Onions are one of the few plants that use "tops and roots". In addition to its culinary qualities, onions have healing properties and are widely used not only in cooking, but also in traditional medicine.
Due to its ability to tolerate low temperatures, growing onions at home has long ceased to be the prerogative of only the southern regions. But, despite the prevalence and popularity, onions are demanding on growing conditions and have many "ill-wishers" that can significantly spoil the yield.
Growing onions at home: the choice of planting material
Onion is biennial plant. For growing bulbs, seeds are used. When planting a ripe onion for the next year, you can get a new seed.
For ripening onions required long warm period. Therefore, growing onions from seeds is obtained only in the southern regions. For the middle band, a more acceptable way to produce bulbs in two years. At the same time, in the first year, onion sets are grown from seeds, and already from it the next season, when planting, a decent crop of onions is obtained.
Onions are grown not only to produce bulbs, but also herbs. The choice of onion planting material for growing at home depends, first of all, from landing targets.
Choosing onion seeds
When choosing onion seeds, you need to focus on the varietal qualities of planting material. Today, 357 varieties of various onions are registered, of which 199 are onions. Of course, it is easy to get lost in this variety. But it should be remembered that the best harvest can be obtained only from zoned varieties. Bow sharply reacts to the length of daylight, temperature indicators. Therefore, sweet varieties of onions are grown only in the south. In more northern regions, onions are cultivated with a semi-sharp and spicy taste.
Choosing a bow set
They try to cultivate onion-seedlings on their own, which allows them to significantly save on planting material and to be sure of its quality. When purchasing onion sets in the market or in a store, pay attention to both its appearance and size.
Instead of onion sets, enterprising merchants can sell small, rejected two-year-old onions, unsuitable for obtaining good yields. Also, the storage temperature affects the quality of the bulbs. If sowing was stored at low temperatures less than +5 C, it can go in the direction of arrows instead of good bulbs.
Onion sets are divided into categories, depending on its size:
• Ovsyuzhok - the smallest, refers to a non-standard and has a diameter less than 1.0 cm;
• sets of the first category with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 cm;
• the second category - 1.5-3 cm;
• Samples - the largest planting material and has a diameter of more than 3 cm.
Onion sets for planting
You can decide on the size of planting bulbs, adhering to the rules:
1. For a podzimny landing for receiving onions take an osyuzhok - it will not linger until spring and can dry.
2. In the fall and spring, the sowing of the first category is planted, from it the best onion is obtained.
3. Bulbs larger than 1.5 cm are suitable for forcing a green feather; these include the second category sowing and samples.
Planting Onions Check for mold, elongated tails, rotten roots. Such material is immediately rejected, not only the harvest will not work out of it, but diseases can also be brought into your own garden.
It is advisable to cut several onions. This will see the number of ovaries. For onions, good material with one seed share is good. But for abundant greens, it is better to choose a seed with a large number of primordia.
How to grow onions in the greenhouse at home?
At home, there is a great opportunity to grow onions year-round. To do this, it is planted in greenhouses. Greenhouse conditions are good for distilling onions onto a green feather. Cultivation conditions depend on the type of greenhouse and the possibilities of its heating.
Growing onions at home in cold greenhouses
Greenhouse constructions, in which additional heating is not provided, are suitable for winter planting of onions. This approach allows you to use the land in a greenhouse rationally. By removing onion plantings in early spring, other crops can be planted in the same place.
Soil preparation. We begin to prepare the soil for growing onions at home in advance. To do this, before digging the beds, we apply fertilizer. You can apply the manure, as well as a mixture of 30 grams. superphosphate with the addition of 15 gr. potassium chloride per 1 m2. The soil is carefully dug up and leveled.
Planting bulbs. We begin to plant bulbs in October, before the onset of frost, so that they can take root, but not grow. Aisles for planting onions are provided 2-2.5 cm. Planting depth not more than 4 cm.
We control the depth of the onion
Beds, planted with seed harboring any natural insulation, the layer of which should be about 3 cm. With the onset of frost, the insulation layer is increased to 20 cm.
Care. In March, onion beds are cleared of snow and insulation. We install protective film structures. Further care involves abundant watering, taking into account the drying of the earth, as well as top dressing. For fertilizer use urea at the rate of 15 grams. per square meter.
Harvesting. Already in late April, you can start harvesting. When the pen reaches 20 cm, onion greens are collected together with onions.
Growing onions at home in heated greenhouses
Having a good greenhouse with glazing or polycarbonate, you can do year-round cultivation of onions at home. But this will require additional heating and lighting.
Soil preparation. To save space and ease of care, it is better to plant onions not into the ground, but into prepared boxes or boxes. In this case, they can be installed in several tiers. Tara fill with land from the garden or peat. Before planting, pour the ground with warm water to warm it up.
Planting bulbs. For distillation of onions in the greenhouse, we take the onion seeder, the optimum diameter of which is more than 3 cm. To accelerate growth, we warm the bulbs at a temperature of about 400 C. before planting them. You can soak them for several hours in water. We cut the necks of the bulbs and place them in boxes tightly to each other. It is not necessary to deeply deepen the onions into the soil.
Care. After planting, we lay the ground for four days with sacking, this will allow us to warm the plantings and to start growing bulbs faster. Further care is provided for permanent watering and fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizer.
Favorable temperature conditions for the growth of onions in the greenhouse is supported by controlled heating and should be:
• in the daytime: 18-200 C;
• at night: 12-150 C.
You can start harvesting already in a month. Why is the green feather cut off or the stands completely removed.
Growing onions from seeds at home
Growing onions from seeds is a bit more complicated than from onion sets. The process requires a longer time. Therefore, seed cultivation is often used to produce onion sets. If you decide to still get the onion crop from the seeds in one season, you can use one of three options:
• sow seeds in the ground before winter;
• apply spring planting in open ground;
• grow onions with seedlings.
Landing dates are different in each case:
1. Spring work on the stripping of chernushki is carried out immediately after thawing of the soil. Only in this case will the bulbs have time to ripen before the onset of cold weather.
2. Seedlings begin to cook in late February. Grown plants are planted in the ground with the onset of warm days in April.
3. Sowing of seeds in autumn is carried out on frozen soil. In this case, they will not have time to sprout to stable frosts, and with the first warm days they will immediately start to grow.
Regardless of the method of growing onions at home from seeds, we prepare the beds in advance. To this end, we dig them up in the fall and add mineral fertilizers to the earth in the form of urea or organic matter such as compost or peat. Bow - loves warmth and good lighting. Therefore, onion beds should be located on the lighted areas, but avoiding drafts.
Predecessors for onion plantings - these are tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers. But in one place it is better not to plant the onion, and return it to the place of landing no earlier than four years later. Compliance with crop rotation will prevent disease and improve crop yields.
Seed preparation for planting
Further germination rate and quality of the crop depends on the correctness of seed preparation. This stage needs to be given due attention:
1. Check seed germination. To do this, take up to 20 seeds and maintain them for up to three weeks on a damp cloth. About good germination will tell the number of hatching samples, which should be at least 80%.
2. You can destroy the causative agents of fungal diseases by treating seeds with potassium permanganate.
3. To speed up germination, soak the seeds in warm water for up to 18 hours.
4. Stimulants, which are added when soaking at the rate of 1 gram, will help to improve fruit production. on a spoon.
5. Before sowing, we take out the seeds from the water and dry them. In 20 minutes, the moisture will evaporate and the seeds will become loose and suitable for planting.
After the preparatory work is done, you can start sowing nigella.
Ground sowing
As soon as the snow melts and the soil thaws, you can begin to work. On rows prepared since the autumn, we make rows whose depth should not exceed 2 cm. We provide a distance of 20 cm between the beds. We dust the seeds with chalk, you can use tooth powder. So it will be easier to control the location of the seeds. We sow chernushka quite sparse, at the rate of 80 seeds per meter.
For sprinkling over seeds we use organic matter in the form of humus, sawdust or peat. The layer should not be more than 2 cm. Immediately after planting seeds, do not water the beds. A crust may appear, which will prevent weak sprouts from hatching.
When two true leaves appear, proceed to thinning. Remove weak sprouts. Gently transplant stronger ones onto new beds, using as seedlings. The distance between shoots is up to 2 cm.
Second thinning provided with the appearance of 4 sheets. In this case, we expand the distance to 5 cm. And use the torn sprouts for food.
Onion loves moisture. Therefore, do not allow the soil to dry out. Water the onions when grown at home regularly until mid-July. But do not overdo it. With excess moisture, bulbs can begin to rot and infections multiply. During the season, fertilize the onions twice with nitrogen mixtures.
We start harvesting at the beginning or in the middle of September, when all the leaves will fall down completely. The crop needs to be dried. This can be done directly on the beds of silt in another dry place under a canopy.
Growing seedlings from onion seeds at home
Extend the growing season, as well as significantly save planting material can be sown chernushku seedlings. For this, work begins in early March. Seedlings can be grown both in the greenhouse and in the house.
The boxes are filled with soil mixture, which is mixed with peat or fertilized with superphosphate with potassium chloride. We sow the planting material prepared according to the above scheme in boxes in rows, between which we provide for a distance of up to 5 cm.
Before emergence, we maintain the temperature not lower than +250 С. When the first shoots appear, we reduce the temperature during the day to +120 C, and at night to +80 C. After four days, we create the optimal temperature regime for growing onions at home, which ranges from +15 - + 180 C. To extend the daylight using fluorescent lamps.
We plant seedlings in the ground at the end of April, when 4 true leaves with a height of up to 15 cm were formed on the plants. When transplanting on the garden bed, we remove feathers by a third of the length, and the roots up to 2 cm.
On the beds, seedlings are planted after five cm. After a couple of days, we water the planted seedlings and gently loosen the ground.
Growing onions on a feather at home
Green feather of onions can be grown both in beds and in greenhouses, and in the conditions of a city apartment. Home growing onions on a feather is also possible in winter conditions, for which it is planted in boxes with earth or just sprouted in containers with water.
Feather can be obtained not only from onions.
Conveniently for receiving greens grow perennial varieties of onions, which include:
• onion batun;
• onions slizun;
• chives;
• tiered bow.
Good greens are obtained from varietal onions such as shallots, Armazan, Bessonovsky, Rostov, Amber varieties of onions.
Planting is carried out as seed material, and onions. For good greens choose bulbs with several ovaries.
Onion greens are quite demanding for lighting. Therefore, place the beds on the open areas, and in greenhouses and apartments, if necessary, use additional lighting.
There are no special soil requirements for growing onions at home on a feather. But you can feed it before planting with manure or mineral nitrogen fertilizers.
Planting onions in the ground begin after the soil warms up in April, and the sub-winter planting occurs in October before the onset of frost.
If onions are grown from seeds to herbs, planting is done on frozen soil.
Planting onions can be done in two ways:
1. The bridge method provides a dense arrangement of heads, which are sprinkled on top with earth or peat.
2. When the ribbon method, the bulbs are planted in the grooves. Between them the distance should be at least 4 cm.
Ribbon method of landing onions
During the growing season, green onions are constantly watered, avoiding drying out. With a lack of moisture, feathers begin to fade. Feeding needs to be done after cutting greens. This will allow the bulbs to loosen and give a new crop. To do this, use urea or nitromafosku.
Also constantly loosen the soil. This will saturate the soil with air. And timely removal of weeds will prevent the development of diseases and soil depletion.
How to deal with pests when growing onions?
Many pests can significantly spoil the crop or even destroy it:
Onion fly. The insect activates in the spring, laying larvae near the onion beds or directly on the bulbs. The larvae move into the flesh and destroy the plant. At the same time the foliage withers, and the fruit begins to rot and smell unpleasant.
Onion damaged by an onion fly
Onion moth. The best conditions for its development is hot and dry weather. Larvae feed onion juice from leaves, where adults lay them.
Root Tick. Destroys the root system, both during the growing season and during storage. Bulbs fade and crumble.
Onion secretive hunter. These are small bugs that burrow into the pulp of the bulbs, making grooves and strokes.
To control pests, use not only chemicals, but also simple cultivation guidelines and popular recipes:
one. Observe crop rotation, not planting bulbous in one place.
2. Before planting seed in the form of onion sets, soak in saline. This will deter pests.
3. Saline solutions can be watered beds, when insects in the spring lay larvae.
4. Loosen the soil in time. Insects and larvae find it harder to move on loose soil.
5. Remove weeds. They are a breeding ground for harmful organisms.
6. Rake the ground off the onion necks. Thus, it is possible to create difficulties for the laying of larvae.
7. Plant carrots next to the onion. Onion fly does not tolerate its smell.
To disinfect the soil, you can use copper sulfate, from which a solution is prepared (25-30 g. Per bucket of water). During mass shoots, onions are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. This helps to get rid of not only pests, but also fungal diseases.
You can use biological preparations like Fitoverma, Agrovertinawith which plants are sprayed several times during the season.
Onions are susceptible to fungal diseases in the form of:
• oversporosis (downy mildew), spreading through the foliage in the form of light, turning into brown spots;
• rust, which completely makes the foliage dry;
• Fusariumaffecting the root system.
In the fight against fungal diseases use the same preventive measures as pests. Of the drugs, you can try to handle the planting of Gliokladin, Fitosporin-M, Alirin, Gamair.
Biological preparations do not accumulate in the onion and can be used for consumption in two days.
Pay enough attention to onion plantings, loosen and water, feed and destroy pests and your table will always have fresh greens, and in the closet are winter stocks of onions.
