We harvest onions with a Grimme WV180 harvester. It is a machine that lifts onions from the field, cleans them and moves them onto a trailer, all gently so as not to damage the skin. With around 50 hectares of onions, an efficient and careful harvest is essential.
What the onion harvest looks like
First the onion ripens and its tops fold over. Then the harvester comes in: it lifts the onions along with leaf and soil residue, separates them on sieves and belts, and pours the clean crop onto the trailer. This lets the harvest move quickly, with no hand work on each bulb. We do the same across the whole onion area, step by step, just as we describe through the growing season in our post on growing onions in Żuławy.
Why the Grimme WV180 on heavy clay
The Żuławy clay soils are heavy. A machine for such ground has to lift onions gently, so as not to bruise them or leave them in the field. The Grimme WV180 handles this well, which is why it suits us on heavy soil. That matters, because light soil forgives more than clay does.
Harvesting without damage, where quality starts
A gentle harvest is no whim. Every bruise is a spot where the onion can start to rot in the store. That is why we set up the harvest so the onions leave the field in the best possible condition. The rest of the quality is decided later, in the store.
From harvester to store
After harvesting, the onions go to further cleaning, drying and grading, and then into a store of around 1300 tonnes. The whole chain, from field to pallet, has one aim: steady quality and availability for most of the year, including for wholesale customers.
Part of our machinery fleet
The onion harvester is one of the machines we use to run the crop. We also use GPS RTK navigation and auto-steering, which together make up our precision farming. We describe all the equipment in our machinery fleet.
Frequently asked questions
How are onions harvested with a harvester?
The harvester lifts ripe onions from the field, cleans them of leaves and soil on sieves and belts, and pours them onto a trailer.
What is the Grimme WV180?
It is an onion harvester. It works well for us on heavy Żuławy clay, because it lifts onions gently.
When are onions harvested?
When the tops fold over and the skin is ripe. That is the moment for the harvester to go in.
Why does a gentle harvest matter?
Because a bruised onion stores less well. Less damage means fewer losses in the store.
Want to see what else we work with? Check our machinery fleet or get in touch through our contact page.
