Features of growing onions from seeds

Growing onions from seeds traditionally consists of several stages. In the first year, seeds, the so-called nigella, are sown to obtain onion sets, from which full-fledged large bulbs already grow in the second year.

But this long process can be significantly accelerated and you can get a high-quality harvest in just one season, using a method that is gaining popularity among gardeners. Let's look at all the features of growing onions from seeds in different ways.

What are the advantages of seed growing?

When compared with the method of growing from bulbs, sowing with seeds has a number of advantages:

1. Reducing costs. Seeds are cheaper, and the harvest obtained from them is stored better.
2. You can grow full-fledged onions in one season, even without seedlings, if you choose the right variety and planting time. An additional condition is favorable weather.
3. Safety. If you come across low-quality onion set material, various diseases can be introduced into the soil. Treatment with potassium permanganate does not always help. Treating seeds is much more reliable, faster and easier.
4. Increased productivity. If the bulb sets turn out to be of poor quality and give poor germination, many voids will form. And seedlings from seeds can be thinned out evenly, creating the necessary intervals.

What are the disadvantages

The main disadvantage is that onion seedlings will require more care.

1. Shelter is needed. When sowing early, seedlings may be at risk of return frosts.Even a heavy rainfall can damage crops by simply washing them out of the garden before they take root.
2. Weeding. Weeds are the main threat to seedlings. They can destroy seedlings if they are not removed in time. You need to weed carefully - there is a risk of pulling out the young onion along with the weeds, since its roots are still weak.
3. Thinning. It is imperative to remove weak plants to make room for stronger shoots.

To an experienced gardener, these shortcomings will not seem significant - this is an integral part of the agricultural technology of any vegetable that is grown from seeds.

Growing methods

There are three main ways:

• biennial;
• winter sowing;
• onions for one year.

The first method takes too long. First, onion sets are grown, and the next year they are used to make commercial onions. It has a significant drawback - at the intermediate stage it is important to properly store small onion sets.

If stored improperly, they will undergo changes that will affect the quality of the final harvest. There is a danger that in the second year such a bow will all go into the arrow.

The second method is to sow nigella in pre-prepared beds before winter. Plant densely - there is a chance that not all seeds will germinate.

Advice! Make the bed for winter planting raised, then in the spring it will warm up better. It will settle a little as the snow melts.

The third method is spring sowing. You can sow nigella directly into the ground in early spring, when the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up. Or sow as seedlings in a greenhouse or in containers at home. With the seedling method, an additional 1.5-2 months are gained, which may not be enough for the crop to mature when planted directly into the ground.

How to choose the right variety

If the goal is to obtain an onion harvest in one season, then the variety should be:

• early or mid-early - ripening time should not exceed 110 days when sown in the ground;
• low-bud - forming one large bulb, and not several;
• resistant to diseases - in particular, to peronosporosis (downy mildew);
• resistant to unfavorable growing conditions.

Choose the size and taste of the variety at your discretion.

The best varieties for annual cultivation

Let's consider time-tested varieties domestic and foreign selection, possessing the necessary qualities, suitable for sowing in our latitudes.

1. Shaman – elongated bulbs of red-brown color, pink inside, weighing 50-65 g, ripen early. It is better to grow through seedlings. A productive variety that easily tolerates drought and high planting densities.
2. Centaur – round bulbs of light yellow color reach a weight of 100 g when planted in the ground. Their weight can reach 200-300 g if planted as seedlings. Will keep well until spring.
3. Exhibition – golden, large bulbs grow up to 500 g. They are formed in one season, can be planted by direct sowing in the ground, without seedlings. Salad variety of Dutch selection, high-yielding. It is not stored for long, until mid-winter.
4. Red Baron – cherry-colored onions, up to 100 g, with a pungent taste. It is sown in the ground, easily tolerates any weather conditions, ripens in 110 days, and is stored well.
5. Agro winter – dense, rounded white, up to 100 g. The best variety for winter planting.
6. Karatalsky – flat-rounded onions of golden color, weighing about 100 g. Early ripening, disease-resistant, productive and well stored.
7. Siberian annual - an early variety that can be planted before winter, as it is resistant to cold.Gives a good harvest, is stored for a long time, and is resistant to bolting.

The following varieties have also proven themselves to be excellent: Myachkovsky, Strigunovsky and Odinovets.

When to collect nigella seeds

Seed collection begins when single cracked capsules appear in the umbels. Since they ripen at different times, in order not to miss a moment and not lose them, experienced gardeners advise tying the inflorescences with gauze. Or cut them at the end of flowering and leave them in a dry, well-ventilated area for several weeks to ripen.

Technology for growing onions from seeds

To obtain a bountiful harvest, adhere to the correct agricultural techniques.

When is the best time to plant

Planting dates depend on the variety and method of cultivation:

• winter plantings are carried out in the fall, two weeks before the onset of cold weather;
• seedlings are sown in late February or early March;
• spring sowing in the ground begins in mid-April.

Experienced gardeners advise focusing on the weather and the lunar calendar. Therefore, planting dates may shift in one direction or another from several days to two weeks.

Soil preparation

The planting site should be sunny, without nearby trees or shade from tall buildings. The soil can be of any composition, the main thing is to grind it thoroughly, since Onions are the most demanding crop for tillage.

Since onion roots are located superficially, it is responsive to fertilizer application. When digging up soil, add per square meter. m 3 kg of peat or 5 kg of rotted compost. You can also add 1 tbsp. l. nitrophoska and superphosphate.

Important! For onions, choose areas where they previously grew: potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, legumes, as they enrich the soil with nitrogen. And it is returned to its original place no earlier than four years later.

beds

The optimal width of the beds is 0.8-1 m, height 15-20 cm. All added components must be thoroughly mixed, the soil crushed and thoroughly leveled.

Preparation of seeds and planting material

The largest seeds are selected first. They are checked for germination, for which 10 pieces are placed on a damp cloth for two weeks. If less than seven of them hatched, this is a bad indicator. Take another batch of seeds.

Then the nigella is pickled in a weak solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect it and soaked in warm water for a day.

Before planting, seedlings are placed in a container of water to free the roots without damage. Then the roots and stems are cut by a third and planted in this form.

Landing scheme and rules

Before planting, make grooves up to 2 cm deep and compact their bottom. The distance between the furrows is about 5 cm.

Distribute the seeds evenly and sprinkle with a layer of compost or loose soil. After that, the bed is watered and covered with film until shoots appear.

Advice! Nigella merges with the ground, but you can mix the seeds with chalk and then you will notice how often they are sown.

When planting ready-made seedlings, they are evenly distributed throughout the bed with an interval of 10 cm between plants - this way there will be no need to thin out the plants in the future. When planting large varieties of onions, it is better to stick to a 25x25 cm pattern.

Care

Caring for growing onions is easy. Let's look at the main steps below.

Weeding

Growing seedlings are necessarily freed from weeds. If you don't pull out the weeds, they will choke the sprouts and prevent them from developing normally. In this case, the yield will be reduced by half.

When the seedlings reach 5-7 cm, they need to be thinned out.A total of three thinnings will be required; this is done at intervals of 2-3 weeks.

Watering

Watered onions until mid-June 1-2 times a week, depending on the weather. About a month before harvest, watering is stopped.

Top dressing

If the growth of the onion is delayed, it is spilled with a urea solution at the rate of 4 liters per square meter. m. It is prepared like this: 1 tbsp. l. fertilizer is mixed in a bucket of water.

Protection from diseases and pests

It is best to combat pests and diseases with modern drugs that are sold in specialized stores.

Harvesting

When the foliage of the onion begins to turn yellow and wither, harvest it in dry weather. It is carefully dug up and dried in the sun for about two weeks.

After harvesting, the harvest is sorted. Larger bulbs are sent for long-term storage, medium and not quite ripe ones are used for food first, and small ones (sets) are left for planting next year.

Conclusion

By following the technology and taking into account the peculiarities of growing onions from seeds, you will get an excellent result. It is important to choose the right planting method, the appropriate variety and care for the crops. Have a rich harvest!