Harvesting

Have you ever dried an onion? No, not diced, dried. I don't think I ever have before. However, following the instructions in the book that I currently loath, but will come to love, called The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, by Edward C. Smith, onions must be dried. Interesting. Here is what it says. " When it's time to harvest onions, try to anticipate a warm, dry, sunny spell so the bulbs can sun-cure for at least a week. If it rains (this part is important to remember in the post that follows this one), move the bulbs to an open shed, porch, or other covered but airy spot." It continues, "When the tops and papery skin on the bulbs are dry and crinkly, clip the tops about an inch from the bulbs and store in onion bags in a cool, dry place."
Alright, I think I can handle that. It was time to harvest the onions. So I pulled them and got out some old window screens and laid them all in a single layer on the screens. We had a great harvest. Lots of onions to last us through the winter if stored correctly. Under a beautiful picture in the same book, it also says, "If you braid your onion tops before they dry out, they'll store well and be a pleasure to look at as well." Now, I can braid hair. Regular braids, french braids, inverted french braids, and even a fish bone braid, but I have never tried to braid onion tops. Intrigued, I thought I would give it a try. I'm not to sure about the results. You be the judge. I took these photos and felt proud for a while. Then noticed that the sky was getting dark and ominous looking. Seriously??? Yes, rain was on the way. I have now moved all the onions to the porch and will try harder to plan accordingly when harvesting in the future.


Part of the harvest waiting to be spread out to dry.


My attempt at an onion braid. Doesn't look much like the picture in the book.


Two screens filled.


Happy harvest! I have one more screen that I filled last week. It is almost done drying. Not too bad!