Onions problems

[Rosefriend]

I was really pleased but 90 percent have all rotted - I have saved about a dozen that are still hard.

I dried them for days but it was over 30degC every day - was it too hot... was it wrong to have them in a box etc.??

There were no worms, larva - apart from a few that were a bit squidgy to start with all of them were marvellous.

I am a bit fed up to be honest - if this is going to happen each year then I don't think that I will bother again.

RF

[farmersboy]

Could be too hot and humid RF,they keep better in a cool airy place,i had that happen once when i had them in boxes,in my shed,it got very hot in there when the sun shone,now i bunch mine,and hang them in a tree,which shelters them from a lot of rain,and theres plenty of wind blowing through them

[Jasmine]

I kept mine in the shed last year and they didn't last very long - too warm in there I think. Trying to think of somewhere else for this year.

[Rosefriend]

Thanks both - think it was possibly a mixture of the box, the heat and me not knowing what I am doing...roses are def. easier than veg to look after!!!

I haven't got a tree in the garden, and with some of the onions it would have been impossible to string them together, but what I do have is a really old fashioned wire potato basket - wonder if that would work?? Mind you they would be piled over each other then...

RF

[Spruance]

As FB says RF I think the main issues here are airflow (or lack thereof) and humidity.

It is some while since I grew onions but what I used to do was to bend over the top leaves/stem whilst the onions were still in the ground and then lift them a few days later after the leaves had begun to dry/die back. Then I used to remove any obvious signs of disease and place the onions on the open slatted staging in my GH with the onions inverted so that the leaves protruded through the underside of the staging. You could probably get away with something along those lines with your wire potato basket.

[Rosefriend]

Thanks all - I am really annoyed that I have lost them all but pleased that I probably have the answer as to why....got an whole year to work put where I can put them now!!!!

RF

[carolann]

Oh dear RF after all the hard work and wondering what you would do with all the Onions, I put mine in the GH on the staging for a few weeks then fetch them in the house in a wire basket making sure that I scrape all the soil and old skins off first.

[Ladygardener]

Rf that's such a shame after you doing so well. I hope you are able to find a solution for next year.

[Chuckles]

I usually hang mine over the fence for a few days if the weather is good, then trim and store them in a couple of recycled supermarket baskets and hang them up in the shed. This year I didn't get time to trim and just hung them in the baskets with the stems hanging over the outside. My shed has got quite warm this year and after reading your prblems RF, I checked mine yesterday to find I'd lost 25% of mine

I think the general rule for storing most veg is cool and dry