How to properly grow onion: planting and care in open ground

Tatarka, onion, winter onion, Welsh onion, April onion - all these are popular names for one plant - onion. The peculiarity of this species is the high and dense green mass and the absence of a round turnip. The crop is grown specifically to produce juicy greens with a delicate, sweetish, slightly spicy taste and a pleasant onion aroma. From the article you will learn how to properly plant onions and care for them in open ground.

Description of the crop and choice of variety for open ground

Onion - a perennial plant from the Onion family. The birthplace of culture is the territory of Asia. It grows wild in Mongolia and China. In Russia, batun is cultivated almost everywhere, with the exception of the Far North. Caring for it is not particularly difficult.

The ground part is similar to onions - the stems are long, tubular, but denser. The underground part is represented by a false, short, bleached stem and lacks a rounded turnip.

Onions are grown for their greenery. The plant spends all its energy on the formation of tubular leaves. If they are not cut in time, they can reach 60-70 cm in height and 20-25 mm in diameter. The maximum wall thickness is 1.5 mm. Such a feather is considered overgrown and unsuitable for consumption due to excessive hardness and lack of taste.

The false bulb, or stem, is also eaten. The bulk of the roots are located at a depth of 30 cm.

In Russia, due to climatic conditions, early or mid-early varieties of onion are grown:

1. April - early ripening variety. The harvest is harvested in April. It is resistant to most onion diseases. The taste is pleasant, sweet and spicy.
2. Russian winter - mid-early variety, frost-resistant. The leaves are bright green in color, up to 35 cm high. The taste is delicate and sweet.
3. Baia Verde - mid-early variety. The leaves are green in color, up to 40 cm high. The taste is pungent. The aroma is pronounced onion.
4. Giant - mid-early variety with high resistance to frost. The leaves are thick, fleshy, up to 50 cm high. The taste is spicy-sweet.
5. Seryozha - an early variety with high resistance to frost. The leaves are bluish-green, up to 55 cm high, with a pleasant, sweet taste without pungency.
6. Guilder - mid-early variety. The leaves are juicy, tender, low-growing, up to 40 cm in length. The taste is medium hot.
7. Damask - early ripening variety. The feathers are green, erect, covered with a waxy coating. Stem height - 30 cm, diameter - 11 mm. The taste is pleasant, sweet.
8. Zelenets - ultra-early variety. Feathers up to 80 cm in length, bright green. The taste is sweetish, semi-sharp.
9. Kaigaro - mid-season variety. The leaves are erect, bluish-green, up to 50 cm in height. The taste is delicate, sweetish, semi-sharp.
10. Red - an ultra-early variety with the possibility of harvesting a month after planting. The feathers are tall, up to 70 cm in length, green in color. The taste is pleasant, medium-sharp, sweetish.
11. Emerald - early variety. The feathers are dark green in color, with a waxy coating, 70-85 cm long. The taste is delicate and sweet.
12. Tenderness - ultra-early variety, ripens 30 days after sowing. The feathers are green, with a slight waxy coating, up to 35 cm high.The taste is sweet, semi-sharp.

The photo shows a spring onion.

Basic rules for growing onions in open ground

The crop is not particularly demanding in terms of cultivation and care, however, to obtain a harvest, a number of rules are followed:

• planting after legumes (undesirable after tomatoes due to the risk of infection with fungal diseases);
• soil pH norm - 6.5-7.5 units;
• seed sowing density in open ground - 2 g per 1 m²;
• sowing width - 18-20 cm, depth - 1-2 cm;
• mulching the soil with humus after sowing, followed by compaction of the top layer;
• soil moisture control;
• removal of weeds;
• double thinning of plantings when sowing batun as a perennial;
• application of complex fertilizers.

Landing dates

Experienced gardeners advise focusing on the climatic characteristics of the growing region. The optimal sowing time is the beginning of March (harvest in June) or the first days of July (harvest in October).

During winter When sowing, the seed material is embedded in cold, but not frozen soil. In the central regions this occurs at the end of October. If sown early, the seeds will begin to germinate before winter and will die from severe frosts.

Preparation for cultivation

Planting onions begins with preparatory work: dressing the seeds, plowing and fertilizing the area.

Planting material

It is not recommended to pour seeds into furrows directly from the bag. This reduces the germination percentage and increases germination time.

To make batun seeds germinate faster, they are soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, then placed in clean water for 24 hours. Change the water 2-3 times. To stimulate germination material process succinic acid, “Epin” or “Zircon”.After soaking, the seeds are not washed and dried until they flow.

For sowing, take seeds collected from your own plot or purchased from gardening stores.

Priming

The area for sowing onions is prepared in advance - in autumn or spring. The ground is plowed to a depth of ½ bayonet shovel. Deep digging does not make sense due to the compact root system.

During the digging process, the soil is carefully inspected and weeds along with roots are selected. This is important because the shoots of the batun are as delicate as strings, and when you pull the weed out of the ground, it is easy to pull the onion along with it.

For productive cultivation of crops, the nutritional value of the soil is increased by applying fertilizers. Clay soil is loosened with the addition of sand (10 liters per 3 m²) or wood ash (200 g per 1 m²). Acidic soil is deoxidized with dolomite flour - 400 g per 1 m².

When preparing the site in the fall, rotted manure is scattered over the dug up bed. 15 days before planting, add 25-30 g of nitroammophoska per 1 m².

Landing rules

Seeds are sown in rows. Furrows of up to 2 cm are formed in the soil with an interval of 25-35 cm. The material is sealed at a distance of 15 cm. Dense sowing with an interval of 5 cm during annual cultivation of batun allows you to obtain aligned shoots and increase productivity. However, weeding and loosening such plantings is difficult.

Dry grains without pre-treatment are sown in dry soil, pickled and soaked in growth stimulants and embedded in moist soil. The furrows are watered abundantly with clean water and sowing is carried out when the water is completely absorbed.

A layer of soil is poured on top and watered again. Then they are mulched with hay, straw or peat or covered with agrofibre.

Advice. To facilitate the process of thinning plantings, mix nigella onions with radish seeds, which germinate much earlier. As you harvest your radishes, you will automatically thin your onions.

Features of growing by seedling method

Growing batun through seedlings allows you to avoid the troublesome weeding and get a harvest in 2-2.5 months from the moment of the first shoots.

To obtain seedlings, the seeds are first disinfected in potassium permanganate and soaked in water for 24 hours. Then they are sown in individual cups filled with a moist substrate of equal parts of turf and humus to a depth of 2 cm with an interval of 5 cm. Sprinkle the top with soil, cover with film and wait for germination.

Then the seedlings are taken out to a sunny windowsill and the film covering is removed. The optimum air temperature is +16°C during the day and +10…+12°C at night.

Caring for seedlings includes timely watering and fertilizing (once every 14 days). To do this, use superphosphate or nitrophoska (2 g per 10 liters of water).

When the weather becomes warm outside, the threat of night frosts disappears and the soil warms up to +12°C, the seedlings are transferred to open ground. Beds 1.5 cm deep are formed on the site. Seedlings are planted together with a ball of earth at intervals of 3 cm and covered with agrofibre for 3-4 days.

Further care

Rules for caring for onion plantings:

1. The frequency of watering directly depends on the amount of precipitation in the growing region. During drought, the plant is watered 2-3 times a week. To obtain a large amount of greenery, watering is increased up to 4-5 times every 7 days. It is important not to let the soil dry out.
2. Loosening the beds is carried out after each watering to prevent the formation of an earthen crust and improve the aeration of the underground part.
3. Weeds are removed as they grow, without waiting for rooting. This is especially important at the very beginning of onion growth, when the feathers are thin and weak.
4. Thinning of seedlings is carried out twice: the first time after the sprouts appear, leaving a gap of 2-3 cm, and the procedure is repeated after the plant gets stronger, achieving a gap of 5-7 cm.
5. When planting early at the end of June, the lower green feathers are trimmed, leaving the young top to form lush greenery.
6. Onions are fed twice per season: when planting - a solution of chicken manure diluted in a ratio of 1:15, after emergence - 10 kg of compost, 150 g of ammophosphate per 1 m². It is enough to add 200 g of wood ash per 1 m² to fertile soil.

In the fall, the spring onion does not need care - the plant goes into the sleep phase and withstands the cold until spring.

Diseases and pests

If the rules of agricultural technology are followed, the batun rarely gets sick and is not subject to attacks. insects. If growing conditions are unfavorable, the plant is infected by fungi that cause peronosporosis (downy mildew) - the leaf plastic is covered with a gray-violet moldy coating. To prevent and treat the disease, copper-containing preparations are used: “HOM”, “Oxychom”, copper sulfate. Usually 2-3 treatments are enough.

Onion weevil, onion moth and onion fly often attack onions. The moth gnaws the leaves from the inside, leaving only a thin peel. Adult onion weevils pierce the feathers and suck out the juice. Weevil larvae burrow into greenery and feed on plant tissue. Onion fly larvae eat the bulbs, causing the plant to wilt and turn yellow.

For pest control use:

• insecticide “Fufanon”, safe for humans;
• mustard powder solution (1 tbsp per 10 liters of water);
• infusion of potato tops (1 kg of greens per 10 liters of water, consumption per 1 m²).

Prevention of diseases and the spread of pests:

• crop rotation;
• thinning of plantings;
• planting carrots next to onions;
• control of soil moisture levels;
• weed removal;
• Frequent inspection of plants.

Nuances of cultivation depending on the region

In the regions of the central zone, in the Moscow region, and the Leningrad region, onions are sown in the second ten days of April. In the south of the country, planting is carried out in early March.

Caring for plantings, regardless of the place of cultivation, is standard and includes monitoring the level of moisture in the soil in accordance with weather conditions, loosening the soil crust, weeding, thinning and pruning leaves, and applying fertilizers.

Harvest and storage

The first harvest is cut 30 days after entry. 45 days after planting, the final harvest of succulent greenery is carried out.

Green feathers are torn off by hand or cut with a sharp knife at a distance of 5 cm from the ground. The onion is not pulled out. The greens are placed in boxes or wrapped in plastic and stored in a cool place.

Onions can be frozen and stored in the freezer for up to a year. Greens can stay in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for up to 30 days.

Juicy feathers are suitable for drying in the oven, electric dryer and outdoors. Dry raw materials are stored in paper bags or glass containers for up to a year.

Conclusion

Onions are planted with seeds and seedlings to obtain an early harvest. The crop is unpretentious in care, it needs to control the level of moisture in the soil, loosening, weeding, thinning of plantings and pruning of the lower feathers to form a dense green mass.

Sowing work is carried out in March in the south of Russia and in the second ten days of April in the Moscow region, Siberia, and the Urals. It is possible to plant batun before winter at the end of October. In this case, harvesting is carried out in the spring. Juicy feathers are stored fresh in the cellar or refrigerator for about a month, in the freezer for up to a year.