As a crop, onions were known, used as food and as medicine, even by the Sumerians. In Rus', onion culture appeared around the 12th century. Today it is cultivated all over the globe. This plant gained such popularity for its medicinal and nutritional qualities. Onions and green onions contain phytoncides - compounds with strong bactericidal properties, vitamins A, B, B1, B2, C, PP, mineral salts and other substances necessary for humans. It is eaten fresh in salads, as well as in the preparation of hot dishes and in the canning industry. In this article we will talk about agricultural technology for growing onion sets.
Bulb onions. © Dixondale Farms
Biological features of onions
Onion is a one-, two-, and three-year-old plant. In the first year, from the seeds (nigella) of onions, onion sets or arbage are obtained - small onions 1-2 cm in diameter with a weight of 2-5 grams. In the 2nd year, a large onion (uterus) is obtained from the set. Mother bulbs are a commercial onion. In the third year, when the queen is planted, onion seeds are obtained, which are called nigella for their color.
In the southern regions, onion seeds can also be obtained by growing them for two years: in the first year, a large uterus bulb is obtained, and in the second year, a testicle is formed on a high straight peduncle in the form of capitate round inflorescences.
Variety of onions
Onions, in relation to the length of the photoperiod, are divided into 2 large groups:
- a group of varieties of the northern direction. They develop normally and form vegetative (bulbs) and generative (nigella seeds) crops only when the daylight hours are 15-18 hours per day. Northern varieties, in short daylight conditions, only have time to grow green feathers, and do not form bulbs at all.
- Varieties from the southern regions form a normal harvest with short daylight hours - 12 hours a day. When the photoperiod lengthens in southern varieties, the bulbs do not ripen and are poorly stored.
- Today, breeders have developed varieties that do not react so painfully to the length of daylight hours and grow and develop normally in the north and south, under other optimal conditions.
Based on taste, onions are divided into 3 groups:
- spicy,
- semi-sharp,
- sweet or salad.
The specific pungency or bitterness of onions is given by essential oils, or rather, the ratio between sugars and essential oils. The less sugar, the less essential oils, which means the less pungency of the onion bulb and leaves (feather). Today, breeders offer varieties without bitterness, the so-called sweet salad varieties.
Onions from sets to large onions. © Susy Morris General approaches to agricultural technology for growing onions
Predecessors and compatibility
Onions have a fibrous root system, which cannot produce high yields without additional nutrition. Therefore, onions are placed after crops that received manure during autumn tillage (early cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, early and mid-sized potatoes, zucchini, melons, legumes).
Onions have good compatibility with all types of cabbages, carrots, beets, radishes, and greens, which makes it possible to combine these crops in compacted crops.
Soil requirements
Onions develop normally on neutral soils at pH = 6.4-6.7. If the soils are acidified by long-term application of mineral fertilizers, then 2-3 years before sowing onions, the soil under the previous crops is deoxidized by adding slaked lime and dolomite flour 200 g/m². Onions cannot tolerate liming the soil before sowing and planting. You can use wood ash 300-400 g per 1 m² of area.
Onions do not like fresh organic matter, but on depleted soils in the fall or spring, you can add mature humus to it at a rate of 1.5-2.0 kg/m² of area. In the fall, part of the phosphate and potassium fertilizers are also added to the digging.
The second half with the addition of nitrogen fertilizers is used in the spring before sowing and planting the crop. On rich chernozems, they limit themselves to adding decomposed organic matter for digging. On peaty soils, nitrogen fertilizers are excluded, and the dose of phosphorus is increased by 30-40%.
Environment Requirement
Onions are cold-resistant crops. Therefore, sowing and planting are carried out in early spring, when the soil temperature in a 10 cm layer rises to +10..+12°C, and the air does not drop below +3..+5°C. Onion seedlings are not afraid of short-term spring frosts. Cooling down to -3°C does not harm seedlings, but adult plants, when low temperatures set in (-3..-5°C), stop growth and development, and seed ripening.
Onions need a sufficient amount of moisture, especially during the formation of seeds and mother bulbs. With a lack of moisture, seeds turn out to be puny with low germination, and the bulbs are small and lack juiciness.
Onions are grown in several ways: seeds, sets (arbage), selection, seedlings.
Specifics of growing onion from sets
The most common method of obtaining large marketable bulbs in all regions is growing from sets.
Preparing the soil for sowing
In garden crop rotation, onions are returned to their original place after 3-5 years. In the autumn, after harvesting the predecessor, the soil is freed from weeds and watered, provoking the emergence of weeds. Then they dig deep (25-30 cm).
Before digging on depleted soils, add mature humus or compost (0.5 buckets) per 1 m², and complete mineral fertilizer - 25-30 g of urea and granulated superphosphate, 15-25 g of chlorine-free potash fertilizers. In the spring, before planting the sets, 10-15 g of nitroammophoska are added for loosening.
Onions love to show themselves in all their glory, so on loamy soils they are planted on ridges on which the onion from the turnip growth phase is opened by 1/3 (the shoulders are released). This technique helps the large onion to form and ripen in time. The top, hidden under heavy soil, accumulates water (especially in rainy weather) and is affected by a fungal infection.
On light, permeable soils, using the same technique, plant the arbage on a flat surface. The mulched surface prevents rapid evaporation of moisture, and the open hangers receive the required share of sunlight.
Preparing the sets
In the fall, after harvesting and drying, the harvested crop is divided into 2 fractions. Planting material with a diameter of 1.5-3.0 cm (sets) and smaller than 1 cm (wild wild oats) is selected. Oatmeal is usually sown in open ground before winter in warm regions, and in a greenhouse in cold northern regions.
In the spring, 2 weeks before planting, the seedlings are sorted into fractions and bulbs of the same size are planted separately, which makes it possible to obtain bulbs that are uniform in size. The selected material is freed from shrunken and diseased bulbs, dry scales and other small debris.
Arbaja with a diameter of more than 3 cm (sampling) is planted separately. Large bulbs bolt early and do not form a normal bulb. Therefore, they are usually used to obtain green feathers.
The material selected for planting is heated for 6-7 hours at a temperature of +40..+45°C. Before planting, planting material is disinfected in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate (0.5 hours). Recently, solutions of biofungicides (planriz, gamair, phytosporin) have been used more often. The sets are soaked for 1-2 hours before planting permanently.
Planting sets
Arbage is planted for one's own use, usually in a single-line manner, leaving row spacings of 40 cm and rows of 4-6 cm. You can use multi-line tape sowing with row spacings of 20 cm for planting. In this case, the middle row of 3 rows of tape is used on a feather. The freed up area will allow the formation of a larger bulb.
The planting depth is regulated by the size of the arbage. It is planted so that the “tail” is not covered with soil. In dry weather, pre-emergence watering is carried out or the furrows are watered with a stream from a watering can before planting.
Shoots appear on days 9-12. It is very important not to neglect the crops and get rid of weeds and soil crust in a timely manner. Loosening is superficial so as not to damage the delicate root system of the seedlings, located in the upper 10-30 cm layer. You can't hill onions!
Feeding
The first feeding is carried out during the leaf growth phase, after 2-3 weeks, especially if the onion develops a thin light feather. Usually, urea is used at the rate of 20-25 g per 10 liters of water and the solution is applied under the root for 10-12 linear meters. During this period, good results are ensured by fertilizing with nitrophoska, nitroammophoska, 25-30 g/m² of area for irrigation or a solution, like urea. When feeding with solutions, be sure to wash the plants with clean water from a watering can with a fine-mesh nozzle.
The second feeding is carried out with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in the second decade of June or 3 weeks after the first. Prepare a solution of 20-30 g of superphosphate and 10-13 g of potassium salt. You can use nitroammophoska - 40 g/10 l of water (2 tablespoons without top).
On depleted soils, a third fertilizing can be carried out (look at the condition of the plants), but nitrogen fertilizers must be removed from the composition. You can use a phosphorus-potassium composition in the dose used for the second feeding.
It should be noted that soil that is well amended before planting eliminates the need for fertilizing. Removing weeds, loosening and watering are sufficient to obtain an average harvest of environmentally friendly vegetable products.
Onion sets. © Karen Jackson Watering
For normal growth and development, onions use little water, but require constantly moist soil in the first month after germination and during the period of bulb growth. At first, watering is carried out once every 2 weeks, and if the weather is dry and hot - once a week, followed by mandatory loosening of the soil (destruction of pests and their larvae), mulching.
The soil is soaked in the first month to a 10 cm layer, increasing it to 20-25 cm towards the growth phase of the bulbs. In the last month, watering is stopped and they switch to “dry watering”, that is, loosening the soil, destroying the drying crust, freeing the upper part of the bulbs from land.
Protection from diseases and pests
Of the diseases, onions are most often damaged by fungal diseases (downy mildew, root rot) and numerous pests (onion flies, moths, thrips, nematodes, hoverflies, secretive proboscis) associated with violation of recommended agricultural cultivation techniques.
At the first visible changes in the color of the leaves, the appearance of light spots, dashes, wilting of the feather, its curling, it is necessary to spray the leaves with a tank mixture of biofungicides and bioinsecticides, according to the recommendations. They are harmless to humans and animals. Chemical protection on onions is not recommended, and when cultivating green feathers, it is prohibited.
Harvest
The onset of the ripening and harvesting phase is determined by the condition of the leaves. Their lodging and yellowing indicate the maturation of the bulbs. In dry and sunny weather, the bulbs are pulled out of the soil and left in place or transferred under a canopy and dried for 7-10 days. They sort and trim, leaving a stump of 5-6 cm. If the soil is dense, then the roots are trimmed, being careful not to damage the bulb.
Onion varieties for growing turnips in summer cottages
For northern regions
- Peninsular - Azelros, Crimson Ball;
- Spicy - Bessonovsky local, Rostov local;
- Salad – Lisbon white, Ailsa great, Alice, Albion F1
For southern regions
- Peninsular – Iris;
- Spicy – Sunny;
- Salads – Dnestrovsky, Kaba, Yellow Kaba.
The varietal diversity of onions is much richer than the examples given. But when choosing seeds or sets for growing in the country, be sure to use local, zoned varieties. Varietal confusion is unacceptable. You will not get the expected harvest, and the grown bulbs will be of poor quality and lack shelf life.
Why are many summer residents in no hurry to purchase onion sets in a retail chain, but try to grow them themselves? When buying onions in a store, there is no guarantee of its quality: where it was grown, what it was fed with and how it was cared for is unknown. And everything is quite the opposite with planting material grown with your own hands and in your own garden.
The process of growing onion sets is a troublesome task and requires a lot of patience. But for persistent gardeners, nothing is impossible. You just need to strictly follow all the recommendations for growing and caring and then there will be no problems.
The selection and preparation of a plot of land begins in the fall, when the harvest has already been harvested. Beds where cucumbers, cabbage or radishes were grown are well suited for onion sets. The site should be in a well-lit place.
It is necessary to add humus to the soil (when digging the beds), as well as several useful components. For one square meter you will need approximately half a bucket of humus, one hundred and fifty grams of ash, superphosphate and nitroammophosphate - one tablespoon each.
For organic farmers, it is recommended to sow the area chosen for onion sets with green manure plants, such as mustard. In the future, it will become a reliable protection for young plants from onion flies, and a source of nutrition for the soil. In this case, wood ash can be added in the spring.
At the end of March - beginning of April, a few days before planting onion seeds, the land must first be loosened well, then compacted a little, spilled with any solution containing effective microorganisms and covered with a dense opaque film.
Timing for sowing seeds for onion sets
In early spring, planting is carried out at the beginning of April, in cold spring weather - at the end of April. In general, it is better to plant seeds earlier. Neither the bulbs nor the seedlings are afraid of frosts down to minus four degrees.
Preparing seeds for sowing
Purchased seeds do not require any preparation, since they have already undergone appropriate processing. But your seeds will need some procedures to increase the percentage of germination and further development. You can use one of the options:
1. Onion seeds need to be soaked in warm water for a day, but change the water several times.
2. The seed material is soaked in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 24 or 48 hours, but it is replaced with a new one at least three times.
3. You can leave the seeds in the potassium permanganate solution for only an hour, and for the next 18-20 hours keep them in a solution of 100 milliliters of water and two drops of Epin.
4. For 25 minutes, onion seeds are kept in water heated to 50 degrees, and then in cold water (about three minutes). After this, as in the previous version, the seeds are soaked in a solution with Epin.
5. First, you need to soak the seeds for thirty minutes in hot water (up to 50 degrees), and then the same amount in aloe juice.
To speed up the emergence of seedlings, the seeds can be germinated. To do this, they need to be spread between two pieces of damp cloth and kept in such conditions for forty-eight hours. Just before sowing, the germinated seeds need to be slightly dried and lightly sprinkled with chalk powder.
Germinated seeds can be sown in dry soil, but for ungerminated seeds the bed must be prepared. First, water the entire area with hot water, then the grooves directly prepared for the onions, and only after that the seeds can be planted.
Seeds can be sown in rows. The width of the rows is approximately 25-30 centimeters, the depth of the furrows is about two centimeters. It is good to leave a gap of one and a half centimeters between the seeds - this will save you from thinning out young crops in the future.
After planting, the grooves with the seeds are covered with a layer of humus (about two centimeters) or loose soil and slightly compacted. After this, watering and mulching are carried out. It would be ideal to cover the finished beds with transparent waterproof material on the arches. This will promote rapid growth of seedlings and maintain soil moisture. Remove the film immediately after the first shoots appear.
You can sow seeds in another way - with tape. To do this, it is necessary to make wide stripes, similar to ribbons, on the prepared land plot. The distance between them is approximately 20 centimeters, and the width of each of them is approximately 10 centimeters. The seeds are not laid out, but scattered on the surface of each strip. There are about 10 grams of seeds per square meter.
This method of planting does not require thinning, since there is enough free space next to each other for each seed. After planting, everything is repeated according to the usual pattern: the seeds are covered with soil, compacted, watered and mulched.
Young shoots can appear within 7-8 days after planting. All types of onions grow green feathers at the initial stage of development. Therefore, watering should be carried out moderately. In dry and hot summers, one to two waterings per week will be enough. And at the stage of bulb formation, watering vegetable plants is not recommended at all.
If at an important stage of bulb formation there are unfavorable weather conditions - heavy rain does not stop for several days, then you need to protect the plants from excess moisture and rotting with the help of protective covers. If there are arcs in the beds, then a plastic film is laid out on them, which will hide the plants from the rain and protect the soil from unnecessary moisture.
The condition of the soil is of no small importance for growing onion sets. The beds must be promptly cleared of weeds. A mulch layer must be mandatory, as it will provide reliable protection not only for plants, but also for the soil.
The time for harvesting can be determined by the external signs of the onion set. It is ready for harvesting if its feathers begin to turn yellow, and the bulbs seem to lie on the beds. This usually occurs between late July and mid-August.
All bulbs must first be removed from the ground along with the feathers, and then laid out to dry under a cover that will reliably protect from precipitation, and left there for two weeks. On clear sunny days, onions can be laid out directly in the sun on the beds - this will speed up the drying of the onion feathers. Dry tops are usually cut off, leaving small two-centimeter tails on the bulbs.
Onion sets can be stored in a cool basement or at home. Cardboard boxes or small bags made of natural fabric are suitable as storage containers. When storing in the basement, the required temperature is from 0 to 3 degrees Celsius, and in a living room - about 18 degrees. Under other temperature conditions, the onion will spoil its sowing qualities.
Bulbs measuring less than 1 centimeter in diameter are best stored in cool conditions, while larger ones are stored better in warm conditions.
PREPARING SEEDS FOR SOWING
A month before planting, the seeds are checked for germination. Take 15-20 pieces and keep them in a damp cloth for 2-3 days. Before sowing, to protect against fungal diseases, seeds wrapped in cloth are first dipped in hot water (45-50 °C) for 15 minutes, and then in cold water for 1 minute.
After this, the seeds are soaked in warm water (22-26 ° C) for 36 hours, then the water is drained and the seeds are kept for 1-2 days at room temperature so that the fabric in which they are wrapped is constantly damp.
Seeds can be prepared for sowing in another way. The container is filled with water, oxygen is supplied under pressure and the seeds are lowered for 20-24 hours. Then they are dried in air for 15-20 minutes until they flow, and they are immediately sown on a previously prepared bed.
PREPARING THE BED
Onions are sown where cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and peas used to grow. The place for sowing is chosen to be open, sunny, dry, on loamy soils, seasoned with organic and mineral fertilizers.
The beds are made low, no more than 100 cm wide; 3-4 kg of manure humus or compost and 2-3 kg of peat are added per 1 m2 per bed. From mineral fertilizers, add 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and nitrophoska or nitroammophoska and 3 tablespoons of wood ash. The bed is dug to a depth of 18-20 cm, mixing all the fertilizers.
The prepared bed is leveled, compacted, watered with a solution of copper sulfate (1 tablespoon of copper sulfate or copper oxychloride per 10 liters of water 40-45 ° C) at the rate of 2 liters per 1 m 2 and covered with film for 1-2 days before sowing.
SOWING SEEDS
Seeds are sown on April 20-25. Before sowing, the bed is marked: step back 10 cm from the edge and make three grooves along it with a distance of 5 cm from each other and a depth of 2 cm, then step back 14-15 cm and again make three grooves, etc. (Fig. 15). Seeds are sown in furrows every 2-3 cm and covered.
After sowing, the soil in the garden bed is slightly compacted and carefully watered with water at the rate of 2-3 liters per 1 m2.
Rice. 15. Scheme of sowing nigella onion seeds for sets
In the case of sowing with dry seeds, the bed is first watered, then furrows are made, each furrow is poured with hot water from a kettle again, and only after that the seeds are sown. Every 3 days (until germination) the grooves with seeds should be carefully watered with a small amount of water.
Onion seeds germinate slowly, so the bed must be covered with a film, which is stretched over arcs 20-30 cm high. The film cover retains soil moisture and accelerates the emergence of seedlings (after 6-7 days), but it is better to apply the covering material in one layer.
When emerging from the ground, the onion looks like a loop (cotyledon). Often gardeners bury the seeds too deeply in the soil, as a result, not the cotyledons, but the roots come to the surface. Such plants die. This can also happen due to very dense clay soil.
If sowing is done frequently, then the seedlings must be thinned out so that the distance between the seedlings is 2-3 cm.
The loops (cotyledons) straighten after 12-16 days, then the first true tubular leaf appears. A second leaf emerges from the base of the first leaf, and so on.
CARE OF ONION SETS
Care consists of watering, weed control, pests and diseases, and fine loosening.
Onion sets are watered once a week in May-June, and in hot, sunny weather - 2 times a week at the rate of 5-8 liters per 1 m2. In July, watering is sharply reduced as the bulbs begin to ripen. In hot weather, water once a week with a small dose to prevent the bulb from wilting. Watering is done carefully, from a small watering can using the sprinkling method, but so as not to break the feather.
Onion sets are loosened if the soil is compacted. Then, in wide row spacing, loosening is done to a depth of 2-3 cm.
Onion crops must be clean. Emerging weeds must be destroyed while they are still small, since when weeding large weeds, the bulbs can be moved and they will stop growing. Before weeding, onion sets need to be watered so that the weeds are pulled out well.
If leaf growth is slow, onion sets can be fed. In 10 liters of water, dilute 1 tablespoon of liquid sodium humate or 1 tablespoon of urea, or 2 tablespoons of “Ideal” fertilizer and water 3-4 liters per 1 m 2.
CLEANING AND STORING SETS
A sign of onion ripening is lodging and yellowing of the leaves. The sets are harvested from July 20 to August 10, depending on their ripening. Even if the leaves have not completely yellowed, you still need to pull out the onion and spread it in a thin layer for 12-15 days to dry thoroughly.
The onions are dried in the sun, then the dried leaves are removed, and the heads are additionally dried for 2-3 days at a temperature of 30-35 °C near heating devices or a Russian stove. Such thorough drying protects the onions from neck rot and downy mildew.
After all these operations, the onion sets are sorted. Small bulbs, 1-1.5 cm in size, are best planted before winter in early October. Large sets, over 1.5 cm, are poured into boxes of 8-10 kg or in canvas bags of 10-20 kg. Canvas bags are tied, placed in plastic bags and stored in a dark place at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. If the sets are stored at a temperature higher or lower than recommended, the bulbs will go into arrows when planted.
Once a month, the onions are inspected to eliminate rotten, dried out, sprouted heads.
Onion sets store very well at room temperature in closed cardboard candy boxes.
Planting onions from seeds in the photo
Onions in our climate are grown within two years. In the first year, onion seeds are planted in the beds, the so-called “chernushka”, from which small onions - sets - grow by autumn. The sets are stored warm in winter, and in the spring they are planted again in the beds, obtaining from them large marketable bulbs suitable for food and winter storage by the fall.
To get “nigella”, you need uterine bulbs of a zoned variety that gives good yields in a given area. The bulbs should be equal in size: from 5 to 10 cm in diameter (depending on the variety). The best varieties of onions that can be grown through “chernushka” in the middle zone are considered to be Strigunovsky, Stuttgarten, Belovezhsky, Myachkovsky, Yantarny, Spassky, Bessonovsky.
To plant onion heads on nigella seeds after harvesting the turnips, select the largest, best and healthiest specimens of the bulbs. First of all, they need to be dried well and then stored. In winter, bulbs left for seeds should be stored in a room with a temperature of minus 3 ° C and a humidity of 75-80%.
Before growing black onion for seeds, three weeks before planting it is transferred to a warmer place (about 16 ° C), thereby accelerating the growth of the arrow inside.
In the fall, the site is dug up and mineral fertilizers are applied (potassium - 15 - 20 g and phosphorus - 30 g per 1 m2). In areas with stable winters, “chernushka” can be sown in the fall, covered with film to be sure. In the spring, the emerging seedlings are planted in new places.
Before planting, the neck of the bulbs is cut off, and the juicy part (up to 1 cm) is also captured. Pruning will speed up germination, ensure uniform shoots, and help identify and remove diseased bulbs (they are clearly visible from the sections). After this procedure, the mother onion for the “chernushka” seeds must be immediately planted in the ground. Plant as early as possible (approximately the 3rd decade of April), because the growing season of onion seeds has a long period - 130 days, and the seeds need time to ripen before frost. Before this, the ground is hoeed, leveled, and beds are made: 5 rows with 25 cm between them. The paths between the ridges are 60 cm, taking into account that the frame can be installed under the film cover.
The bulbs are placed in the prepared grooves, bottom down, at a distance of 15 - 20 cm (we look at the size of the bulb). The seeds are covered with soil, a layer of about 5 cm above the cut top part.
During the entire period of growth of seed bulbs, repeated weeding and loosening of the soil between the rows is necessary, because otherwise the seed yield is reduced and there is a high probability of plant disease with downy mildew. When the testes begin to grow en masse, they must be sprayed against peronosporosis with a solution of Bordeaux mixture (1%)1 or Ridomil solution (1%). When the arrows appear, one and a half meter stakes are driven along the edge of the ridge at a distance of a meter and a half from each other. Between the stakes (both across the ridge and along) you need to pull the twine in three rows: the 1st row - 40 cm from the ground, and the remaining two - 40 cm from each other. This will keep the arrows from breaking and falling to the ground if the wind picks up.
Onion seeds do not ripen simultaneously. First, the capsules of the upper part of the umbrella inflorescence ripen, then the lower ones. When the first single boxes open slightly and black seeds are visible in them, they begin to harvest the umbrellas. They are cut along with the arrow about 30 cm and tied in bunches (10-15 pieces). Hang in pairs on a wire stretched under a canopy or in the attic (so that they are well ventilated). A film or burlap is spread under them so that the ripe seeds from the bursting pods spill out onto it. To speed up the rash, the wire is sometimes shaken and passed through the bundles with a wooden stick, tapping lightly. Spilled onion seeds (scree or obron) are considered the best in terms of germination and germination. They are stored separately.
If unfavorable weather conditions delay the development of plants, then the seeds do not ripen for a long time. For immature seeds, early frosts are dangerous. Then the seed plants, along with the bulbs, are dug up and transferred under the canopies, laying them obliquely on a stretched wire. Material is spread under them to collect spilled seeds, which will fully ripen due to the nutrients from the arrows and bulbs.
After winnowing, the seeds are poured into water, stirred, and left for about ten minutes. Frail seeds and particles of inflorescences remain on the surface of the water (they merge with the water), while full ones settle to the bottom.
Full-fledged seeds are scattered on burlap in a thin layer and dried quickly, often by stirring. To keep them better, they are dried to a moisture content of 7-8%. “Chernushka” is stored for no more than 2-3 years, in paper bags in a dry place, preferably at room temperature.
Next year, onion sets will grow from this material.
Preparing nigella onion seeds for planting in sets
A month before planting and subsequent care of black onions, the seeds must be checked for germination. To do this, you need to take 15-20 seeds from the batch and keep them in a damp cloth for a couple of weeks. Based on the results of this test, one can judge whether these seeds are worth using for sowing. If seed germination is normal, then pre-sowing seed preparation is carried out. In order to avoid fungal diseases when preparing nigella onion seeds for planting, the seeds are dipped in hot water (45-50 °C) for 15 minutes, first wrapped in a cloth, and then in cold water for 1 minute. After this treatment, the seeds are soaked for a day in warm water (22-26 °C). After soaking, the seeds are kept for 1-2 days at room temperature, still wrapped in a damp cloth, which must be moistened periodically.
Before growing onion sets from nigella, pre-sowing preparation can be carried out in another way. To do this, oxygen is supplied under pressure to a container of water and the seeds are soaked in it for 18-20 hours. After soaking, the seeds are dried and sown on prepared soil.
Black onion in the photo
Before starting to plant nigella onions, markings are made in the garden bed. 10 cm are retreated from the edge of the bed and three furrows are made at a distance of 5 cm from each other. The depth of the furrows should not exceed 2 cm. Three more furrows are made at a distance of 15 cm from them.
Seeds are sown in prepared furrows at a distance of 1-1.5 cm from each other. After sowing, the soil is slightly compacted and carefully watered with 2-3 liters of water per m of bed.
Onion seeds germinate very slowly (two to three weeks), and the emerging seedlings grow at a snail's pace for a month. In order to speed up the germination and growth of seeds, the beds are covered with a film stretched over arcs at a height of 20-30 cm above the surface. This will make it possible to maintain soil moisture and create an optimal microclimate for germination.
After germination, cotyledons should appear on the soil surface in the form of small loops. If instead roots appear from the soil, then such plants must be removed from the garden bed; they will die in any case. After massive seed germination, when growing and caring for black onions, it is worth thinning so that the distance between neighboring plants is at least 1.5-2 cm. After 12 days, the cotyledons usually straighten and the first leaf appears.
At the end of the season we should have a harvest of onion sets. Signs of ripening onion sets are lodging and yellowing of leaves. Even if the leaves have not turned completely yellow, they still pull it out. Immediately the leaves are removed, laid out in the sun in a thin layer to ripen and dry. Onion sets should be stored in winter at a temperature of 17-18 °C. Higher temperatures are undesirable, as the bulbs will shoot when planted in the spring of next year.
In the video “Growing nigella onions” you can see how to care for seedlings:
Onions grow from the sets, suitable for food and storage in winter. Sevok is planted when the ground warms up to a depth of 6-10 cm. If you go by the weather, then in early and warm spring planting can be done at the end of April. Onions should not be planted in cold soil, but planting should not be delayed either. The main guideline is the soil temperature, which should be at least 12 °C.
Onion sets in the photo
It is very important to properly prepare onion sets at planting. Stored at temperatures below 18 °C - warm up. Warming up the seeds is a long process, carried out in several stages. First, it must be kept at a temperature of +20 °C for 15 to 20 days. Then keep the seedlings for 8-10 hours at a temperature of 30 °C to 40 °C. It is important not to overdo it. Warmed onion sets are treated with a growth stimulator before planting.
Immediately before planting the crop, it is necessary to carry out the following treatment of onion sets before planting:
- soak the sets in water at a temperature of 45 ° C - 50 ° C for no more than 10 -15 minutes;
- after the above time has passed, immediately immerse the planting material in cold water for 10-15 minutes;
- place the seedlings for 5 - 6 hours in a solution of complex mineral fertilizer.
A mandatory procedure that must be carried out when preparing onion sets for planting is disinfection. For processing onion sets, both a weak solution of potassium permanganate and a solution of copper sulfate (35 g per 10 liters of water) are suitable.
There is another method, which is as follows:
- planting material is dried for 7 days, the temperature should be from 20 ° C to 25 ° C;
- before planting, the bulbs are soaked for 3 hours in a saline solution (2 tablespoons of salt per 2 liters of water);
- the bulbs are washed;
- The seeds are immersed in a dark solution of potassium permanganate for 2 hours;
- washed again;
- dry a little.
This concludes the work on preparing the seedlings for planting.
Planting onion sets in the ground in spring (with video)
The soil for planting onion sets in the spring begins in the fall. Onions are lovers of loose, nutritious soil, so it is imperative:
- dig the ground to a depth of 15 to 20 cm;
- apply fertilizer from rotted manure (can be fertilized with peat manure compost).
It is strictly forbidden to add organic fertilizer to the soil for planting onion sets before planting in order to avoid growth of the upper part of the plant and dormancy of the lower part, as well as the appearance of weeds. Before planting, it is contraindicated to add humus and chicken droppings.
It is necessary to take into account the acidity level of the soil. If the soil is acidic, then it is necessary to liming with one of the following components:
- lime;
- dolomite flour;
- ground limestone;
- ground chalk;
- wood ash.
Before planting, the seedlings must be sorted, since the distance between the bulbs in the bed is determined depending on the size:
- bulbs up to 1 cm are placed at a distance of 5 cm;
- one and a half centimeter - at a distance of 8 cm;
- bulbs with a diameter of up to 2 cm - at a distance of 10 cm.
As for the beds, they should be at a distance of at least 20 cm-25 cm from each other. The planting depth is approximately 3-4 cm.
After the planting material is immersed in the ground, it must be pressed tightly around the bulb and covered with a layer of mulch. Mulch - any available material, for example, sawdust, straw, film, paper, peat, pebbles, thickness 2-3 cm.
Before placing the bulb there, you need to pour a little sand into the watered bed. The seedlings will grow faster.
Watch the video “Planting Onion Sets” to better understand how to sow the crop in the ground:
During the maintenance process, it is necessary to constantly combat diseases and pests.
Harvesting of onions is carried out when the feathers turn yellow and lodging and when dry outer scales appear on the bulb.
- This is a very useful plant grown at home. It contains various substances that negatively affect pathogenic microorganisms. Because of this, onions have an unpleasant odor and a rather pungent taste. Onions are very popular in Russia and other CIS countries, so it is grown almost everywhere and in different ways. One of these methods is seed cultivation. But how to grow to get a rich harvest? This will be discussed in more detail in this article.
There are several ways to grow onions, such as from bulbs or seeds. But if we consider the first method, then it is the most frequently used, due to the ease of maintenance. In addition, the soil requirements when planting with bulbs are the same minimal. Additional illumination of plants is not required, and the probability of obtaining a harvest is maximum.
Onions can be grown in several ways
Growing by seeds, in turn, requires high-quality soil and additional lighting, especially in winter, when the growing season begins for onions. In addition, seed cultivation requires patience for the gardener, since you can get the first seed no earlier than in 45 days. If you compare it with planting onion sets, then in this case you can get cuts in just a few weeks.
Note! Greens produced by growing through a bulb will only live for a few months, while growing from seed produces greens that have a lifespan of 2-3 years. This period is possible provided that fertilizing is regularly applied to the soil.
Having studied in more detail all the pros and cons of different methods of growing onions, we can conclude that planting seeds is the best option. Seed cultivation requires more time for care, although the planting process is much easier.
Growing methods
There are several basic methods for growing onions from seed. These include:
- winter sowing;
- for seedlings;
- spring sowing on the site.
Winter sowing should be done in soil that is slightly frozen so that the planted seeds do not have time to germinate before the onset of severe cold. Most gardeners prefer to use the seedling method, because it allows you to get a good harvest in almost all cases. You can even grow seedlings on a balcony or in greenhouse conditions. As practice shows, 8 weeks pass between sowing onions and obtaining adult seedlings that can already be planted on the site. Therefore, before landing, be sure to calculate the timing.
Spring sowing should begin after the snow has completely melted. In this case, you can get a rich harvest in a full season. Despite the low popularity of this method of seed growing, more and more gardeners are deciding to sow onions directly into open ground.
Variety selection
They are not suitable for planting in open soil, so you should prepare before starting sowing. Experts recommend planting several varieties of onions in one area at once to check how they will develop in specific climatic conditions. Below are the most common onion varieties.
Table. The best onion varieties for seed cultivation.
| Name | Features of the variety |
|---|---|
| It has large yellow bulbs with a pungent taste. The shape of the bulbs is round. This variety is popular among summer residents because it is suitable for seasonal planting. |
| A well-known variety that is in demand in almost all regions of the country. The growth period is 4 months. The dense bulbs, colored brown, have a piquant taste. Stuttgarten Riesen keeps well. |
| It has high yields and yellow bulbs with a pungent taste. The Bessonovsky variety has early ripening periods, and the fruits of this variety are very well stored. |
| A productive variety that produces dark red bulbs with a semi-sharp flavor. The ripening period is from 4 to 4.5 months. Well-stored fruits have a round shape. |
| Another early ripening onion variety that produces large, round, brown onions. The Timiryazevsky variety is distinguished by good fruit storage. |
| A high-yielding, early-ripening variety that produces large yellow bulbs with a pungent taste. In some cases the bulbs are pink, but they are predominantly yellow. The fruits are stored quite well. |
| A mid-season onion variety with a semi-sharp taste of the fruit. The color of the bulbs is purple, although sometimes it can be light brown. |
Hybrid onion varieties are also used for seed cultivation. When planting them, you can get large, round bulbs in the first season. The most common hybrid varieties include Stardust F1, Red Baron and Spirit F1. All of them are high-yielding and also have good shelf life.
On a note! Often, multi-cavity onion varieties grow with deformed bulbs, so they are not used for seed cultivation. Summer residents and gardeners who have experience in growing onions do not use multi-nest varieties, preferring more productive plant species.
After the appropriate onion variety has been selected, you need to prepare the site and seed material. Only the right approach to the growing process will allow you to get a good and, most importantly, stable harvest.
Soil preparation
Onions are a light-loving plant, so the beds must be made in well-lit places. The best predecessors for onions are legumes or cucumbers. All these plants feed the soil with nitrogen, which is very beneficial for onions. Before sowing, you can add some mineral or organic fertilizers to the soil. The optimal width of the beds is 80 cm, and the height is up to 13-15 cm.
Preparation of seed material
Before sowing, many experts soak the seeds. To do this, you need to prepare a small container, gauze or bandage, and hydrogen peroxide. Next, you need to follow the step-by-step instructions given below.
Step 1. Line the bottom of the prepared container with a bandage or gauze bandage, covering the bottom. The bandage can be folded in half. It is needed to ensure that the liquid is preserved for as long as possible.
Step 2. Open the bag of seeds and pour them into a container. Onion seeds may have a non-standard color. For example, if they are green and not black, it means that the manufacturer treated them with a special substance to fight disease.
Step 3. Pour some hydrogen peroxide into a container to activate the onion seeds. The amount of liquid poured should be small so that the seeds float a little.
Step 4. After the bandage has absorbed the liquid a little, cover the onion seeds with the other part of the bandage.
Step 5. Close the container with a lid and set it aside for a day. After 24 hours, the seeds need to be dried, after which they can be planted in open ground.
Sowing
After the seed has been prepared, you can proceed directly to planting it in the ground. This procedure is simple and practically no different from sowing other garden crops.
Step 1. Make beds for seeds, the distance between which should be from 12 to 15 cm. You can build a special wooden rake for this. The depth of the beds is 5 cm.
Step 2. This is what a plot with finished beds should look like. Each gardener chooses their area himself.
Step 3. Dust the onion seeds with chalk so they can be seen in the garden bed. To do this, you need to mix a small amount of powdered chalk with the seed.
Step 4. Start sowing onions, trying to spend more material on the edges of the beds. Scatter the onion seeds into the eye.
Step 5. After all the beds are safely seeded, fill them with soil. In this case, they are covered with the same rake that was used to break through.
Step 6. Lightly tamp the beds to compact the soil. This will help retain moisture. If you have a roller, roll the beds with it.
Aftercare
All garden crops need care after planting or sowing, and onions are no exception. Subsequent care of crops consists of regular watering and fertilizing of the soil, weeding, and pest control. Let's consider each of these points separately.
Watering
Starting from the first days of May and ending in July, it is recommended to water the onions no more than once a week. But in hot weather, the frequency of watering needs to be increased. Watering must be carried out in such a way that at least 5 liters of water are used for each meter of sown bed. During the ripening period of the bulbs, experts recommend stopping watering so as not to harm the plant with excess moisture.
Note! If there is severe drought during the ripening period of the bulbs, then the onions can be watered, but in small portions. It is enough to do this once a week, because without watering the plant may wither. When watering, you need to be careful not to damage the onion feathers.
Weeding
With the appearance of the first weeds in the garden beds, gardeners add a new task - weeding the plot. It is not recommended to wait until the weeds have grown to start weeding. Their root system becomes too large and during weeding these roots can damage the bulbs. Therefore, you need to start weeding when small weeds appear.. To make the work easier, you can water the beds immediately before weeding. Along with weeding, it is advisable to loosen the soil.
Top dressing
When growing onions, you need to apply fertilizers in cases where the crop begins to sprout very slowly. It should be used as a top dressing. To prepare the solution, mix 10 liters of water with 1 tbsp. l. urea. Make sure that no more than 4 liters of solution are used for each meter of bed.
Diseases and pests
Despite the fact that onions are resistant to various diseases or harmful insects, this crop will still have to be processed. Among all diseases, gardeners most often encounter mildew or powdery mildew. Characteristic signs of these diseases include a fluffy coating that forms on the surface of the plant. If left untreated, gray plaque leads to the gradual death of the bulbs.
Harvesting
You need to start collecting bulbs after its feathers turn yellow. As a rule, gardeners begin harvesting in the second half of July. But if before this time the feathers have not begun to turn yellow, then the onions must be collected and carefully laid out in a sunny place for 2-3 weeks so that they ripen. The onions need to be spread in a thin layer, otherwise the upper part of the plants may ripen, and the lower part, which is not exposed to sunlight, may remain unripe.
The leaves are removed only after the crop has completely dried, but the bulbs themselves must be dried using a stove or special heating devices. Thanks to high-quality drying, the likelihood of developing diseases is significantly reduced. First of all, this applies to powdery mildew.
Ripened and dried onions are sorted. Small bulbs are selected separately - they will be used for planting for the winter. It is advisable to store the remaining bulbs in wooden boxes or small bags in a dark and warm place. It is recommended to periodically check the crop for rot. When defects are identified, all affected bulbs are removed so that the rot does not spread.
Video - How to grow onions from seeds
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