Content
In recent years, forgotten methods of growing vegetables have regained popularity among gardeners. One of them is winter onions. Planting onions before winter allows you to get a rich harvest of full-fledged onions one to two months ahead of schedule, and greens in early spring. The cheapness of the method is also attractive - small, defective specimens of onion sets that will not withstand long winter storage are selected for planting. But it is important to know how to plant and when to harvest Winter bow.
Winter onions are also convenient because the onion fly does not have time to attack them, since by the time it appears, it has built up a strong root system. And after harvesting it, you can use the beds again by sowing them with other crops. Tomatoes, carrots, and eggplants are best suited for this.
Planting material
The smallest onion sets are selected for planting. It is this that has the properties necessary for growing a good harvest of winter onions:
- if the bulbs are large, they will begin to bolt, but small ones will not have enough nutrients for this;
- During the winter months, the bulbs will receive nutrition from the soil, and in early spring they will begin to form a turnip;
- small onions are defective material; they will not withstand storage until spring and will dry out over the winter.
Small onion sets as planting material become much more expensive in the fall.Therefore, it is much easier to grow it yourself. Sowing is carried out in early spring, on the first sunny days, when the earth begins to warm up:
- grooves are prepared one and a half to two centimeters deep and several centimeters wide, between which a distance should be left for convenient weeding;
- the grooves are densely sown with nigella - onion seeds, covered with earth and trampled down slightly;
- It is better to mulch the top with humus;
- if the weather is dry, you need to ensure timely watering of the growing onion sets and loosening the soil;
- there is no need to feed the seeds;
- When you dig up onions, you will see yellowed leaves that have fallen to the ground.
The dug up onion sets should be left in the garden bed to dry. Then you should peel off the dry leaves and sort the bulbs:
- larger ones, with a diameter of more than 1 cm, will be used for spring planting - they should be stored in a dark and cool place;
- those that are smaller than this size are just suitable for planting before winter;
- bulbs with a diameter of more than two centimeters will be eaten.
Planting and growing winter onions
It is good to use beds for planting winter onions where cabbage, tomatoes, beans or peas, cucumbers, corn or mustard previously grew. After them, the beds do not need to be fertilized.
It is difficult to choose the right moment to plant winter onions. Optimal conditions are a fairly low and, at the same time, positive temperature within 4-6 degrees. Winter onions should have time to take root, but not grow. It is planted in dry weather in shallow grooves up to 5 cm, located at a distance of one and a half tens of centimeters from each other. There should be a gap of several centimeters in the grooves between the bulbs.
After planting, the beds are filled with soil and topped with humus mixed with a small amount of sand. Then the beds are mulched with fallen leaves, straw, and tops. Experienced gardeners do not recommend using peat as mulch. Due to its low thermal conductivity in the spring, it will inhibit the development of young onion sprouts.
We must also remember that not every variety is suitable for winter planting. You need to choose cold-resistant and early-ripening ones that form a bulb in short daylight hours. Typically, gardeners prefer to plant Dutch varieties before winter. They allow you to reduce the time When can you dig up onions?, planted before winter.
In spring, winter onions do not require special care. It is enough to remove the mulch to facilitate warming of the soil and its growth, as well as carefully loosen the soil and remove weeds. The frequency of loosening depends on the density of the soil. To speed up growth, you can cover the beds with film at night. Feeding with infusion of bird droppings is useful. To repel pests, it is recommended to sprinkle the beds with ash; it also contains essential minerals and is an excellent fertilizer. As winter onions grow, it is necessary to thin them out - small and weak sprouts will be used as food as green vitamins, and strong sprouts will receive additional space for growth.
Watering requires special attention:
- in early spring, when the ground is full of moisture from melting snow, winter onions do not need to be watered;
- after the soil dries, regular watering is required to form a good turnip;
- When the bulbs begin to ripen, watering must be stopped, otherwise the crop will not be stored for long.
Harvesting winter onions
In order for the harvest to be stored well, you need to correctly calculate the time when to harvest winter onions. Gardeners independently determine the harvesting time of winter onions based on the degree of maturity of the plants. Harvesting should be done when the leaves of the plants begin to turn yellow and fall to the ground, and the surface of the bulb is covered with dry scales. A mature bulb is easily removed from the soil. If the soil is too hard, you can carefully dig them up with a pitchfork, lifting the soil a short distance from the roots. After 10-14 days, you need to stop watering the beds.
Sometimes, to speed up the ripening of winter onions, their feathers are trimmed, leaving a small tail of a few centimeters. However, this method can lead to the onset of decay processes, so it is undesirable to use it.
Cleaning times may shift in one direction or another depending on:
- on the climatic characteristics of the region - the colder the climate, the longer the period for growing winter onions;
- from timely loosening and fertilizing, which accelerate the ripening of the crop;
- depending on the weather conditions of the current season - cold and rainy summers lengthen the ripening period of plants;
- on soil quality.
The crop should be harvested in dry, sunny weather. It cannot be kept in the ground, otherwise it will begin to take root again, and such onions do not store well. Not all plants ripen on the same day, so harvesting onions lasts for several days.However, if it is not possible to dig up the onions gradually, then you can harvest the entire harvest in one day, when the main part of it is already ripe.
Drying the crop
The harvested winter onion must be properly dried so that it can be stored well:
- After harvesting, the onions are left in the beds for a day or two to dry;
- at the same time it is disinfected with ultraviolet rays;
- Do not clean the bulbs from adhering soil by mechanically tapping them on hard objects, so as not to damage them. In rainy weather, you can dry onions in the attic or under a shed;
- During drying, you need to regularly stir and turn the bulbs;
- the condition of the neck of the onion will help determine the end of drying - it will become completely dry, and the scales will peel off easily;
- If there are specimens left with a dense, wet neck, they should not be stored, but rather eaten.
If the onions were harvested on rainy days and the crop got wet, you need to choose a well-ventilated place to dry it, otherwise rotting processes will begin in it.
Storing winter onions
Dried onions can be stored in different ways:
- Having cut off the neck, you can put the entire onion in nets or stockings and hang it in the basement;
- trimmed bulbs can be stored in a wooden box - in this case, you need to stir them from time to time to ensure uniform access of oxygen;
- you can braid and hang them without cutting the necks - this method is convenient because the sprouting bulbs will immediately become noticeable;
- with all storage methods, it is necessary to ensure optimal conditions - temperature from plus one to minus three degrees and humidity not higher than 80%;
- To preserve the onion, it is also necessary to provide it with access to air, so it is unacceptable to store it in plastic bags.
Due to the simplicity and low cost of the method, growing winter onions is becoming increasingly popular. If you use special winter varieties for planting before winter, you can get higher yields of this tasty and healthy vegetable.
