Storing garlic and shallots

[Veg newbie]

What is the best way to keep both. I currently have the garlic on my window to try and dry out but want to make sure this is the best way.

[kathyd]

Hi VN . Both should be thoroughly dried, and then garlic needs to be strung in some way so the bulbs aren't touching each other - clever ppl plait them, but I seem to be a bit ham-fisted and my plait looks like a bad perm, so I'm going to try tying them with string instead - then hang the 'ropes' of garlic up somewhere dry and frost free. You can search google for instructions on how to plait if you're feeling adventurous . Not sure about shallots - first time I've grown them.. at the moment they're hanging in small bunches in a dry, cool and not very light room. I read somewhere on here you can store in little baskets? I'm sure someone else will come along soon to clarify!

[Rhona]

I plait garlic just because I like the way it looks (even my slightly rough ones), tie larger shallots into bunches, and hang in the shed; middling ones in an old trug; and the little ones (once thoroughly dried) into a dry, dark place to grow next year.

[Kaiya]

Bike optional. It's a sturdy bamboo stake slung from a shelf in our garage. Onions and garlic generally tied to the string separately, shallots in bunches of 2 or 3 as with 70 shallots I drew the line at tying them on individually!

I left them in the blowaway to start drying for about 2 weeks (too rainy back then to leave them out uncovered) then strung them up. I'm no good at plaiting and I cut the greenery off anyway as onions are dangerous to cats and I have a particularly silly cat who might play with the fronds if I left them on. They are all good and dry now. I did make a mistake in order - I tied the largest at the bottom of the string and the smallest at the top, whereas it should be the other way up to be able to use the smallest up first. I still use the smallest first but have to be careful not to cut the string when I remove them.

Where the basket is on the shelf I now have a soil sieve full of my summer harvested onions - all tiny pickling size so can't be bothered to tie them up. I found they'd actually dried themselves in the ground, no greenery left on them. I need to shake the sieve up a bit to rotate them but they seem to be drying ok like that.

Awkward onions (small ones, damaged ones or ones that have no stem left so nothing to tie on to) get chucked into the fruit bowl and used wet.

[greenishfing]

I plait anything that can be plaited, garlic and onions but my shallots get dried in the sun if possible (inside if not) until the tops are just so dry they just fall off and then stored in the legs of nylon tights or stockings. they have always kept for months like this.

[Veg newbie]

Thanks for the pictures they have helped a lot.