I have found a way to store onions that works far better than my pitiful attempts of braiding, and still allows me to keep them hanging so I can see them. Thought I would share in case anyone else has the same issues....
Here is what it looks like when I attempt to braid onions. I am impatient, start when they arent dry
enough, and they look.... sad.
So instead, I hang them from a cord. They are loose on the cord, so fall down and stay compact as they dry, are easy to remove, take less skill and are easy to hang.
I let my onions sit in a hot sunny place and wilt for a day or two... these were spread out to lie in a single layer.... but I didnt take a picture.
First, I start with a doubled piece of twine, and make a double figure 8 knot on the loose ends to form a sturdy loop. A figure 8 knot is stronger and less likely to break than an overhand knot. Onions are heavy, it's worth the extra 5s of effort.
Then, I hang the little loop on a hook outside. The first onion Is twisted around the centre of the hanging piece of looped twine. The second and third onions are also twisted around the single strand twine.
Those starter onions support the rest and keep them from falling off. The rest of the onions are simply twisted around the doubled string. No need to knot them, their own weight keeps them up. I try to hang the stem on one end, the onion on the other.
After I am done, it looks like this:
I trim the onion stems, to leave a few inches hanging and leave them in a cool dark place to continue drying.
After a few weeks, the onions will be quite dry, and the onions will slowly, with gravity, fall down the string and become more compact.
Ta da!
Not perfect or pretty, but a very space efficient way to dry and store onions and quickly get them off of my porch, and it is much faster for me than my pitiful braiding attempts, and less likely to rot than storing them in a box in a jumble.