In general, growing onions for bulbs does not cause difficulties, but to achieve a really large crop - up to 300-400 g - the task is already more difficult. It is necessary to adhere to certain rules of agricultural technology. From the article you will learn which planting material is better to use and how to care for seedlings.
Varietal variety
The onion family has many varieties that differ in taste, appearance, growing conditions, care and shelf life:
- red - you can eat raw, because bitterness and smell are not so pronounced;
- sweet onion - used mainly for frying;
- white - has a sharp taste, crispy;
- yellow onion is the most common add to most dishes.
In accordance with the taste characteristics, all onion varieties are usually classified into three categories:
- sharp - low-yielding and early ripening varieties;
- peninsular - high-yielding, shelf life - medium;
- sweet - are distinguished by excellent taste, high-yielding.
The most common varieties with a pungent taste, as they are well and stored for a long time. A distinctive feature is several layers of yellow flakes. The best of them are Chalcedony, Bessonovsky, Bamberger, Centurion, Stuttgarterrizen.
Onions of sweet and semi-sharp varieties have a delicate taste with a slight sweetness, the aroma is less pronounced, so it is added raw to salads. Purple onion varieties are recommended for patients with diabetes, as it normalizes the level of sugar in the body.
The best: Agostana, Albion, Belyanka, Red Baron, Carmen, Veselka, Yalta.
Bulb size versus variety
Onions belong to plants of long daylight hours, so if there is not enough light, the bulbs will be small. The feature of onions in their ability to tolerate changes in climatic conditions than insufficient lighting.
Varieties of onions, common in the southern regions, need a daylight of at least 15 hours. Only in this case the bulb gains maximum weight in the allotted time. In the northern regions, such varieties do not have time to ripen, respectively, the bulbs remain small.
On the contrary, varieties suitable for the northern regions, planted in the south, increase feather mass, but do not form a bulb.
Rules for growing onions
Despite the fact that onions are unpretentious plants and are grown quite easily, certain agrotechnical requirements should be taken into account. First of all, onions do not have a root system, so they need additional nutrition.
Garden Compatibility
Onions of any varieties are recommended to be grown after plants that received a sufficient amount of organic fertilizers:
- cucumbers
- potatoes;
- cauliflower;
- legumes;
- siderats.
The neutral ones include:
- late cabbage;
- beet:
- Tomatoes
It is not recommended to plant onions in the area after carrots and greens.
As for the neighborhood, the most successful are: radishes, peppers, carrots, tomatoes. In this case, onions are protected from diseases and pests.
Soil requirements
Onion crops are susceptible to soil acidity; it should not exceed 6.5 units. If the acidity is higher than permissible, it can be neutralized with a mixture of slaked lime and wood ash 300 g per 1 m2 or dolomite flour 200 g per 1 m2. After reducing acidity to the desired level, onions can be planted on the site only after a few years.
It is forbidden to use fresh manure (it is harmful for young plants), it is better to fertilize the site in autumn at the rate of 2 kg of ripened humus per 1 m2. In order to saturate the soil with useful substances, phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium mixtures are used. If peat soil prevails in the area, there is no need for nitrogen feeding.
Environment
You can plant or sow onions in early spring, when the air warms up to +5 ° C, while a layer of soil 10 cm thick should warm up to +10 ° C. At a temperature of -3 ° C, the onion continues to grow, and the bulbs ripen, the death of young plants occurs when the temperature drops to -5 ° C.
The optimum temperature for onions is +20 ° C. If you observe the water regime and follow the recommendations regarding temperature, seedlings can be seen in 10-12 days.
Growing onions from sevka
The agricultural technique of growing onions from sevka is to fulfill a number of conditions.
Priming
The site is prepared in advance, namely in the fall. The beds are dug up (it is necessary to turn over the earth), make humus according to the above scheme. If it is necessary to enrich the earth, superphosphate, urea or potassium sulfate is added.
In spring, the plot is fertilized with nitroammophos, and beds are regularly loosened. Onions are not planted in the garden for longer than three years in a row.
Planting material
In the fall, onions intended for planting are dried for two weeks, then sorted. The onion, optimal for planting, is 2 cm in diameter. The smaller one, 1.5 cm (oatmeal), is used for winter planting. In the southern regions, they are planted in the garden in late autumn, and in the northern regions - in the fall in the greenhouse. To obtain a bulbous feather, larger diameter heads are used.
Before planting, it is necessary to re-examine the planting material, sort it by removing bulbs that are dried and infected.
Immediately before planting, it is important to disinfect the onion, fungicides or a solution of manganese are used. Planting stock is treated with a fresh solution for 1.5 hours and then dried for three weeks.
Landing
Landing is carried out in several ways:
- privates;
- two-line tape.
The simplest method is in rows.
The length of one row is 45 cm, the distance between adjacent bulbs is 8 cm. Another technique - tape - is more complex, but also productive. The scheme is 20/50 cm, between the bulbs you need to maintain a distance of 8 cm.
The depth of the set in the ground depends on the size of the bulbs. Small enough to deepen only 3 cm, large - 5 cm. If the land on the bed is dry, during planting the land is watered.
Shoots appear after ten days, weeds should be regularly removed, and an earth crust should not be allowed to appear on the surface. Bulbing up does not require bulbs.
Watering, top dressing, cultivation
Care for planted onions also requires compliance with agricultural technology.
Water mode
Growing large bulbs requires a lot of water, first of all, this applies to the first month. It is important to ensure that the soil does not dry out. Traditionally, the beds are watered weekly, but with severe drought, the amount of watering is doubled.
The soil should be saturated with moisture to a depth of at least 10 cm, and as the bulbs grow to 25 cm. Loosely planted beds after each watering. 30 days before harvesting, the onions are no longer watered, however, the number of cultivations is increased to free the upper part of the bulb.
Top dressing
Fertilizer is applied according to a certain scheme:
- two weeks after planting, a solution of urea, nitrofoski is used, then the remaining fertilizer must be washed off with onion feathers;
- after a few weeks, it is appropriate to apply phosphorus-potassium top dressing (add 15 g of potassium salt, 30 g of superphosphate to a bucket of clean water);
- the next top dressing is carried out as necessary, the ingredients are similar.
Loosening
Onion is an unpretentious plant, but it is sensitive to the state of the soil. Accordingly, the beds are loosened carefully and regularly, necessarily manually, otherwise the root system can be damaged, it is located at a depth of 10 to 30 cm.
Weeding
Weeds do not allow onions to fully develop, so it is important to remove excess plants in a timely manner.
Protection against diseases and insects
More often, onions are susceptible to fungal diseases, namely, rot, powdery mildew. As for insects, bulbs are damaged by thrips, onion flies.
At the slightest sign of illness, measures are taken immediately. Symptoms - feathers change color, wither and curl. Chemicals do not use, it is better to purchase insecticides and fungicides, they are safe for plants and humans.
Possible problems:
- dying of bulbs - occurs due to dense planting, insufficient watering or top dressing;
- yellow feathers - the reasons are similar, also among the causes are damage to the onion fly or early ripening of the bulbs;
- incomplete ripening of bulbs - occurs due to excess nitrogen, can be prevented by the introduction of potassium into the soil;
- the appearance of arrows - this indicates poor-quality planting material.
Harvest
Harvesting is carried out at the end of summer in sunny, clear weather. If you collect onions in the rain, it will begin to rot.
You can determine the degree of bulb ripening by leaning feathers. As soon as the feathers lay on the bed, you need to immediately harvest, otherwise the plants will again grow.
To pull the bulbs, use a shovel, which they dig up the crop and pull it. In good weather, the bulbs are dried directly on the bed to kill infections. Drying is carried out for a week at a temperature of + 25 ... +30 ° C. For the prevention of rot for 12 hours, the onions are dried at a temperature of +45 ° C.
At the end of drying, leaves are cut off from each bulb, and the tails are shortened to 3-4 cm. Only whole heads can be stored without mechanical damage and no traces of rot. Storage tanks - baskets, nets or cardboard (wooden) boxes.
Mr. Dachnik advises: the Chinese method of planting onions
The Chinese methodology is aimed at increasing productivity. The main condition - sowing is planted in the ridges between the beds. Thus, it is possible to grow large bulbs of a characteristic flattened shape. The upper part of the plants is perfectly illuminated by the sun and warms up, this is an important condition for protecting the crop from rot. In addition, with this method of planting beds it is easy to water, loosen, remove weeds.
Small onions are planted immediately after the snow has melted and the temperature has been set at +5 ° C, and larger ones are left until May. Such a scheme of planting operations will allow you to get a crop from two types of planting materials at the same time.
A few weeks before planting, a box of onions is placed near a heat source, for example, near a battery, so that the sevka warms up well. Before planting, the tail is cut off at the bulb, but the growth neck must be left intact, otherwise the seed can only be thrown away, because this planting material is not suitable for cultivation. The day before planting, the onions are necessarily soaked in warm clean water, this will provoke the growth of the root system.
The landing site is prepared in advance, in the fall, in the spring it is re-dug up. The height of each ridge is not more than 15 cm, the distance between the rows is 30 cm. The planting pattern is the distance between the heads is 10 cm, the sowing is deepened by 3 cm. In case of dry weather, the garden is watered as the soil dries.
Top dressing is applied three times:
- at the end of spring, mullein is used;
- at the beginning of summer, potassium salt, compounds with phosphorus, urea are added;
- during the formation of the bulbs, you can add top dressing a third time.
Another feature of the Chinese methodology is that beds should be weeded as weeds appear, but this does not happen so often.
