Harvesting

Harvest

Any part of the plant can be harvested at any time during the season. If you harvest the leaves, take no more than 10% from each plant to spread the damage.

Bulbs can be eaten at any stage of their growth cycle. If needed, you can easily pick a bulb(s) from a nest and use it immediately. There is no need to cure fresh onions; curing is only for storage purposes.

When you notice the first few plants start to fall over - usually July or August - stop watering and remove all mulch. Withholding water at this stage helps prevent rot. Harvest potato onions when half of the tops fall over and begin to dry (senesce) - two to three weeks after the first start to fall. I've seen some videos where the gardeners have left their potato onions in the garden until all of the tops were completely dry and brittle. Use your judgement. It tends to rain a lot in Wisconsin and I don't want the bulbs to rot.

If you have umbels that haven't opened to expose their seeds, you can cut off those stalks and place them in a five gallon bucket half filled with fresh water to allow them to complete the process. Some gardeners cull each onion that flowered because they say it tastes bitter. I haven't noticed that and eat all of my onions, including those that flower. If it tastes bad to you, don't eat it.