Preparing for cold weather correctly: do you need to cut onions for the winter and how to do it

Onion - a perennial herbaceous plant that is not inferior in popularity to onions. The crop has excellent frost resistance, so it is grown for several years in one place. The plant is not dug up for the winter. In this article we will tell you whether you need to cut onions for the winter so that they can better withstand the cold.

How to prepare perennial onions for wintering

At growing plants as a perennial crop require pruning before wintering. The future harvest depends on this. Before the last harvest, the onions are fed with nettle infusion.

Cut or cover

Perennial batun needs to remove the feathers before wintering, but you cannot completely cut off all the greens. The last harvesting is done so that the plant has time to produce new feathers before the first frost. In this case, it will be easier for him to survive the harsh winter. The resulting leaves will dry out or wither during the cold period, but in the spring, after the snow melts, new feathers will appear much faster.

Important! Be sure to cut off the seed feathers to avoid self-seeding. Otherwise, the onions will grow too thick and lack nutrients. This will negatively affect the quantity and quality of the harvest.

Onion is famous for its high frost resistance. It can be left for the winter without shelter, but in light and severe winters the plant is mulched with sawdust or spruce branches. The top of the slides is covered with boards.This will protect the garden bed from pests that don’t mind eating onions.

Timing of pruning

Greens are harvested 3-4 times during the season. Feathers are trimmed for the last time 3-4 weeks before the first frost. This is considered a preparatory stage for winter. Leaves that appear later are not cut off.

How to do it right

The procedure for trimming onions:

1. Take a sharp knife or garden shears.
2. The instrument is sterilized. To do this, just boil it for a few minutes.
3. All leaves are collected by hand and cut off, leaving about 5 cm of greenery above the bulb.

Care after pruning

After the last pruning, water the onion bed. This way the plant will be better prepared for frost. After the arrival of winter, plant debris and dead leaves are removed from the garden bed to avoid the appearance of pests.

If in a region where grow onions, winters are warm, no additional action is required. In harsh climates, the beds are covered, otherwise the onions may not sprout next year. Sawdust is used as insulation. In the spring, after the bulk of the snow has melted, the shelter is immediately removed, since the plant begins to produce feathers early, and slight frosts are not terrible for it.

What to do with annual onions before wintering

With the annual method of growing onions, sowing is done in early spring, and harvesting is done in August or autumn. At the same time, the false bulb is also dug out. If there is no time for this in the fall, complete cleaning is done in the spring.

If the trumpet is grown as an annual crop, the bulbs are selected after autumn pruning. After this they are dried and put away storage.

Important! Harvesting can be done once or twice. At the third stage, the bulbs are dug up.

Harvest and storage

Batun is distinguished by early germination and excellent keeping quality. The harvest is harvested within three weeks after the first greenery appears. After another six weeks, the culture again produces succulent feathers.

Growing spring onions is only advisable for producing greens. The bulbs themselves are rarely used.

Reference. The faster you cut off the first feathers, the sooner the next ones will appear.

The baton is torn off or cut off carefully at a height of about 5 cm from the ground. The bulb is not pulled out so as not to damage the root system. Feathers are packaged in cling film or boxes and sent to the refrigerator.

Frozen spring onions are well stored for a long time - the feathers remain fresh throughout the year without losing their taste. The leaves are washed, cut, packed in a container and sent to the freezer.

The loaf can be stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for a month. To do this, it is tightly packed in plastic film.

Some housewives dry onion and use it as a seasoning. The plant is crushed, dried, then crushed again, packed in paper bags and sent for storage in a dry place. In this form it will not deteriorate within a year.

Tips on the topic

Usually the arrows are removed so that the onion does not reproduce on its own. But if you plan to collect seeds, they are left. It is also advisable not to remove the leaves.

In winter, after the leaves die, a false bulb remains in the ground. It can be dug up and used for food.

When fertilized with fertilizers, onions accumulate nitrates, so the greens are soaked in cold water for an hour. This allows you to reduce the amount of harmful substances by 20%.

In winter, onions are grown in greenhouses or apartments for forcing greens. Biennial plants are used for this.In this way you can get up to 20 kg of greens from 1 m². In this regard, the batun is much more profitable than ordinary onions. Its greens are about 10 times cheaper, and it contains much more vitamins.

In winter, mice look for food under the snow, and the bulbs left in the ground serve as an excellent treat for them. To preserve the plant, use old buckets to cover the bushes.

Conclusion

Trimming onions is a necessary procedure. Without it, the plant may not survive the harsh winter. The process is no different from normal harvesting. The main thing is to trim on time.