Rules for planting onions on turnips before winter

Onions are a vegetable crop grown in all regions of our country. Many summer residents prefer to plant onions in the spring, fearing that the planting material will freeze in the winter. But experienced gardeners use planting sets before winter, noting the excellent characteristics of vegetables harvested in mid-summer.

In the article we will tell you whether it is possible to plant onions before winter, how to do it, and we will share the advice of experienced gardeners.

Advantages of autumn and winter planting onions on turnips

Winter planting of onions has a lot of advantages:

1. The ripening period of winter onions is 25-30 days less than that of those planted in spring. Vegetables are harvested as early as July.
2. In the area freed from onion plantations in mid-summer, early ripening vegetable crops, dill, parsley, and lettuce are planted.
3. The first onion shoots appear immediately after the snow melts; vitamin-rich greens are cut in early spring.
4. Winter onions, which have withstood the cold, are more resistant to diseases.
5. Onions that germinate in early spring have more time for turnips to grow.
6. Small sets are difficult to preserve until spring; they dry out during the winter. This problem is avoided by using autumn planting of seed. Small bulbs will be well preserved in the ground, they will sprout together in early spring, and a full-fledged bulb will grow from a small set.
7. Winter onions successfully resist damage from the onion fly. The insect pest becomes active in the spring.By this time, the onion is already gaining strength and growth in order to withstand the invasion of the pest, while the fragile, delicate feathers of spring plantings serve as a good breeding ground for the onion fly.
8. Having planted crops before winter, farmers devote more time to other spring work.
9. Of no small importance is the economic side of the issue. The cost of the first onion harvest is several times higher than last year's cost.

When is it better to plant onions on turnips: in autumn or spring?

Many gardeners prefer to plant crops in the fall. They note that winter onion turnips are larger in size than those grown during spring planting.

Dates of autumn and spring planting

Planting time depends on the climatic conditions of the region, so the timing varies in different areas.

The main condition for starting pre-winter planting of crops — steady decrease in temperature to +5°C. It will take at least 3 weeks for the sets to take root. Therefore, sowing work is completed a month before stable frosts.

Onions planted ahead of schedule can germinate in the fall. If you delay planting, the bulbs will not have time to take root and will die.

In the Central regions vegetables are planted before the end of October; in Siberia and the Urals, planting work is completed in the middle of the month. In the southern regions, the crop is planted in mid-November.

Spring planting of sets is carried out at the end of April - beginning of May. Wait until the threat of night frosts disappears, the soil warms up to +12°C...+13°C.

What varieties are suitable for such planting?

For growing winter onions choose varieties:

• with high frost resistance;
• strong immunity to diseases;
• resistance to the formation of arrows.

The best winter varieties are considered:

1. Arzamas - mid-season cold-resistant variety. Suitable for cultivation in the Urals and Siberia. It is characterized by a very pungent taste and high keeping quality. Often affected by downy mildew and onion fly.
2. Ellan - early ripening variety. Greens for feathers are received already in April. The seedlings tolerate temperatures well down to -2°C. It is characterized by excellent germination of seed material - 85-90%. The main advantage of the variety is the growth of turnips in short daylight conditions.
3. Radar - frost-resistant variety. With a high layer of snow cover, it can withstand temperatures down to -22°C, in the absence of snow - down to -15°C. The variety is not prone to bolting. It is highly resistant to diseases and damage by insect pests. Characterized by large turnips weighing 130-200 g.
4. Senshui - early ripening variety. The feathers are harvested in early spring. It tolerates long-term temperature drops down to -5°C and short-term temperatures down to -20°C. It is characterized by high yield and resistance to bolting.
5. Strigunovsky - an early ripening variety that produces high yields in the northern regions. Easily tolerates temperature changes. The variety is small-growing, grows 2 heads from 1 set. Characterized by excellent ripening of turnips - 70-98%
6. Shakespeare - early ripening frost-resistant variety. Thanks to its dense, hard peel, it can withstand temperatures as low as -18°C without snow cover. The variety is resistant to bolting and crop diseases. Weakly resists onion fly damage. It has a short shelf life - up to 6 months.

For winter cultivation they prefer varietiesripening in short daylight conditions (10-12 hours).

It is believed that before winter it is better to plant varieties with a sharp taste. Sweet onions do not tolerate frost well; it is best to grow them in the southern regions.

Preparation of seed material

Before winter planting, seed carefully prepare. First, good bulbs are selected, discarding damaged and diseased ones. Then calibration is carried out to obtain friendly shoots.

Unlike spring preparation, the necks of the sets are not cut off before winter sowing., planting material is not soaked or germinated. Wet seedlings will freeze immediately at the first frost.

How to prepare the onions

After removing unusable instances calibrate planting material, arranging the onions into 3 piles depending on size.

First, bulbs with a diameter of up to 1 cm are selected. — wild oats, they are grown for turnips. In the second they put the sets - bulbs with a diameter of 1-2 cm. It is grown for feathers and turnips. Heads with a diameter of 2-3 cm are used to obtain early greens.

Reference! The larger the size of the planting material, the more powerful the feather grows.

Onions selected for winter planting are disinfected. To do this, the seed is soaked for 15-20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate, after which it must be dried for at least 24 hours.

Since soaking in a disinfecting solution can provoke feather growth immediately after planting, apply heating of planting material. This method inhibits premature germination of vegetables. To do this, immediately before planting, they are immersed in hot water at a temperature of 80°C for 2-3 seconds.

Soil preparation

For planting crops choose a well-lit area. It should not be located in a lowland; when the snow melts, moisture will stagnate in such places, which will have a detrimental effect on the crop.

The soil in the beds should be loose and fertile. The culture responds well to well-drained, loamy soils. It grows poorly on heavy, clay soils and yields will be low. If the site has soil with high acidity levels, dolomite flour and charcoal are added to it when digging.

A week before landing When sowing, the soil is dug up with humus (5 l/m²) and ammophosphate (20 g/m²).

Reference! When planting before winter, fresh manure is not used.

Predecessors

When planting onions, it is important to observe crop rotation rules. The best predecessors - potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin, legumes. It is not recommended to plant the crop after garlic, sunflower, corn, and parsley.

Re-planting of onions is allowed in the second year., but after that it is not recommended to plant it in this area for 3-4 years.

How to plant onions on turnips before winter: diagram and planting rules

For planting onions in autumn and spring, the same schemes are used.

Oatmeal planted to a depth of no more than 3 cm. Seeds embedded in the ground at a distance of 5-6 cm if the crop is grown for feathers, and after 9-10 cm to obtain a turnip.

Between the beds leave a row spacing of 23-28 cm. The seedlings are placed vertically in the grooves, covered with a layer of soil, and lightly pressed. The beds are leveled, smoothing out the depressions so that water does not stagnate in these places.

The crop is planted in dry weather. The soil should be slightly moist, not wet. When planting, make sure that the neck of the bulbs does not rise above ground level. There should be a layer of soil above the set of at least 1.5-2 cm.

Attention! When planting in winter, the beds with onions are not watered.

Features of cultivation and care

In winter, onion plantings do not require special care, except for shelter. Onions planted in autumn are not watered, as the rainy season begins at this time. This allows the seedlings to take root well before frost. In winter, the crop is dormant. Caring for the beds begins with the onset of spring.

Important! In the spring, remove the mulch in time to ensure access to sunlight for the onion plantings. Fine mulch is left and the soil is saturated with it while loosening.

Loosening and thinning

After each precipitation and after watering, the soil is loosened. This prevents the formation of a soil crust and provides air access to the onion roots.

During loosening, weeds that interfere with the full growth of turnips are removed. As the seedlings grow, the thickened onion plantings are thinned. Removed shoots serve as an excellent addition to vitamin salads.

Top dressing

In the spring, after the snow melts, remove the layer of mulch from the beds and carry out the first fertilizing wood ash, sprinkling it on the beds at the rate of 15 g/m². During the growth of feathers, the formation of a turnip begins. During this period, fertilizing is carried out with chicken droppings. To prepare the solution, mix it with water in a ratio of 1:20 and leave for 10-14 days. The resulting composition is diluted in a ratio of 1:20 and applied at the root. After this, water it with clean water.

Organic matter is alternated with mineral fertilizers, using a solution of ammophosphate (20-25 g/m²) or urea (15 g/m²), superphosphate (30 g/m²). During the growth of turnips, potassium sulfate (15-20 g/m²) is used.

Watering

If there was heavy precipitation in the form of snow during the winter, in the spring you can take your time with watering to prevent excessive soil moisture.They are also laid during rainy weather in the spring. As the weather gets warmer, the onion beds are watered once a week. During the dry period, the frequency of watering is increased to 2 times a week.

Attention! From mid-May to mid-June, onions need abundant watering.

Protection from pests and diseases

Onion plantings are affected by various pests and diseases:

1. Onion fly - especially prefers young shoots. Lays eggs between the scales of the onion neck. The drug “Zemlin”, which is scattered on the surface of the soil, fights insects well.
2. Onion moth - eats away the flesh of feathers. They fight it with a solution of ammonia: 30 ml/10 l of water. Infusions of tansy, wormwood, and tomato tops are also effective.
3. Onion weevil - completely eats the green mass. To repel it, treatment with wood ash and tobacco is used.
4. May appear on onion feathers powdery mildew. Its appearance is promoted by thickened plantings and waterlogging of beds. When growing crops for turnips, it is allowed to treat the green mass with “Topaz” and 1% copper sulfate. When loosening the soil, crushed chalk and ash are scattered over the soil surface.
5. Rust - Appears as rusty-brown fluffy growths on the feathers. To prevent the disease, the soil is treated with a rich pink solution of potassium permanganate before planting.
6. Fusarium (bottom rot) - feathers turn yellow and dry out. Turnips stop growing, the roots and bottoms turn black, and the scales secrete mucus. For prevention, seedlings are treated with a solution of “Fundazol”. 2 times a month, watering is carried out with solutions of biofungicides “Trichodermin”, “Maxim”, “Previkur”.

Do I need to cover the plantings for the winter?

To avoid freezing of the seedlings during severe frosts, the beds are covered with a layer of mulch, consisting of sawdust, pine needles, peat. In the northern regions, to strengthen the cover, a layer of straw and spruce branches is laid on top of the mulch.

This is especially important in the absence of snow cover, which protects the beds from freezing. If there is snow, a snow floor is specially created over the beds. In the southern regions, additional shelter is not required.

Important! It is not recommended to cover onion plantings long before the onset of frost. Early insulation will provoke the premature appearance of young feathers.

What problems may arise when growing

Considering the possible freezing of the bulbs during severe soil freezing, increase the amount of seed by 20%.

Some gardeners, in order to avoid freezing of the seedlings, deeply bury the bulbs when planting. This leads to a delay in the emergence of seedlings, since it is difficult for tender sprouts to break through a thick layer of soil.

Many summer residents, fearing the early formation of feathers before the onset of frost, plant seedlings at the end of November. Late-planted small bulbs do not have time to take root until the soil freezes and die.

Beds that are not covered with mulch for the winter quickly freeze. Frequent, abundant watering leads to rotting of onion heads.

If the beds are located in dark places, the turnips will grow small.

Tips and tricks from experienced gardeners

Experienced gardeners advise:

1. Before planting, dip the bulbs for 3 seconds in water heated to +90°C. This will reduce the risk of fungal infections and protect the plantings from the formation of shoots.
2. With the onset of spring, remove the mulch from the beds as early as possible and begin the first fertilizing.
3. Place or plant wormwood and tansy between the beds. The smell of these plants repels insect pests.

Conclusion

Planting onions on turnips before winter differs slightly from planting crops in spring. If you follow the technology of growing the crop, you can get a large harvest of onions 2 weeks earlier than when planting sets in spring.

There is nothing complicated in growing winter onions; the main thing is to pay attention to the proper preparation of planting material.