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Fresh aromatic herbs that grow in the kitchen are the dream of any housewife. And the delicate feathers of onions, grown from seeds on the windowsill, are suitable for many dishes. A large harvest is unlikely to be achieved, but greens at hand are always guaranteed.
Features of the plant
Onions from their ancestral home in East Asia have spread throughout the world. The plant is popular because of its mild taste, which is not as sharp and harsh as that of onions. Cultivated for greenery, possible options planting onions on the window.
This plant is extremely bushy. From one small bulb, which never develops into a large one, grows from 15 to 30-40 hollow leaves. The feathers of the onion grow gradually, forming a lush bush over time. The leaves are not kept for a long time, especially when the onion grows at home on the windowsill. They must be cut off if they reach 15 cm or more. The bulb will produce new leaves, and thus provide fresh greens, albeit a small portion.
The leaves of the plant are rich in vitamin C, as well as A, B1, IN2 and PP. Onion greens will provide phytoncides and essential oils. Contains mineral salts of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron.
In Southeast Asia, the natural habitat of onions, it is recommended for use as an antiseptic. The tonic properties of the plant are used during the treatment of skin diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and fever.
When wondering how to grow spring onions on a windowsill, you can find two ways.
- In the fall, replant the onion bush from the garden;
- You can grow spring onions from seeds on a sunny windowsill.
To grow onions in the window, choose bushes that have been growing for two to three years. Take separate spacious pots for one plant or containers for three or four onion bushes. Containers are selected taking into account that they can contain an undestroyed earthen lump with onion roots.
Winter greens from an old onion bush
Having planted an onion bush from the garden into a pot in the kitchen, within a month you can taste the greens. When growing onions on a windowsill, having created the necessary conditions for it, you need to make sure that the onion does not throw out the peduncle. This is possible if an old bush from the garden was taken for greenery.
- A layer of drainage materials made of ceramics, packaging foam, perlite 0.5-1 cm high is placed at the bottom;
- In September or October, before frost, they dig up the onion bush that grew in the garden bed;
- If necessary, add soil to the container, compacting it well so that the root ball retains its integrity;
- The distance between bushes in a large container should be kept to 10-15 cm, so that the roots have their own territory for feeding;
- Place the container with onions in a warm place - at least 18-22 degrees, provide air humidity of up to 80%;
- An important condition for the problem of how to plant onions on a windowsill is long daylight hours. In November and December, plants must be illuminated for at least 4 hours.
If these conditions are met, they answer the question in the affirmative whether it is possible to grow spring onions on a windowsill.
Growing onions from seeds
If it is not possible to take an onion bush for planting in an apartment, everyone can solve the simple task of planting an onion with seeds on a windowsill. Onions are sown in March and April and cared for in the summer. If you have a balcony, this is an excellent option for a convenient place for onion shoots. The sprouts will get stronger over time, and by autumn the greens are already cut off. The bulbs are left in containers and fertilizers are added to the soil. The growth cycle repeats. One bulb can grow in a pot for two years. But in the spring it is better to change the soil to fresh one.
It is easier to grow onions on a windowsill if the window faces east, south or west. In conditions of northern windows, the experiment will most likely fail, because onions are light-loving.
Soil preparation
To grow spring onions at home on the windowsill, you can take any substrate: from coconut fiber enriched with vermicompost to ordinary garden soil. There are several conditions for selecting soil:
- High nutritional value;
- Weak or neutral acidity;
- Only one part of sand or peat can be allowed in the soil composition;
- The best soils are loamy and sandy loam.
Garden soil is steamed for half an hour in a water bath or watered with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. Humus is added to it or enriched with humate fertilizers in accordance with the instructions. You can mix garden soil with store-bought soil.The soil should not be cold, but at room temperature.
Seed treatment
Onion on the windowsill will be strong if its cultivation begins by soaking the seeds. Pre-sowing treatment involves more than one action.
Seeds are disinfected for 30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
Then the onion seeds are soaked in warm water for 8-10 hours, changing the water twice. This procedure is done to speed up the germination of seeds in the soil;
Now the seeds need to be carefully dried; they are sown dry.
Sprout care
Onion seeds are deepened into the soil by 1.5-2 cm, the container is covered with film and kept in a warm place until germination. When sprouts appear, the container is placed where the temperature will not rise above 18 degrees. It is kept in such conditions for a month. Strong onion plants can be placed in a warmer place - up to 23 degrees. Young onions are not placed in a warm place so that they do not stretch out.
- Daylight hours for onions should last at least 12 hours. In March, the sprouts need to be illuminated with phytolamps. Conventional incandescent lamps are not suitable for this purpose. Their spectrum does not provide any benefit to plants.
- Water the onion sprouts with warm water, in moderation. In spring, when the sun quickly dries out the soil in pots, you need to water more.
- High humidity - up to 70-80% is maintained if 2-3 open bowls with water are placed next to the container with onions;
- The soil is mulched with coarse sand or crushed bark.
If you have a balcony, you should transplant the onion into separate pots and take it out into the air.On the balcony, the plants will be stronger and juicier, as will the color of the leaves.
Feeding homemade greens
Both in the garden bed and on the windowsills, spring onions need to be fed for high-quality greens.
- Complex mineral fertilizers help. They are used after carefully studying the instructions;
- Fertilizing in the form of solutions is carried out twice for each summer month;
- They also buy vermicompost, which they sprinkle on the soil in containers once a month.
You can prepare an infusion of herbs. This will be a good organic fertilizer. Soak 120 g of any herb in 3 liters of water. The container is tightly closed. After three days, pour the infusion over the onion.
Collection of greens
They begin to harvest a small harvest of green onions in the summer, when the leaves grow to 15-20 cm. Take one or two feathers from each bush. In autumn, the greenery is completely cut off. If there is a lot of it, put it in plastic bags in the refrigerator.
The spring onion will continue to grow on the windowsill in winter. During this period, it is provided with a temperature of 18 degrees and moderate watering without fertilizing. From February, the greenery will begin to actively develop, so the plants will need fertilizer.
A little care will give you the joy of green sprouts and then a delicacy for your salads.
