=HeyWayne;267775....... more a green cupboard.[/QUOTE]

I like the idea of a green cupboard

I find the greenhouse really good for drying things off. Including the washing!

[Farmer_Gyles]

i pull up onions and use them any time i want them - it's brilliant - must get the rest of them dried out properly .............
so i could dry them in the greenhouse, but need to bring them indoors for storage over the winter??

[Comfreyfan]

I hang mine in tights in the shed - one year I'm really going to get round to stringing them up all lovely, but until then the tights work!

[butter fingers]

im going to pull my onions tomorow because of all this rain. They have mostly all floped over anyway, so i would hate to loose them at this stage because of rot or mildew.Ill try to dry them in my 4 tier poly greenhouse and then indoors under the stairs if ive got room.

[Two_Sheds]

Mine are plaited together and hanging from a hook in the garage (it's not damp in there, but I'll still be checking the plaits weekly for any rotters)

[kentvegplot]

Dried mine in the greenhouse, then strung them. Our house came complete with a fairly large Wendy house under one of the large trees...so that's where the onions, shallots, potatoes etc etc are stored. Only trouble is that it's a long walk from the house, when I've forgotten I need something for lunch!

[Twinkle]

I made a hammock out of garden netting and have slung it into the shed for drying onions in
I'm a bit sad as I really enjoy making onion plaits when they're dry. Is it a girl thing ??

[Eyren]

I'm a bit sad as I really enjoy making onion plaits when they're dry. Is it a girl thing ??

Possibly - I made my first garlic plaits at the weekend and was rather disappointed that my softneck crop was so small. I had just started to get the hang of it (two plaits), then I ran out

Next year I will have to grow more...

[Alice]

You can eat your onions now Blue, or anytime you like. Ideally they want about 3 weeks drying for storage. Everyones told you how to do it.