A step-by-step guide to growing onions from seeds in one season without the hassle.

Onions are grown not only from sets, but also from seeds seedling method or direct sowing in the ground. This is not the most popular method among gardeners, as it does not always bring the expected result. If you choose the right varieties and follow the rules of agricultural technology, a rich harvest will be ensured.

Growing onions from seeds in one season

Grow onions in an annual crop is a completely realistic task if you have the time and basic skills in agricultural work. A prerequisite for obtaining quality products is a dry, warm autumn.. Only ripe and dry heads will be stored until the end of winter.

What varieties are suitable

Not all are suitable for seed cultivation varieties. When choosing them are guided by such indicators:

1. The ripening period is an advantage for early ripening varieties, whose growing season lasts 90–100 days.
2. Recommended zoning.
3. Keeping quality if you plan to store it for the winter.
4. Size: small specimens are considered to be up to 50 g, medium – from 120 g, large – up to 400 g and above. The latter last longer.
5. Few buds produce 1-2 bulbs, multibuds form a nest of several heads and a lot of green mass.

The most popular varieties of Russian and foreign selection:

1. Exhibition — Dutch medium-late, large onions, 500–600 g each. Thanks to their juicy, sweetish taste, the vegetables are ideal for adding to salads. The harvest is stored for 3-4 months.The culture is resistant to most diseases and adapts to the weather conditions of any region.
2. Red Baron - produces bright purple heads weighing up to 120 g. The taste is semi-sharp, sweetish. The plant is resistant to pathogens. Suitable for the Central, Volga-Vyatka, Central Black Earth, North Caucasus and Ural regions.
3. Siberian annual - an early-ripening universal variety, as it is grown for turnips and feathers, with two and four buds. Tolerates the cold climate of the Urals and Siberia, suitable for storage. The average weight of the bulbs is 40–50 g. The vegetables do not shoot.
4. Shaman — produces early ripening oblong bulbs of 50–90 g. Suitable for compacted plantings, withstands drought. Vegetables are white with a reddish tint and do not last long.
5. Centaur - mid-season variety. Dense heads weighing 60–90 g, semi-sharp, suitable for storage. The plant is unpretentious, disease-resistant, suitable for the Volga-Vyatka and North Caucasus regions.
6. Farmer - an early variety for universal use. Zoned for the Central region, undemanding in care. The bulbs have a sharp taste, average weight - 80–110 g. The harvest is stored until spring.

Hybrids

Hybrid seeds are more expensive, but the price is justified by high yields and minimal labor costs. The most popular plants:

1. Albion F1 — produces white, slightly sharp bulbs weighing 70–100 g. Mid-season, tolerates short frosts and drought, the crop is stored until winter.
2. Daytona F1 - mid-season and drought-resistant hybrid, suitable for storage. Not susceptible to pink rot and fusarium. Turnips are round, weighing 50–100 g, and produce a lot of greenery.
3. Copra F1 - a highly productive early hybrid, the harvest is stored until the next season. The average weight of the bulbs is 30–40 g, the taste is semi-sharp.The crop is recommended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth and Far Eastern regions.
4. Sangro F1 - late-ripening high-yielding (274–300 c/ha) hybrid. Resistant to disease and drought. The bulbs weigh 60–150 g, and a large green mass grows.

Preparing and germinating seeds

Growing onions in seedlings will allow you to get an early harvest. Before sowing, seeds are checked for germination. To do this, 15–20 pieces are wrapped in a damp cloth for 12 days, placed in a warm place and periodically moistened. If there are few seedlings, sow thickly.

Raw materials not treated by the manufacturer are disinfected 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes. Then rinse and soak overnight in warm water.

Important! Although germination persists for 2-3 years, it is better to take material from last season.

Old seeds are activated in a growth stimulator solution or aloe (1 tbsp juice per 1 tbsp water).

Preparing containers and soil

Seedling boxes, cassettes and other suitable low containers are prepared for sowing. Seedlings are not picked into separate pots.

Use ready-made soil or make a mixture from equal parts of turf soil, peat and humus. To disinfect, pour boiling water over it.

Sowing

Pour 6-7 cm of soil into the prepared container, lightly compact it and water it. Make grooves 1 cm deep at a distance of 5 cm. Seeds are laid out with tweezers at intervals of 1–3 cm and sprinkled with dry soil.

They moisten it with a sprayer, cover it with a film in which several holes are made, and place it in a dark corner with a temperature of +18...+25°C.

Seedling care

When the first shoots appear, the shelter is removed and the plants are fed with nitrogen fertilizer.. In order for the onion to form a turnip, it is moved to a cooler and brighter place (+15...+17°C).

Seedlings 7–10 days old are thinned out, leaving a gap of 2–3 cm. The soil is kept constantly moist, but not overwatered. Once every 15 days, plants are fed with complex fertilizer for seedlings. A solution of chicken manure in a ratio of 1:10 perfectly stimulates growth.

Advice! To prevent the onion from stretching and thinning, provide additional lighting with phytolamps. Daylight hours are extended to 11–13 hours.

2 weeks before planting in the garden, the seedlings are taken out into the open air for hardening.. At first, keep it for no more than 10–15 minutes, then gradually increase the time to the whole day.

Landing in the ground

After 2 months, the onions are ready for transplanting. If you do this earlier or later, the plants will not take root well.

The bed is dug up with the preliminary application of compost and complex mineral fertilizer. The surface is carefully loosened, furrows are made with a depth of 3 cm and a distance between rows of 3–50 cm.

Landing technology:

1. Seedlings are selected with a height of 13–16 cm, strong, well developed with 3-4 true leaves.
2. The seedlings are removed in bunches and placed in water to wash away the soil.
3. The roots are cut by 2 cm, and the leaves by 1/3.
4. Plants are planted in pre-watered rows at intervals of 5–7 cm (depending on the size of the future turnip). Deepen into the ground 2-3 cm.
5. The plantings are compacted so that there are no voids left.
6. Mulch with fine compost.

After 3 days, the first watering is carried out. Row spacing is loosened as needed.

Seedless growing method

Direct sowing in open ground begins after the snow has completely melted. The beds are made 80–90 cm wide and 13–15 cm high, dug with the addition of organic matter and urea.

Growing stages:

1. The seeds are pre-soaked for a day in warm water or a growth stimulant and dried until free-flowing.
2. Make grooves similar to the seedling method and water with warm water.
3. Sow at a distance of 2-3 cm, cover with soil and pat on top.
4. Mulch with a 3-5 cm layer of compost, cover with film or lutrasil.

The first shoots appear on the 10th–12th day.

Further care

Weak plants are removed as they develop and used as table greens. Thinning is combined with weeding and shallow loosening.

Water once a week with water from the tank, per 1 m² 7–10 l is enough. In dry, hot weather, the frequency is increased up to 3 times. A month before harvesting, watering is reduced, and 2 weeks - completely eliminated. This promotes the ripening of the bulbs and the accumulation of dry matter.

During the growing season, several feedings are carried out:

• for the first time, add a solution of bird droppings or mullein in a ratio of 1:10, urea or nitrophoska;
• in the middle of the season use complex fertilizer;
• at the end of summer, nutritious watering is done with a phosphorus-potassium composition.

By the time the bulbs begin to ripen, nitrogen fertilizing is eliminated., otherwise growth will slow down to the detriment of quality.

Possible problems, diseases, pests

In prolonged damp weather and temperatures below +12°C favorable conditions arise for the development of diseases and pests. The most common include powdery mildew, neck and bottom rot, fusarium and stem nematode.

For prevention, monitor the watering regime, thin out thickened plantings and destroy affected plants. Pathogens are suppressed with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture.

For extensive lesions, plants are sprayed “Fundazol”, “Fitosporin” or “Gamair” according to the instructions.

Growing in a greenhouse

Optimal conditions for crop growth in greenhouses:

• uniform and sufficient lighting;
• presence of vents for ventilation;
• well-established irrigation system;
• stable temperature up to +15°C.

Harvest and storage

A signal of maturation is mass lodging and yellowing of feathers.. As a rule, this time falls at the end of July-beginning of August.

On a dry, warm day, pull out the onion with your hands or dig it out with a pitchfork.. The harvest is laid out in one layer under a canopy for several days to dry. Unripe specimens are kept in the sun for 2-3 weeks.

After this, the feathers are trimmed so that a tail of 3–5 cm remains. The heads are carefully sorted, sick and damaged ones are sorted out. Small ones are suitable for winter sowing.

Store the harvest in boxes, fabric bags or braided hair. At home, the optimal temperature for onions is +18°C in a dark place. In the basement, spicy varieties are stored at 0...3°C, sweet and semi-sharp ones - at 0-...+1°C.

Advantages and disadvantages of annual cultivation

Main advantages:

• benefit - seeds are much cheaper and provide a lot of planting material;
• possibility of growing in northern regions with short summers;
• annual harvest at the end of the season;
• no shooting occurs;
• simple preparation of seeds for sowing;
• saving space on the site.

Flaws:

• cultivation is more labor-intensive;
• with the seedless method, you have to fight a lot of weeds and thin out the seedlings;
• the number of suitable varieties and hybrids is limited.

Early and mid-late varieties are suitable for southern regions. Onions can be grown in any way, including winter and early spring sowing. In middle and northern latitudes, annual crops are obtained only by seedlings.

Growing leeks per season

Leeks are grown seedlings or sowing in the ground. When choosing a variety, they are guided by climatic requirements, since the growing season of the crop is 150 days or more.

Direct sowing in the garden is used in the southern regions, where there is no danger of early frosts. With the seedling method, the seeds are planted from the end of February, but the seedlings are planted in separate pots. They care for plants, just like onions.

Plant leeks in rows 15 cm deep with a distance of 20 cm from each other. When the stem is compacted, hilling is carried out. In total, 3–5 such manipulations are made during the season, which contribute to the formation of the bulb on the stem.

The harvest is stored in the basement, in wet sand.

Growing shallots

Shallots are similar in properties to onions, but It is distinguished by small bulbs and strong branching. Cultivate it mainly for greens.

To obtain products in one season, the seedling method is used.. At the end of winter, the seeds are planted in boxes with coarse soil.

Important! Be sure to fertilize the seedlings with organic-mineral fertilizer.

When 3-4 leaves are formed, the onions are planted in beds. A gap of 12–15 cm is maintained between plants, rows are spaced at intervals of 20 cm.

Harvest in the second half of July, when the leaves begin to dry out.. The nests are divided into heads, the roots and stem are cut off, and dried. In a cellar or apartment, shallots are stored in mesh bags in a cool, dark place. A convenient way to use bulbs and herbs for a long time is freezing.

Conclusion

Growing onions in one season has a number of undeniable advantages. The method is profitable and is successful in regions with short summers.The correct selection of varieties or hybrids and early sowing of seedlings is the basis for a future full harvest and storage duration.