What to soak onions in before planting before winter, and is it necessary to do it?

Planting onions before winter is appreciated by many gardeners - it ensures an early harvest. To protect crops in winter, and with the onset of spring, from damage by fungal infections and insect pests, planting material should be properly prepared in the fall.

We will tell you in the article whether it is necessary to soak onions before planting before winter and how to process the sets.

Which onions are suitable for planting before winter

For winter planting of crops, the following varieties are chosen:

• having high frost resistance;
• resistant to arrow formation;
• capable of growing in short daylight conditions;
• having immunity to diseases.

When choosing a bow for winter planting take into account recommendations for zoning of each variety. Heat-loving varieties are not suitable for cultivation in northern regions.

Advice. It is better to use sets that were grown from seeds in the same area. Such planting material will not require a period of adaptation to climatic conditions.

Preparing onions for planting in the fall

at Only healthy bulbs are selected. The set must be dry, clean and undamaged. Soft, sprouted, rotten specimens are discarded.

Sorting

The crumbling dry husks of the selected planting material are removed and the dried tops are shortened.

Next, the bulbs are calibrated. For planting, select heads whose size does not exceed 1.5 cm.From such a set a high-quality turnip will grow.

Heads with a diameter of 2-3 cm are planted to obtain green feathers in early spring.

The larger the planting material, the more powerful the greens will be and the greater the likelihood that such onions will form arrows with seeds.

Do I need to soak winter onions before planting in the fall?

To obtain a high-quality onion harvest in a timely manner, gardeners practice soaking. Soaking onions before planting in the fall is necessary to disinfect the heads from infections and fungal infections.

Attention! Prolonged exposure to solutions leads to oversaturation of the bulbs with moisture; in cold soil, this provokes freezing of the heads.

Soaking does not last long and is carried out on the day the seeds are planted in open ground.

Why soak onions before planting?

Soaking is carried out for the purpose of preventing diseases, destroying pest larvae between the layers of the skin of the heads, preventing bolting, increasing the percentage of germination, improving the quality and quantity of the crop.

For good growth

To obtain vigorous shoots in early spring, the seed is prepared in the fall. Heat treatment of seedlings is needed in order to “wake up” the vital processes of the planting material, for better development of the root system before the onset of frost. A good effect is obtained by immersing the seeds for 8-9 hours in a container of water, in which the temperature is maintained at +40°C.

You can also use a quick awakening by alternating immersion in hot and cold water. First, the seedlings are kept for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of +45...+50°C, then immersed in cold water for 10 minutes.

As a preventive measure against diseases and pests

Since the seedlings planted in the fall will experience oversaturation with moisture during the autumn rains and heavy snowfalls, the bulbs may be susceptible to fungal infections.

To prevent fungal diseases and the appearance of insect pests, with the onset of spring, planting material is disinfected. This will help get rid of pathogenic bacteria and insect larvae located between the scales of the bulbs.

To protect against shooting

The formation of an arrow on which seeds appear after flowering is an undesirable process. Flowering arrows take away the nutrients necessary for the formation and growth of onion heads.

To prevent bolting, onions are heated in hot water before winter planting. To do this, use slow heating or dip for 30 seconds in hot water heated to +60°C.

What and how to soak correctly

For soaking seedlings before winter planting, there are various compositions prepared from biological products and folk remedies. We'll tell you how to soak onions and what proportions of solutions to use.

In a solution of salt and water

The cheapest and most accessible method is treatment with a solution of table salt. The saline solution inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria, prevents the appearance of onion nematodes, mites, and thrips.

To prepare a saline solution, use 10 g of table salt and 1 liter of water heated to +45°C. The seedlings are placed in the solution and kept in it for 15-20 minutes.

Warm saline solution has a dual effect: it disinfects and prevents the formation of shoots.

Soaking in a solution of potassium permanganate

Potassium permanganate solution has many properties:

• has an antiseptic effect;
• protects the seedlings from wintering insect pests;
• prevents fungal diseases;
• accelerates the rooting of seedlings.

To prepare a solution, 1 g of the substance is dissolved in 1 liter of warm water. The planting material is kept in this solution for 30-40 minutes.

Attention! Treatment in a solution of potassium permanganate is carried out before planting the sets. Treated onions are not washed with water or dried.

In a solution of copper sulfate

Copper sulfate is used as a pesticide to treat bulbs against parasites and pathogenic fungi overwintering in the soil. A solution of copper sulfate has disinfectant and antiseptic properties and is used to prevent various rots of onions.

To prepare a solution, 25-30 g of the drug are diluted in 10 liters of warm water. The seedlings are immersed in the solution for 2.5-3 hours, dried and planted in the beds.

In soda solution

The most popular method is treatment with soda solution. Soda has antiseptic properties. This procedure allows you to prevent damage to stem and root rot, downy mildew, and bacteriosis. To soak the seeds, prepare a solution of 25 g of soda and 5 liters of water, heat it to 45°C and keep the seeds in it for 20-30 minutes.

With tar

One of the effective folk remedies for soaking seedlings before planting is a solution of birch tar. It has an antiseptic effect, prevents the appearance of pathogenic microbes, putrefactive bacteria, onion flies and other crop pests, does not cause addiction to them and provides long-term protection.

Important! Before processing in the solution, the bulbs are heated at a temperature of +35…+37°C.

To prepare the solution 1 tbsp. l. birch tar is diluted in 1 liter of warm water.The onions, previously cleared of old husks, are placed in the solution for 2.5-3 hours, stirring occasionally so that each head is evenly soaked.

In hot water for heat treatment

To be sure of the purity of the planting material, to protect the sets from nematodes, insect larvae and putrefactive bacteria, it is necessary to warm up the onion sets before planting in the fall. To do this, the bulbs are immersed for 10-15 seconds in water heated to 80°C. During this time, the bacteria, eggs and larvae of pests located between the onion scales will die, and the onion itself will not have time to warm up much.

Soaking the seeds in hot water increases the germination percentage. Heat treatment in hot water will prevent the bulbs from sprouting before frost.

Preparations for disinfecting onions

To disinfect the bulbs, use the drug “Fitosporin”.

Reference. "Fitosporin" is a microbiological preparation of systemic action aimed at destroying fungal and bacterial infections. Live bacteria in its composition, during their life activity, inhibit and block the reproduction and growth of pathogenic bacteria and pathogenic fungi.

Soaking in a solution of “Fitosporin” helps prevent the development of bacteriosis, downy mildew, and various types of rot.

The drug in the form of a powder or paste is pre-soaked for 2 hours in water to awaken living bacteria.

Attention! To prepare the solution, it is not allowed to use chlorinated tap water - it will lead to the death of living bacteria.

The powder is dissolved in water in a proportion of 10 g per 0.5 l of water. To prepare a solution from the paste, first prepare a concentrate: 100 g of paste is diluted in 0.2 liters of water. Then 30 ml of concentrate is mixed with 200 ml of water.

Liquid “Fitosporin” is diluted at the rate of 5 drops per 100 ml of water. The seedlings are soaked in the prepared solution for 2 hours before planting.

The solution with soaked bulbs is kept in a dark place. When exposed to sunlight, living bacteria die.

Landing Features

Planting of crops before winter is carried out immediately after a stable drop in air temperature to +5°C has been established. It is impossible to delay the planting time, since the seedlings will not have time to take root before the onset of frost. Seeds planted earlier than recommended may germinate before winter.

Soil preparation

To grow the crop, choose areas with fertile, well-drained soil. Loamy, neutral soils are best suited. The site should be well lit by the sun and not be in a lowland, where there will be constant stagnation of moisture.

The area is cleared of plant residues and 10 days after planting, it is dug up deeply with the addition of humus (5 l/m²) and superphosphate (30 g/m²).

Technology for planting winter onions

Dry weather is chosen for planting onions. Furrows with a depth of 2.5-3 cm are made on the site. A distance of 25-28 cm is left between the beds. When growing seedlings for green mass, the bulbs are placed at a distance of 5-6 cm.

If it is necessary to grow a turnip, the distance is increased to 8-10 cm. The heads are placed vertically in grooves, sprinkled with soil, tamping down a little.

Attention! When planting crops before winter, the beds are not watered.

Care

Onions planted in autumn do not require watering, since the soil will not dry out during the rainy season. The beds are covered layer of mulch. During the winter, the onion plantings will remain dormant. Care for the crop is necessary with the onset of spring.In early spring, the mulch is removed so that the beds begin to warm up from the sun.

When the top layer of soil dries out, watering is carried out. After them, the soil is loosened to improve root aeration. Simultaneously with loosening, weeds are removed, taking nutrients from the soil. Thin out onion seedlings as necessary.

The first fertilizing with wood ash is carried out after removing the mulch from the beds. During active growth of green mass, fertilizing with a solution of chicken manure is used. During the period of turnip formation, urea (20 g/m²) and superphosphate (30 g/m²) are added to the soil. The third fertilizing is carried out by adding potassium nitrate (20 g/m²) to the soil.

Watering is carried out once a week. When dry weather sets in, the crop is watered every 3 days.

Tips and tricks for soaking onions before planting

Experienced gardeners recommend:

1. To reduce the period of growth of the root system, the seed material is soaked for 20-30 minutes in solutions of root formation stimulants “Zircon” and “Kornevin”.
2. After soaking in disinfecting solutions, the seedlings are dried. Placed in soil, wet planting material will begin to rot.
3. To ensure that the disinfectant composition penetrates well through all the scales, a small incision is made on the top of the neck of the onion.
4. To disinfect the bulbs, before planting, they are kept for 2-3 hours in a solution of wood ash.

Conclusion

Planting onions in winter ensures an earlier harvest. But to improve its quality, it is recommended to soak the planting material in various disinfecting compounds. This will prevent the development of diseases and damage by onion pests. Heat treatment will ensure a healthy and high-quality harvest.