Is it time to harvest onions/garlic yet?

[Dead Dogs]

Like Zanzen, I have been lifting and using my onions for the last few weeks. These were surplus sets from my autumn planting, which I planted in the greenhouse. A good job I did as virtually none of those outside survived. I have now lifed all of the onions in the greenhouse to make way for the Toms.

[Peas'n'Kews]

Lifted my onions today! so exciting! Now drying in the garden, ready to put 'em under cover tonight.

Will be eating a few quick-time as they had developed flowers....

[Neil Spencer]

I have just started lifting my over wintered red onion. Fantastic flavour. A couple will be visiting the BBQ tonight.

They all have pretty large necks so I don't think they will keep long. Also the leaves are still vibrant green? Must be the weather this year i guess. Thanks to this forum though I'll be freezing some. Only into my 3rd year and still so much to learn.

[Snadger]

I think I left some of my garlic too long as some of the individual cloves were starting to seperate. I do the same as Zaz and eat my jap onions 'in the green'. Pointless letting them ripen as they don't store very well anyway.
Good idea popping a brassica in to the vacated positions too!

[Pickle]

Does the garlic bulb stay beneath the surface? I've got some lovely growth on my garlic, although not terribly thick, but no sign of any bulbs. The leaves are still standing proud at the moment so I've been leaving them be. Should I be having a little route around in the soil to see what they are up to?

[redser]

I think I left some of my garlic too long as some of the individual cloves were starting to seperate. I do the same as Zaz and eat my jap onions 'in the green'. Pointless letting them ripen as they don't store very well anyway.
Good idea popping a brassica in to the vacated positions too!

Some of mine have split too. So I'm going to dig them up tonight. I supoose it would be ok to chop and freeze garlic like onions too?

[jacob]

Does the garlic bulb stay beneath the surface? I've got some lovely growth on my garlic, although not terribly thick, but no sign of any bulbs. The leaves are still standing proud at the moment so I've been leaving them be. Should I be having a little route around in the soil to see what they are up to?

The bulbs will be a couple of inches under the surface. Garlic doesn't fall, but just goes yellow. Round my way I tend to harvest in late July, but you might go a bit earlier.

[Thelma Sanders]

My Early Purple Wight garlic was ready so it's been lifted, I had a look at the Music and I think it needs a bit longer.
Both were planted in the Autumn.

[Storm]

Our garlic is variable. The plants always grow well but produce small bulbs. It seems to be partly the variety that I put in. I have grown solent white right and it's been fine. Yet the other types growing right next door in the same bed produce almost no bulb at all.

I start picking onions as I need them in the spring, just whipping out the biggest bulbs and taking them home to cook. Those remaining are looking like they are looking like they're going to seed any moment so will probably try and get them out this weekend.

Watch out for white rot if you leave them in too long with this wet "summer"

[Plot103]

Some of mine have split too. So I'm going to dig them up tonight. I supoose it would be ok to chop and freeze garlic like onions too?

I grew far too much garlic last year so I peeled half of it and used the food processor to mush it up and froze it in ice cube trays. 1 cube is about 2 large cloves and can be just dropped in to whatever you are cooking. Works well for soups, sauces casseroles, etc.

[Paulottie]

I tend to freeze (the not so good bulbs) garlic in butter...good for quick garlic bread. Lazy garlic is handy too: just salt and crush, pop it in a jamjar and cover in olive oil to exclude air. Sits by cooker for a teaspoon here and there.

[Paulottie]

The art of storing onions, as said, is to use up anything but the best green and just keep the best. The reason for roping them, in preference to hanging in stockings or sacks, is not for ornament (although atractive) but to optimise air circulation and facilitate the removal of any bulbs that begin to soften. Plaited garlic also stores better than any other method I have found.

Well dried and kept in a cool place with good airflow onions will last around six months. This I find to be true of both those harvested in June or September. In order to have onions all year you must grow both...even then It is a struggle to find an onion by the beginning of May....So any bolters and runts are almost welcome by then to bridge the gap. The garlic should last 9 months (bridge that gap with wild garlic...best before it flowers)

[jacob]

Anyhow, I usually find that onions from overwintered sets fall over bang on midsummer. The last month has been so grim, that I was wondering if they might hang on a bit longer? Any thoughts.

Well, that's answered my question -- onions started to flops yesterday. Bang on...

[bramble]

Some of mine have split too. So I'm going to dig them up tonight. I supoose it would be ok to chop and freeze garlic like onions too?

Redser, you wont need to freeze garlic as it stores well. Just plait or tie the garlic in bunches and hang them up somewhere dry and they will be fine.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Have been harvesting a few fallen over raffia leafed onions for a couple of weeks. Think they were shenshyu and yellow moon. They've gone into dahls mainly. Ma ordered me to get a few last sunday. A few have developed the buds on top; suggesting that that they have bolted. Rather than wait for the flower, I've snapped it off to get a nice sized onion. That said, I've had a skulk around the patch, and there are few in there that warm the bottom of my heart. They look like real life sized onions. I'm waiting for the leaves to die down and become raffia like.

Don't ask me where my shallots are under all that grass.