Onions are one of the most common foods on the table. No soup or salad is complete without it. Florists use it even in rockeries. Often, gardeners still buy on the market to get a vegetable in their garden. onion sets. Cultivation and care of this plant from seeds are not particularly difficult. Even a novice summer resident will be able to cope with the task.

Reference. Rockery is a decorative garden composition, which is certainly associated with elements of stones and dwarf ornamental plants.

Onion seeds are sold in specialized stores or you can grow them in your own garden.

Selection and storage of maternal (uterine) bulbs

For self-growing seeds, it is necessary to select the highest quality uterine bulbs during harvesting, with a diameter of:

• up to 10 cm - for large varieties;
• up to 5 cm - for small ones (for example, shallots).

Bulbs with spots, traces of rot are not suitable for this. The selected samples are stored all winter at a temperature of 2 ... 7 ° C.

Attention! The temperature should not be lower, because in the future they will not have arrows.

A month before the planned planting, the bulbs are moved to a room with a temperature of about 15 ° C. At higher temperatures, growth processes will start. Previously, the material is again inspected and the fruits affected by rot are discarded.

Onions are planted for seeds earlier than for growing turnips - in the last decade of April (for central Russia). Ripening lasts about 120 days (4 months). Before that, necks are cut off from the uterine bulbs for quick germination.

Mother fruits are planted with an interval of about 20 cm and a row spacing of 25 cm. If you plan to grow several varieties of onions, then it is advisable to make the appropriate number of beds at some distance from each other. Otherwise, mutual pollination of varieties may occur, which will lead to the loss of their properties.

The bulbs are deepened by 5 cm, covered with earth and watered. If the summer is short and the weather is mostly damp, the beds are covered with plastic wrap.

Ripening and collecting seeds

Onion peduncles - in everyday life, "pipes" at the top have umbrella-shaped inflorescences up to 7 cm in diameter. After flowering, many yellow-gray boxes appear, inside of which there are black seeds. Ripening occurs when the boxes crack. Seed collection usually occurs in July if the summer is hot, or in mid-August if the weather is wet.

The flowers do not ripen at the same time. To prevent the loss of seeds, it is recommended to tie the bulbous umbrellas with gauze. When the inflorescences are fully ripe, they are cut with scissors with an arrow almost to the root, then to be woven into braids. The workpiece is placed in a dry dark place for further drying.

Prices for onion sets

onion sets

Preparing seeds for planting

Seed preparation is optional: you can simply sow the seeds into the ground without additional measures. If it is wet, then the shoots will be good.

However, preparatory measures will help to get the best harvest. This is due to the fact that onion seeds are covered with a hard shell, which makes it difficult to germinate. The process is especially problematic with late sowing.

The procedure for preparing seed is as follows:

1. Seed selection. Choose the largest and most complete copies. To do this, they are placed in water for 3 hours and mixed. Empty boxes float up, and suitable for reproduction remain at the bottom.
2. Disinfection. The seed is soaked in a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, and then washed in water. This allows you to get rid of viruses, fungal infections.
3. warming up. The water is heated to 45 ° C and the seeds are left in them for 35 minutes. The procedure, in particular, contributes to the simultaneous emergence of onions subsequently.
4. hardening. The heated material is placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for accelerated germination and easy adaptation of the plant to environmental conditions.

Next stage - germination- carried out on request. Seeds are placed between layers of damp cloth. After about a week, sprouts appear.

Attention! Germinated seeds should be sown immediately in moist soil. The beds are watered intensively until green sprouts appear. If you do not maintain the humidity at the required level, there will be no seedlings.

prices for onion seeds

onion seeds

Soil for planting

Onions are grown on different soils. On sandy and sandy lands, which are distinguished by lightness, the vegetable is sown earlier. Then the bulb turns out clean, with a bright color of scales. The disadvantage of such soils is the need for frequent watering, the rapid leaching of minerals introduced with top dressing.

Heavy clay soils prevent early sowing. A crust forms on the surface, therefore it is not possible to obtain the desired standing density. At the same time, it is easier to maintain the required level of moisture and mineral components here. The harvest obtained under such conditions is stored longer.

The vegetable is sensitive to such an indicator as acidity. Soils are better to choose neutral or weak acidity. Any deviations are harmful to the vegetable. The degree of acidity is determined, for example, by the plants living on them. So, sorrel, horsetail, buttercup prefer acidic soils.

Carry out tests with chalk. A little soil is poured into the bottle, water is poured in and chalk is added. A fingertip is put on top of the neck. If, after shaking, the fingertip inflates, this indicates a reaction with the release of carbon dioxide. Therefore, the soil is acidic. When mixing chalk with neutral soil, the accessory will not straighten.

Place for a garden

For sowing seeds choose an open and dry place. The most suitable onion neighbors are radish, cabbage, cucumber.

In autumn, a bed for onion sets is dug up with the addition of humus at the rate of ½ bucket per 1 sq. m. Fertilizers are also applied:

• ash - 1 glass;
• superphosphate, nitroammophoska - 1 tbsp. l.

2–3 days before sowing, the earth is loosened to a depth of 12 cm. If necessary, a bed is poured. Then the soil is slightly compacted and watered with water heated to 50 ° C or Humisol, Tamir, Urgas or other EM preparation. For the remaining days, the area is covered with a dark film.

What are EM drugs

Prices for superphosphate

superphosphate

Sowing seeds

The timing of sowing onions for sets depends on weather conditions. This usually happens in early spring - as soon as you can walk on the dug up earth. Sowing in early spring - tape, multiline. Seeding scheme: strip width (line) 8-10 cm, distance between strips 20-30-45 cm. Such a scheme provides a high yield of standard-sized seedlings.

For a more rational use of planting material, experienced gardeners recommend such a life hack. Seeds are glued with a paste to toilet paper at a distance of 7.5–15 cm. The tape is placed in the ground to a depth of 4 cm. Pure humus or mixed with soil is poured on top.

Reference. For a good harvest, the planting depth should not be too deep, especially if the onion is to be grown in heavy soil. If you place the seeds deep, then the sprouts die or sprout upside down.

This is due to the fact that onions are slow-growing crops, especially until the third leaf appears. The situation is worsened by weeds in the garden, which take away food and moisture. If the gardener does not take enough care of the crop, the yield is significantly reduced. To increase germination, the earth is covered with a film. After the first shoots appear, the coating is removed.

Video - Growing onions from seeds

plant care

Onion is a rather finicky plant to care for. It is demanding on lighting, the amount of moisture, top dressing.

Seedling breakthrough

After germination, the beds are thinned out. If this is not done, then many bulbs are formed empty. Thinning is carried out when the first true leaf appears. Remove the weakest and smallest shoots. A distance of 2 cm is left between plants, in the second breakthrough (phase 4 leaves) - 5–6 cm.

top dressing

For a bountiful harvest, onions need proper feeding. Fertilizers for onions usually distinguish between organic and inorganic. organic matter improve the soil: it becomes more nutritious, and plants better accept inorganic top dressings.

It is desirable to feed the onion organism in the evening. Mineral fertilizers are applied either in dry form or in liquid form. In the latter case, it is important to be careful not to accidentally touch the pen. During the day after top dressing, it is better to water the beds with plain water.

Table 1. Fertilizers for feeding onions and the timing of their introduction into the soil.

Fertilizer name	First dressing (4 weeks after germination). Quantity per sq. m of soil	The second top dressing, when forming bulbs. Quantity per sq. m of soil
Ammonium nitrate	12 grams	6 grams
Superphosphate	10 grams	10 grams
Potassium salt	5 grams	5 grams
Mixture organic fertilizers: ash, bird droppings, mullein, slurry		The fermented mixture is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 6, 1.5 liters are added

Watering

It is important that the plants do not lack moisture. If the summer is dry, then the onions are watered until mid-July. For 1 sq. m beds give at least 20 liters of water. Watering is carried out in several stages, allowing the previous portion of the liquid to be absorbed. At the same time, the soil is moistened 35 cm deep.

Attention! Too much moisture is just as dangerous as too little. When overflowing, the plants grow more slowly, the leaves turn yellow.

Watering is stopped in July, when underground fruits begin to form. If then it rains, then the bow is protected. To do this, arcs are installed above the beds, on top of which a film is attached.

loosening

In order for the bulb to form well, the soil must be loose. Fluff it regularly every 2 weeks. To conserve moisture, the treatment is carried out after each rain. Falling asleep with earth is harmful for onions, it is advised to even bare the bulbs a little.

Harvesting

Onions fall on the ground in mid-July-August. If the feathers turn yellow and dry, then this is a sign of maturation. The vegetable is pulled out with shoots. For two weeks, the harvested crop is dried under a canopy. When the feather dries completely, it is removed, leaving only a small tail up to 3 cm long.

Diseases

Onions are subject to some diseases and pest attacks. These include:

• powdery mildew. This is a common fungal disease, the risk of which increases in wet weather and with abundant watering. Powdery mildew is dangerous for the testicles. Infection is indicated by blurry oval spots on the arrows, where a purple coating then forms. The leaves of the plant turn yellow and dry, and the arrows break.
• neck rot. The disease begins to develop when the bulb is in the soil. The fungus penetrates the neck, softens the tissues, makes it watery. The fruit acquires a yellowish-pink hue and an unpleasant odor.
• Green moldy rot. The main "hero" of this disease is a fungus from the famous genus "Penicillium". It hits the bulb. The first signs of the disease are weeping spots and pale yellow lesions that later turn blue-green. In the context of the bulb, watery spots from light green to brown. A rotten onion is soft on the inside and hard on the outside, and emits an unpleasant musty odor. This is a storage sore that “clings” to fruits damaged during harvesting.
  
• Rust. Caused by a fungus that lives on feathers. It settles in dark yellow pads that are attached to the leaves. From a distance they look like rust. The disease is contagious and progresses rapidly, stopping the growth of both leaves and bulbs.

• Onion root mite. The size of the pest is up to 1 mm, so it can be difficult to notice it. It mainly affects diseased and damaged plants. Brownish dust, which covers the surface of juicy scales, indicates the pest.
• Onion western secretive proboscis. The larvae are yellowish, without legs, with a brown head, the body is up to 7 mm long. Beetles are black. The pest feeds on green shoots, leaving white passages.
• Onion moth. The butterfly is activated when high temperatures air. Moth-damaged shoots dry, long spots can be seen on them. Caterpillars up to 1 cm in size eat unopened inflorescences, destroy pedicels.
• onion fly. Insect-damaged specimens are stunted. Feathers turn yellow and wither. Bulbs lose their hardness, rot, smell unpleasant.

Other known pests: stem nematodes, onion hoverfly.

21.10.2015 15 404

How to grow onion sets from seeds and always have a good harvest?

How to grow onion sets is one of the questions that interests many beginner gardeners and gardeners. Indeed, the planting material that is purchased on the market and in stores often does not bring the expected result. Therefore, self-grown onion sets allow you to save not only valuable and rare varieties, but also receive good harvest onions in your area.

Onion sets - proper seed preparation

Due to the fact that onion seeds have a low germination rate, it is better to take only fresh nigella for sowing, or one that has been stored for no more than two years. As a rule, before sowing onion seeds, they are checked for germination. To do this, approximately 20-30 days before sowing, you need to take a dozen or two seeds and put them in a cloth bag and leave for a couple of weeks. Remember that the fabric should always be damp, do not allow it to dry completely.

After you have made sure that the nigella is really suitable for sowing, it is necessary to treat the seeds. To do this, they are soaked in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate for thirty or forty minutes.

Further, all seed material should be kept in moistened tissue until the nigella hatches. It is desirable that the temperature be at room temperature. This usually takes several days. In fact, this process is not required at all. But the fact is that the shell of onion seeds is very hard, essential oils are present in its composition, so if you sow dry nigella, you will have to wait two weeks, or maybe three, for seedlings.

Preparing a garden bed, planting onion seeds

A good place to grow onion sets will be an open sunny and dry area. Cucumbers and tomatoes, potatoes and cabbage, as well as peas and beans - will be excellent predecessors in the garden for sowing nigella. It is worth paying attention to the fertility of the soil and the content of useful organic substances in it.

If the soil is not fertile on the site, then you should take care of making the necessary trace elements. As a rule, a bed for onion sets is prepared already in the autumn months. Dig up the ground, add compost, peat, ash, and fertilizers such as superphosphate and potassium sulfate to it. As for fresh manure, it must also be applied in the autumn months, but in no case in the spring, before planting the nigella.

If the soil is clayey, then it is advisable to add river sand and sawdust, but not fresh, but already lying down, which have been treated with urea. To reduce the acidity of the soil, add slaked lime (fluff). The amount of lime must be taken, depending on how acidic the soil is.

With the onset of spring, the soil must be loosened to a shallow depth and ammonium nitrate added (about 10 grams per square meter). Then the bed needs to be leveled and lightly tamped the ground. To warm the earth faster, pour hot water over it. Then put the film on the bed and leave for a couple of days.

It is best to sow onion seeds in the very early spring, as soon as the last snow has melted, and the top layer of the earth has already thawed by ten centimeters.

To begin with, in the garden, you need to mark the rows. Step back from the edge of the ridge about ten centimeters, and along it, make three not very wide grooves, at a distance of 5-8 centimeters from each other. Then retreat about fifteen centimeters and make three more of the same grooves. Seeds should be planted to a depth of no more than one and a half centimeters and only in damp ground. If you deepen the onion seeds, this will affect the germination and timing of the collection of onion sets. Also, for better germination, experienced agronomists advise sprinkling beds with onion seeds with compost or humus, so that an earthen crust will not form, which will affect the faster germination of the nigella.

Also, professionals in this matter recommend sowing spring crops, such as lettuce or radish, between rows. They sprout quickly enough, which saves the onion from weeds. Such sowing makes it possible to see thin onion feathers and loosen the aisles. When the early vegetables are harvested, the onion will grow enough and get stronger. It will be easier to make further care for onion sets.

To grow good onion sets, there is one little trick. In order for it to grow and ripen, you need to sow it thickly enough. In this case, by the end of the summer period, the bulbs stop growing and have time to ripen. When onion shoots appear, a breakthrough is made, leaving a distance between rows of one or two centimeters. Two weeks later, thinning is done again. With the final removal of weak and extra shoots, the distance should be no more than three centimeters.

Onion sets - care and watering

If you provide proper care for onion sets, you can get not only excellent planting material, but also in the future. The main requirements for the care of onion sets are proper watering, as well as weeding and removing weeds, and do not forget about pests and diseases.

Watering onion sets should be no more than once a week. In dry weather, the number of waterings is increased up to two times. According to this principle, watering is carried out until July. Then irrigation should be reduced to a minimum, since it is during this period that onion sets begin to ripen.

Too abundant sprinkling, in the future, can lead to rotting of onion sets and the inability to save it. Weeding should be mandatory. If the soil is too dry, moisten it a little and only then remove the weeds. Proper care for onion sets - the basis of your future harvest.

Then there is a risk that the seedlings are sick. It is necessary to identify the cause and take preventive measures. But not only will it save your plantings from uninvited pests, but it will also be an excellent fertilizer.

The onion sets will be ready for harvest when the leaves have fallen and turned yellow. As a rule, this occurs between mid-July and mid-August. Do not forget to dry it thoroughly and sort it. Dear readers, you now know how to grow onion sets!

Why are many summer residents in no hurry to purchase onion sets in the distribution network, but try to grow it on their own? When buying an onion in a store, there is no guarantee of its quality: where it was grown, what it was fed and how it was looked after is unknown. And everything is quite the opposite with planting material grown by one's own hands and in one's garden.

The process of growing onion sets is troublesome and requires a lot of patience. But for persistent gardeners, nothing is impossible. It is only necessary to strictly follow all the recommendations for growing and caring, and then there will be no problems.

The selection and preparation of a land plot begins in the fall, when the harvest has already been harvested. The beds on which cucumbers, cabbage or radishes were grown are well suited for onion sets. The site should be in a well-lit area.

Humus must be added to the soil (when digging the beds), as well as several useful components. For one square meter, you will need about half a bucket of humus, one hundred and fifty grams of ash, superphosphate and nitroammofoska - one tablespoon each.

For organic farmers, it is recommended to sow the site chosen for onion sets with green manure plants, such as mustard. In the future, it will become a reliable protection against onion flies for young plants, and a source of nutrition for the soil. Wood ash in this case can be applied in the spring.

In late March - early April, a few days before planting onion seeds, the land must first be well loosened, then slightly compacted, spilled with any solution with effective microorganisms and covered with a dense opaque film.

Sowing dates for onion sets

In early spring, planting is carried out in early April, in cold spring weather - it is possible at the end of April. In general, it is better to plant the seeds earlier. Neither bulbs nor seedlings are afraid of frosts down to minus four degrees.

Preparing seeds for sowing

Purchased seeds do not require any preparation, as they have already undergone appropriate processing. But their seeds will need some procedures to increase the percentage of germination and further development. You can use one of the options:

1. Soak onion seeds 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 at least three times it is replaced with a new one.

3. You can leave the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate only for 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 that, 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, seeds can be germinated. To do this, they need to be spread out between two pieces of damp cloth and kept under such conditions for forty-eight hours. Before sowing, the germinated seeds need to be dried a little and lightly sprinkled with chalk powder.

Hatching seeds can be sown in dry soil, and for unsprouted seeds, a bed needs to be prepared. First, pour hot water over the entire area, then the grooves directly prepared for the onion, and only after that the seeds can be planted.

Seeds can be sown in rows. The row spacing is about 25-30 centimeters, the depth of the grooves is about two centimeters. It is good that there is a gap of one and a half centimeters between the seeds - this will save you from thinning young crops in the future.

After planting, the grooves with seeds are covered with a layer of humus (about two centimeters) or loose earth and slightly compacted. After that, watering and mulching is carried out. It would be ideal to cover the finished beds with a transparent waterproof material on the arcs. This will contribute to the rapid growth of seedlings and the preservation of soil moisture. Remove the film immediately after the appearance of the first shoots.

You can sow the seeds in another way - with a ribbon. To do this, on the prepared land plot, it is necessary to make wide stripes that look like ribbons. 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 of the strips. For every square meter there are about 10 grams of seeds.

This method of planting does not require thinning, since there is enough free space for each seed next to each other. After planting, everything is repeated according to the usual pattern: the seeds are covered with soil, compacted, watered and mulched.

Young shoots may appear within 7-8 days after planting. All types of onions at the initial stage of development increase green feathers. Therefore, watering should be moderate. In dry and hot summers, one or two waterings per week will be enough. And at the stage of bulb formation, watering vegetable plants is generally not recommended.

If unfavorable weather conditions have developed at an important stage in the formation of the bulb - heavy rain does not stop for several days, then you need to protect the plants from excessive moisture and decay with the help of protective covers. If there are arcs on 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 the cultivation of onion sets. Beds should be promptly disposed of weeds. The mulching layer should be mandatory, as it will become a 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 sets. He is ready for harvest if his feathers have begun to turn yellow, and the bulbs seem to lie down on the beds. This usually happens between the end of July and mid-August.

All bulbs must first be removed from the ground along with feathers, and then laid out to dry under a cover that will reliably protect against precipitation, and left there for two weeks. On clear sunny days, onions can be laid out directly under the rays of the sun on the beds - this will speed up the drying of 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 a storage container. When storing in the basement, a temperature is required - from 0 to 3 degrees Celsius, and in a residential area - about 18 degrees. Under other temperature conditions, onions will spoil their sowing qualities.

Bulbs smaller than 1 centimeter in diameter are best kept cool, while larger bulbs are best kept warm.

How to plant onion sets (video)

PREPARATION OF SEEDS FOR SOWING

A month before planting, the seeds are checked for germination. Take 15-20 pieces and keep in a damp cloth for 2-3 days. Before sowing, to protect against fungal diseases, seeds wrapped in cloth are first dipped for 15 minutes in hot water(45-50 ° C), and then for 1 minute in the cold.

After that, 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 cloth in which they are wrapped is constantly wet.

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 flowability and immediately sown on a pre-prepared bed.

BED PREPARATION

Onions are sown where cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and peas used to grow. The place for sowing is chosen open, sunny, dry, on loamy soils seasoned with organic and mineral fertilizers.

The ridges are made low, no more than 100 cm wide, 3-4 kg of manure humus or compost and 2-3 kg of peat are applied to the bed per 1 m 2. From mineral fertilizers, add 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and nitrophoska or nitroammophoska and 3 tablespoons of wood ash. The bed is dug up to a depth of 18-20 cm, mixing all the fertilizers.

The prepared bed is leveled, tamped, 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 a film for 1-2 days before sowing.

SOWING SEEDS

Seeds are sown on April 20-25. Before sowing, the bed is marked: they retreat from the edge of 10 cm and make three grooves along with a distance of 5 cm from each other and a depth of 2 cm, then they retreat 14-15 cm and again make three grooves, etc. (Fig. 15). Seeds are sown in grooves after 2-3 cm and fall asleep.

After sowing, the soil in the garden is slightly compacted and carefully watered at the rate of 2-3 liters per 1 m 2.

Rice. 15. Scheme of sowing black onion seeds for sets

In the case of sowing with dry seeds, the bed is first watered, then grooves are made, each groove is again poured with hot water from the kettle, and only after that the seeds are sown. Every 3 days (until germination) furrows 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.

When leaving the ground, the onion looks like a loop (cotyledon). Often, gardeners bury the seeds too deeply into 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 seedlings must be thinned out so that the distance between seedlings is 2-3 cm.

The loops (cotyledons) straighten after 12-16 days, then the first true tubular leaf appears. From the base of the first sheet comes the second, and so on.

CARE OF ONION SEVKO

Care consists of watering, weed control, pests and diseases, fine loosening.

Onion sets are watered in May-June once a week, and in hot, sunny weather - 2 times a week at the rate of 5-8 liters per 1 m 2. In July, watering is sharply reduced, as the onions are ripening. In hot weather, water once a week with a small dose so that the bulb does not wilt. Watering is done carefully, from a small watering can by sprinkling, but so as not to break the pen.

Onion sets are loosened if the soil is compacted. Then, in wide aisles, 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, the onion sets must be watered so that the weeds are well pulled out.

If the growth of the leaves is slow, the 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 pour 3-4 liters per 1 m 2.

CLEANING AND STORAGE SEVKA

A sign of onion ripening is lodging and yellowing of the leaves. Seeds are harvested from July 20 to August 10, depending on its ripeness. Even if the leaves have not completely turned yellow, the onion must still be pulled out and spread out in a thin layer for 12-15 days for thorough drying.

The onion is 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 heaters or a Russian stove. Such thorough drying protects the onion from cervical 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, fall asleep in 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 sevok is stored at a temperature above or below the recommended temperature, then the bulbs will go into the arrow when planted.

Once a month, the onions are looked through to eliminate rotten, dried, sprouted heads.

Onion sets store very well at room temperature in closed candy cartons.

When planting onions on a set of seeds, the best predecessors are: cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes.

Combines with: beetroot, strawberries, melons, lettuce, tomatoes, chicory, watermelon, cucumbers, eggplants, cabbage, carrots.

Soil preparation before planting: it is best to apply humus (5-7 kg per 1 m 2) or chicken manure with wood ash in the fall, and nitrogen fertilizer in early spring; phosphorus-potassium are introduced at the beginning of the formation of bulbs.

Seed preparation: it is better to take seeds per year, but not older than 2-3 years; sow as soon as the snow melts; soak the seeds for two days (humidity 80-100%) in an ash solution (20 g per 1 liter of water, leave for 2 days), changing the solution several times.

You can apply the usual germination: in a cloth in a plastic bag or forced: for 8 hours at a water temperature of 40 ° C, adding hot water all the time; add chalk (tooth powder) to the seeds to better see when sowing.

Sowing seeds

Sowing onions: moisten the grooves (depth 0.5-1.5 cm); sow in rows with beacons (row spacing 5-7 cm); compact the soil slightly; Rows are well mulched with humus or covered with plastic wrap. Plant the bed with calendula, marigolds, nasturtium or chicory.

If the ground is dryish, after sowing, the onions should be watered before shelter.

Onion set care

Aftercare: as soon as beacons (radish) appear - loosen from the crust: the seeds usually germinate in 15-25 days. Break through in the phase of 2 true leaves with an interval of 3-4 cm. Then regularly loosen the soil and water it 3 times during the season (water it into the grooves).

Watering stops 20-25 days before harvesting the seedlings. As soon as the bulbs begin to form, feed the plants at the rate of 1 m 2 - 10 l of water, 50 g of superphosphate, 25 g of potassium salt and immediately pour abundantly - 25 l of water per 1 m 2. Cut the roots with a shovel 10-15 days before harvesting.

Usually onion sets are dug in the first half of August on a dry sunny day. The moment of harvesting should not be missed - this is the beginning of lodging of leaves with a bulb diameter of 10-15 mm. Spread the sevok right on the garden bed (or in a suitable place) until the leaves are completely dry, remove the leaves and roots. Leave onions with thin necks and shiny scales for storage. Seeds are stored at a temperature of 20-25 ° C. Storage at 5-15 ° C is unacceptable even for several days (there will be arrows!).

For example, varieties such as Karatalsky and Skvirsky are grown in one season from seeds, and varieties Bessonovsky and Strigunovsky are grown from seedlings.