When to Harvest Fall Planted Onion Sets?
- Know your area so you can know when to harvest onion sets. Onion sets should have about 100 days of growing time, if possible. You want to make sure that they have as close to this amount of time as possible, so plant accordingly.
Onions are very hardy, and they can usually survive frosts and even snow cover. So, if you are going to be experiencing light frosts, don't worry about leaving your onions in the ground. You don't even need to worry about pulling them if snow is forecast. Only pull them early if it is going to be a hard freeze, or a period in which the temperatures drop below freezing for more than six hours more than two days in a row. - Understand your onion plants, so you know when to harvest them. You should harvest onions when their tips have fallen, and not when the tips are standing straight up. If you pull them with the tips standing straight up, the onion might break and will not be ripe. Only harvest in this manner if you are trying to avoid a hard freeze. Otherwise, wait until the tips fall.
Pull your onions up after the tips have fallen, and lay them on the ground to cure. Don't leave them out in a hard freeze, though, and cover them if it is going to rain.
