Since this is the first year I've tried drying onions outside, it has been a learning experience. I don't really want a permanent drying rack because then I would have to store it. So a while ago I built the above rack. It was very simple. With 8' bamboo poles stretched over the leaf storage area of the compost pile and chicken wire on top. But yesterday I harvested the rest of the onions and these were not done drying. There was not nearly enough space for half the onions, much less all of them. I had to rethink my strategy.
My solution was to use three dimensions instead of two. I could have just laid the onions on top of another onion's greens, but I thought that would set them up for more rot and they would dry slower. It is bad enough that they have to dry outside in the humidity. But three dimensions gave me the room I needed for all of the onions.
Copras in front, then Redwing and Ailsa Craig
Sometimes I think my garden survives on string. I'm always tying things together and holding things up with string. Here I used a 4' bamboo pole at both ends and in the middle. This will keep the 8' poles the correct distance apart to keep the onions from falling through. Some are spaced more closely together for the small onions. And some are farther apart for the larger onions. Everything is tied together with string. When I buy string, I buy a honking big piece of it. The spool was 5000' long when I bought it in 2012. It is still going strong.
I dry my garlic for three weeks in the bike shed. It was time to take it down and clean it up. I did this on the top of the compost pile as that is where I wanted all the waste anyway.
All the good heads go into a mesh bag that is hung in the basement. There were quite a few, maybe a dozen, that had some damage or some black mold on the necks. When there was mold I cut the affected parts off. And the not perfect bulbs were kept out and we will use them first. I've never had any black mold on my garlic before. I have on onions, but never garlic. I wonder what is different this year.
We need to do something similar to dry off our onions.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of onions! I only have a few and haven't pulled them out yet. Not sure how I will dry them yet! Nice bag of garlic!!! I may try to grow garlic again someday! Nancy
ReplyDeleteWow, lots of onions and garlic. I thought I used a lot of string, but you've got me beat big time! I've gotten a bit lazy and I guiltily use cable ties these days for some things like mounting my trellises on poles and attaching my tomato cages to stakes. I should be a good gardener and go back to string... maybe. Or perhaps I should cut more old t-shirts into strips - they have been really effective and I can reuse the strips a number of times before they fall apart and go into the compost.
ReplyDeleteWhat an ingenious idea for drying the onions. I have no idea what I'm going to do with mine yet. I'll probably have to MacGyver some sort of contraption in the garage.
ReplyDelete"Necessity is the mother of invention", they say... I have the same relationship with string that you have. Couldn't manage without it!
ReplyDeleteI've never had enough onions to worry about how to dry them ...a few dozen at best that I just lay on the porch under cover. Good thing, I suppose, as I am certainly not as handy as you are!
ReplyDeleteI'm always so impressed by your onion harvest. I can only dream of growing ones as big as yours.
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