[JohnB47]

Hi.

I've put in some Sensui Yellow and Radar over- wintering onions but I've read that these type don't store well. Can anyone who's already done this tell me, in what way do they not keep? Do they sprout after a while, go rotten, what? How long will they store for?

Thanks.

[Stevens706]

No -  what they are saying is that when the onions have finished growing and ripened they will not store for very long, i.e over winter, before going soft, so you should use these first and main crop ones for storing long term.

[JohnB47]

Thanks.

Perhaps I didn't explain properly.

"... when the onions have finished growing and ripened they will not store for very long"

That's exactly what I'm asking about. How long will they keep after lifting next June/July and what makes them unusable?

I'm just trying to learn from others experiences.

Thanks again.

[Aidy]

A lot will depend on where you are keeping them, ideally dark and cool with some air flowing, I would suggest that check every few days after a couple of months to see if they are turning soft. Personally I stopped growing onions fulls top and opt for shallots now, they will store right through until the next year.

[strangerachael]

Just to be awkward my shallots stored really badly this year - onions did much better 

[noshed]

Pickling is good

[JohnB47]

Thanks everyone.

Must try shalotts too.

Cheers.

[chooksbury]

   Have any of you tried the heritage variety, James Long Keeping ?  I got it last year for an allotment keeping chum.  He'd been going on about it saying he used to grow it about 30 years ago, but it disappeared, and a clever heritage veg fiend friend of mine found a supplier.  Apparently it stores beautifully. 

BTW, this is the heritage veg fiend who also got me addicted to Mr Little's Yetholme Gypsy potatoes 

[Muddylou]

This is only the start of my second year so didn't manage to plant over winter onions last time. I bought some from the Lotty shop and planted end of September. They've come up well, on asking one of the old boys (who also planted the same onion sets) whether they will store for long or not, he said of course they will "I keep my onions for months" I'm just relaying a story and will find out for myself next June.

[cob nut]

Last year we planted some over wintering onions & tomorrow I am about to use the last one of them, I have noticed that the next to last one that I chopped up/cooked yesterday is a bit softer than the summer grown onions.  They kept better than we expected them to.

[Paul Plots]

I think the idea of over-wintering onions is to fill a gap as they tend to mature earlier. You can pull and use them any time once they are large enough.... they should keep you supplied up until the time the main crop are ready to be lifted.

Main crop then take over as a source of onions - storing longer into the year.

I tend not to have many winter grown onions left by the time I've started on the main crop - but it is very dependent upon the weather..

Storing onions in general appears to be an increasing problem with wetter seasons and the rise of white-rot