The benefits of green onions are difficult to overestimate. Sometimes those who don’t like this type of greenery also look at it. And for good reason. During the demi-season lack of vitamins in the body, it replenishes the missing elements, increasing resistance to diseases such as ARVI and influenza. And now, when prices are at greenery are growing inexorably, the problem of saving the family budget comes to the fore. If for experienced housewives growing greens does not cause any particular difficulties, then young and inexperienced housewives may be stumped by questions about how to grow green onions at home, save money and get an environmentally friendly product.
There is nothing complicated in the process of growing green onions at home. All you need is desire. And available materials and devices can always be found in any kitchen.
Methods of growing onions
Before planting onions on greens at home, you should familiarize yourself with the methods and rules of planting and choose the most optimal option.
There are two ways to grow green onions at home:
- Forcing in water;
- Planting onions in the ground.
Both methods have long won their supporters and are popular.Each housewife chooses the one that suits her best, focusing on the illumination of the window sills, temperature and humidity, as well as the size of the free space.
Forcing onions in water
In this case, any onion is suitable for growing. Even store-bought bulbs are guaranteed to produce a good harvest after 3 weeks, and you can pamper your household with pies with green onions and eggs or prepare a vitamin salad.
But it also has one drawback - after a few days without proper care, the onion begins to rot. An unpleasant, putrid smell and midges appear. To prevent this from happening, you need to monitor the condition of the water in containers with onions and change it regularly.
Rules for growing green onions in water
For growing onions at home, it is best to take those bulbs that have already begun to sprout. Additionally, you will need a container of water. For this purpose, you can pick up anything: glass jars, plastic buckets or mayonnaise/sour cream glasses, and even egg containers.
Water for growing green onions should be filtered or settled. The water temperature should be close to room temperature.
Only healthy bulbs without signs of rot or damage are suitable for forcing onions at home.
Before forcing, it is advisable to treat the onion heads in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes. This will protect them from rotting. Rinse them well under running water, especially the bottom. And the top, if the onion is not sprouted, needs to be cut off by 0.5-0.7 cm.
Place the prepared onions tightly into the container.The main thing is that they do not roll around, but “sit” tightly and are strictly in an upright position.
Add enough water to the container to cover the planting material by a quarter. As they decrease, add the required amount of liquid to the container until the bulbs have sufficiently long and strong roots.
Subsequently, the liquid level in containers with onions must be significantly reduced. There should be a small air cushion between the onion and the water, but at the same time the roots of the onion should freely reach the life-giving moisture. In this condition, it is necessary to maintain the planting until the end.
At first, the bulbs do not require bright light and heat. Therefore, it is advisable to place the container with onions in a dark, cool place until the first green feathers appear. As soon as signs of feather growth appear, move the containers with onions to a bright and fairly warm place. Green onions grow best at home at a temperature of +25˚С +27˚С.
How can you grow green onions at home if there is not enough sunlight for the plantings? In this case, you can provide them with additional artificial lighting. It is important to turn light sources on and off at the same time of day. It is very easy to find out that the bulbs do not have enough light - the color saturation of the green onion feathers and their condition will tell you this. If the feathers are pale in color, thin and break quickly, then you need to take care of additional lighting.
Planting care
To prevent rotting, the water in containers with green onions must be changed regularly. At the first stage, until roots appear, the liquid should be changed daily.At the second stage, you can change the water 2-3 times a week.
If an unpleasant odor appears in containers with onions, you need to carefully, trying not to damage the roots, rinse the bulbs under running warm water. If you were unable to get rid of the amber, then it is advisable to throw out the rotting onion. Otherwise, you risk losing the entire harvest.
When forcing green onions at home in water, it is not advisable to use various growth accelerators. They cause an unpleasant odor and cause rotting of planting material. If desired, you can use a universal fertilizer. Stir 5 grams (1-2 tsp) of wood ash in 1 liter of water. Add the resulting solution to the container with onions as the water decreases.
To ensure bright green and juicy feathers when growing green onions, spray your plantings daily with a spray bottle. Please note that only the green mass needs to be moistened. Bulbs should never be moistened.
Harvesting
Onions grown at home are distinguished by early ripening. After 2-3 weeks, you can cut off the green feathers and add fresh, aromatic and vitamin-filled greens to your dishes.
There are two ways to harvest green onions:
- as the feathers grow;
- waiting for the green onions to fully ripen.
When forcing onions in water, the feathers are never the same in height. Therefore, it is difficult to determine their maturity. But there are several signs that indicate it is time to harvest:
- The bulb becomes very soft to the touch.
- The tips of the feathers begin to turn yellow.
- The active growth of onion feathers slows down significantly.
As soon as you detect at least one of these signs, immediately cut off the entire crop.
Some housewives do not wait for green onions to ripen and cut off the feathers gradually as they grow, thus increasing the yield by 2-2.5 times. With this harvesting method, the bulb often remains hard until the end of forcing.
Growing onions in the ground
How to properly plant green onions in the ground at home? What types of onions are suitable for this purpose? How to choose and prepare the soil correctly? Newbies have a lot of questions.
When planting onions on greens in the ground, it is advisable to give preference to early and mid-ripening varieties. The following varieties have proven themselves well:
- Union;
- Arzamas;
- Timiryazevsky.
In addition to early ripening, they have another advantage, being multi-primed, which makes it possible to increase the yield several times.
If you do not have planting material of a certain type at home, you can plant onion sets and even ordinary onions bought in the store in the ground.
Preparation of planting material
To simultaneously obtain a harvest, it is advisable to choose medium-sized bulbs that are the same in size.
Inspect the planting material for signs of rotting and damage. If there are even small lesions, it is better to throw away the bulb.
Good planting material has the following characteristics:
- The bulbs should be firm to the touch;
- Shiny husk;
- Clean and large enough root cup.
When selecting bulbs, keep in mind that when planting sprouted onions, you will get a harvest much faster.
Selected planting material should be soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes. After soaking, remove the top layer of skin from the bulbs. The top must be cut off by 0.5 cm to speed up the appearance of green shoots.
There is no need to cut off the tops of sprouted bulbs.
Soil preparation
The most ideal container for growing green onions at home is considered to be plastic seedling boxes. But many housewives, in the absence of such boxes, get out of the situation by planting onions in flower pots, pallets, disposable containers for various products, and even in bottles.
Place a drainage layer of at least 2 cm at the bottom of the container for growing green onions so that excess moisture does not linger in the ground. You can use small pebbles or expanded clay as drainage.
Neutral and loose soil is suitable for planting onions on greenery at home. If you don’t have good soil, you can purchase a universal soil mixture or soil for growing seedlings. The soil layer should be at least 10-12 cm.
Planting bulbs
Planting bulbs on feathers at home can be done once. You can also plant onions at regular intervals to get a regular harvest.
The soil in the prepared containers needs to be moistened. Bulbs should be planted at 1/3 of the height of the head. The distance between them should be 2-3 cm. To form the root system, the containers with planted onions should be placed in a cool and dark place for 8-10 days.
After the specified period, the boxes or containers with onions should be placed in a bright and fairly warm place - on a windowsill or a glazed, insulated loggia.
When growing onions for greenery at home, you should remember that the more light it receives during the day, the more intense the growth and color of the green mass. In cloudy weather or during periods when daylight is short, and also if your windows face north, the plantings need to be provided with additional lighting. Fluorescent lamps or specialized phytolamps are placed at a height of 60-70 cm above the plantings. Lighting must be turned on and off at the same time.
In addition to light, the microclimate of the room affects the quantity and quality of the green onion harvest. With a lack of moisture, feathers immediately become faded, limp and thin. To prevent this from happening, spray the plantings with a spray bottle once a day.
The air temperature in the room should not exceed the thermometer mark of +23˚С +27˚С. When these microclimate conditions are created, green onion feathers will grow to a height of 30 cm in 15-18 days.
Elevated air temperatures are harmful to green mass. Its growth slows down, and rotting processes begin in the soil. Be careful not to overheat the bulbs. If necessary, you can wrap containers with green onions in foil - it will reflect bright sunlight.
Check your plantings regularly. From the moment the first green shoots appear, the soil in containers or containers should always be moist.It is better to use settled water for watering onions, the temperature of which is as close as possible to room temperature. Do not over-water the onions, otherwise they will begin to rot.
It is not necessary to introduce fertilizing into the soil or when watering onions. Ready-made soil mixtures are perfectly balanced. To grow green mass, the amount of nutrients contained in the soil and the bulb is quite sufficient.
Harvesting
You can cut off the feathers of home-grown green onions when they reach a height of 25-30 cm, or you can gradually. The second option is preferable. You can cut the greens with a sharp knife or scissors. It is extremely undesirable to tear off the feathers - you can tear the bulb out of the ground.
The fact that some bulb has already devoted all its nutrients to the growth of green mass will be indicated by its appearance - it will become wrinkled, soft, or begin to rot. Such root vegetables need to be thrown away. You can plant a new bulb in the free space.
Thanks to this method of growing green onions at home, you will be provided with fresh greens filled with vitamins and microelements almost until spring.
Mini garden bed from a bottle
Housewives often refuse to grow green onions at home for one simple reason - not enough free space. But even in such a situation, you can find a way out and plant onions on greens in a plastic bottle. The planting technique and subsequent care are no different from the previous method of growing green onions in the ground.
- The neck of the bottle needs to be cut off. Make several small holes in the bottom.
- Cut holes on the walls in a checkerboard pattern.The distance between them should be at least 4-5 cm.
- Gradually filling the container with soil, insert the bulbs into the holes.
- Immediately after planting, the soil should be well moistened.
Now you just need to water the planted bulbs in a timely manner, monitor the microclimate and, as they ripen, cut off the grown green feathers.
The author of the video will tell you how to grow green onions at home in a plastic bottle.
Conclusion
On the fragile shoulders of many housewives lies the difficult task of feeding their household with tasty, wholesome and healthy food. By growing green onions at home, you will not only be provided with an environmentally friendly and nutritious product, but will also save a significant amount.
