Rules for storing onions in the winter at home

Many people grow on their own or simply stock up onions for the winter, but not everyone knows how to store onions in the winter at home. It all depends on what kind of onion you need to save for the winter: ordinary onion, sevok, leek or green onion.

How to store onions in the winter at home

If certain conditions are met, the crop can be preserved until the spring of next year and perfectly eaten during the cold months. It is worth mentioning right away that there are different varieties that have their own individual indicators of shelf life (shelf life), it is worth learning about this when purchasing or growing a particular variety.

Basic rules for storing onions

In order to prepare for storing onions during the winter period, you need to know some rules. The most basic ones are listed below:

1. In order to preserve the onion for another time, it is worth choosing bulbs that are not susceptible to infections, are not mechanically damaged, have strong scales and thin necks. The crop must be ripened (the unripened one will rot, and the overripe one can take root again).
2. In autumn, during the harvest, the bulbs must be carefully dug up, then sprinkled on the ground, and not pulled out of the soil. This will reduce the amount of mechanical damage and extend the shelf life of onions.
3. Drying is an important point. Before storing onions, they must be dried. To do this, it is recommended to lay it out under the sun (on the porch or on the balcony) in the morning and leave it until the evening. An alternative is to lay out the bulbs at the radiator grill or at the battery, if possible. This can save time.
4. Using a knife or a special garden pruner, cut green tails (necks), leaving about 4-5 cm. It is better not to apply such measures to the roots.
5. After all of these procedures, you can remove the top layer of dry flakes. This must be done carefully and carefully, without damaging the bulb, removing only the already dried scales.
6. Leave the onions to dry for another week or two. Once every few days, it is necessary to sort and mix it.

Next, the onions can already be stacked in prepared containers. A few more important aspects in the process itself:

1. The capacity (container) in which the onion is stored must be breathable, that is, air processes should occur freely in it. Ventilation is necessary in order to avoid excessive humidity.
2. Excessive humidity not only of the container, but also of the room in which the onion is stored, has negative consequences, one of the largest of which is rotting of bulbs.

Often when stored at home, onions germinate. This problem can be solved by processing with lime paste. Everything is extremely simple: you need to lubricate the rootlobes when the onion roots appear.

Another way to get rid of sprouting is root burning. But the minus of both methods is that the field of such processing is not possible planting bulbs as planting material for the next season. For sowing, these methods of fruit preparation will not work.

About the varieties and the timing of their savings in winter

At what temperature should I store onions for the winter? Depending on the variety, the storage temperature of the onion and its keeping quality change. That is, the time that onions can be saved is determined not only by the conditions, preparation and harvest, but also by the variety of the selected onions.It can be very unfortunate if a person creates all the necessary conditions, carries out the necessary procedures, follows the rules of storage, and the onion goes bad anyway. To avoid such situations, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the onion varieties and the parameters of their keeping quality.

Temperature is inversely proportional to the severity of the variety. Thus, for sharp varieties, a low (about -3 ° C) temperature is necessary, and for sweet (non-sharp), on the contrary, high (up to 15-18 ° C).

Here are some examples. Varieties suitable for long-term storage (sharp, with dense scales) include:

• Spassky Red;
• Bessonovsky;
• Strigunovsky;
• Arzamassky;
• Rostov onions.

To varieties that have a not so great indicator of keeping quality (semi-sweet) can be attributed:

• Samarkand;
• Markovsky;
• Belozersky;
• Mechkovsky;
• Danilovsky.

The process of preparing onions for storage

Preparing onions for long storage is an important process. You need to know how and where to store onions in the winter: in the basement, on the balcony or just in the apartment, how to prepare the boxes. To prepare for storage, you need to carry out all the procedures described at the very beginning. So, drying:

1. Lay the onion on a dry, even surface, for example, on a bedspread or board, in the yard.
2. If the weather does not allow or it is a question of drying in the apartment, then you can use another way: heat the oven so that it is warm inside (important – not hot), turn it off, and then put the onions there.
3. Drying is unacceptable, a sign of which is scales with soft cracks.
4. After drying, it is necessary to clean the remaining soil and excess dry skin, as well as cut green shoots (onion necks), leaving only a few centimeters (3-5 cm).
5. Next – sorting. It is necessary to leave dry, non-rotten, without mechanical damage, soft fruits. You should get rid of the rest.

If the crop was grown in a humid climate, subject to constant rains or an excess of moisture, absolutely all scales must be removed. During storage, they form again.

These are all important aspects. Now you can say that you know how to prepare onions for storage. The next step is to select the environment for the crop.

Choose a room, place and container for storage

What is the best way to store onions and which containers to choose? Consider the most popular options.

Wicker baskets

This storage method is known to all. From the aesthetic side, wicker baskets look beautiful, and the material from which they are made does not harm the vegetables and the environment stored in them.

The openings between the rods allow air to easily enter the basket, thereby providing one of the most important storage conditions – good ventilation. The basket is suitable for a small amount of harvested crops.

Boxes of small height

Most often plastic, sometimes wooden boxes are less advantageous from an aesthetic point of view, but from a practical point of view it is several times better . Boxes can be placed in a corner or made up one on one.

In addition, in this case, the ventilation conditions are observed. The box is suitable for those who want to save storage space and comply with all storage conditions.

Cardboard boxes

This option was invented by those who can not afford to fold the assembled Harvest in a box. And he is now enjoying success! In order to ensure air permeability, small diameter holes should be made in the walls of the boxes.

The size should be such that the bow could not fall out of the box, but ventilation could occur freely. In addition, this storage option is very economical: you can ask for boxes at any grocery store in the neighborhood or use your old ones for household appliances or shoes.

Ordinary bags or burlap

This method has a limitation: do not fill the bags more than 30 cm, otherwise rotting processes may begin due to lack of air exchange.And burlap itself as a fabric is good, not without reason since ancient times our ancestors kept their entire harvest in bags. Suitable for storage in basements or pantries, because hardly anyone will want to decorate their living room in this way.

Vegetable nets

That’s why they are vegetable (from the word vegetable) to store the corresponding product in them. The nets belong to specialized containers and are designed specifically for the preservation of various fruits, including onion fruits.

The advantages include visual inspection of products inside the net: if the vegetable is rotten, it can be seen immediately. It is also possible to provide the product with excellent air circulation. But, as with bags, it is unlikely that anyone will want to leave this within their apartment or house, so most often the net is used for storage in the basement.

Nylon tights

This storage method is suitable for a pantry or basement. Kapron is a synthetic fabric. Tights are designed so that ventilation is good enough, because they mainly interact with human skin.

Given this factor, you can safely store onions in pantyhose without worrying about air exchange. The minus, as in several previous options, is the aesthetic side.

Onion braids (braids)

This option is suitable for storage in basements and pantries, as well as in indoor rooms.A braid made of onions can be an excellent decoration in the kitchen and one of the main elements of the decor. In addition, this method is effective, since it does not cause air stagnation and provides visual control. Weaving a braid from the bulbs is easy: the Internet is full of instructions on how to complete this process.

In order to secure the storage of onions in the apartment, you should choose dry and well-ventilated places for the location of the containers with the crop. A storage room (if one is present in the house), a mezzanine or a closet, and also a floor if the owner can afford it can be quite suitable.

If we are talking about a private house, it’s worth saying how to store dried onions in the cellar.

The cellar must not be raw, it must be well treated with lime from various fungal infections. This can be done in summer or autumn, but it is better to carry out regular preventive procedures, otherwise the bulb will rot or may give distillation.

About the shelf life of onions

It all depends on what temperature to store onions. For example, at maximum (up to 18-20 degrees), the shelf life can be about four months. At an average temperature and preliminary preparation, the shelf life of onions increases significantly: up to six nine months, and if the crop is found in sealed bags – up to a year.

Another way is a freezer or refrigerator. How to store onions in the refrigerator in the winter? For this method, the onions are cut into slices, having previously cleaned them of scales and husks, and then folded in plastic bags or left on the board. Sometimes housewives prefer to put the blanks in a special container. This storage method is suitable for a small number of vegetables and the shelf life in this case is only a month. After a month, the onion heads will already have a frosted, non-marketable appearance, and the taste will deteriorate or disappear altogether. But this method is suitable for storing onions in the kitchen. The temperature inside the freezer should be minimal. If the refrigerator does not have a special compartment for frozen food, it is better to use other storage methods at an average temperature.

About the features of storing some types of onions

How to store onions in the cellar in at home we have already disassembled, but only in general terms. Now it’s worth talking about the storage features of some types of vegetables.

Green onion

What is the best way to store this species? Green onions (the so-called feather) are stored for up to 2 weeks. The place for his savings should be the lower shelf in the refrigerator or a special “zero” chamber.In order for the feather to maintain its marketable appearance for as long as possible, you need to carefully clean the onions from stale shoots, wet the roots with water (only the roots), and then wrap everything together in a moist piece of cloth. On top of the textile layer, you need to make another one – paper. Wrap the paper around the base of the feathers and string them at the beginning.

Another option is to wrap the green shoots in special food paper or put them in a container filled with water and cover with a plastic bag on top. You can do the same as with onions. Chopped, it is stored in the freezer, and dried as seasoning can lie much longer than fresh.

Leek

Storage conditions for leek are slightly different for the familiar. What needs to be done so that it grows well, and what absolutely can not be done?

In the prepared pot you need to pour a sand mixture (you can use ordinary sand) in a small layer (about 5 cm). After that, you need to plant leek stalks, the distance between them is covered with sand (about 10 cm).

Yalta (red)

How to store Yalta onions? Storage of bulbs of this variety is usually short-lived (up to 5 months). Harvest of this species is best stored in a refrigerator or cellar.

You can braid a braid from onions (how to weave, as described above). Preparation of onions for long storage does not differ from ordinary cleaning and preparation.

Onions

How to save onions for the winter, if we are talking about the usual onions, already described above. The basic rules are unchanged. Where to store onions in winter? You can store onions for the winter in the cellar, pantry, refrigerator or apartment. For long-term storage, not all grades are suitable. You can find out which onion is stored as long as possible at the very beginning of the article.

Keeping onions at home is a simple and easy process. An alternative is to store onions in special storage facilities. But not everyone needs this method, and besides, at home, the owner can control the process from the inside.

Storage of onions without the required conditions

“How to store onions for the winter? “Is also a very frequent question. Very simple: just like in the house, the difference is only in the place of saving.

It is worth noting that you can just plant winter onion seeds so that you can harvest in the spring and not be tormented with questions about how to keep the onions for the winter and how to store onions in the winter. Today, with a huge seed palette, choosing the right seeds will not be difficult, and onions will decorate any family or professional garden and become an indispensable component in cooking and preserving.

Conclusion

Very often inexperienced gardeners ask the question, is it possible to store onions and garlic together? Can!Dishes for such a neighborhood should not restrict air access, too tight a neighborhood is also not welcome, it is ideal to use a spacious bag instead of some other containers. But the best option for shared storage is braids. And if onions rot during storage or diseases appear, then the problem is not in the neighborhood, but in non-compliance with the basic storage conditions.

By observing all these simple rules, anyone will be able to choose the appropriate method for themselves and no longer ask how to prepare onions to storage and how to store onions in the apartment. Trimming, drying and proper storage of onions on their own is an investment in the future, because already in the next season it will be possible to plant a sowing, and during the winter – enjoy your own harvest. The main thing is not to forget to clean the places where it is stored for as long as necessary.

Now you know how to store onions at home. Bon appetit!