Content
The photo and description of the slime onion must be studied before planting the crop in the garden. The plant differs from more familiar varieties in appearance and taste, although the growing rules are generally the same.
Description of the slime bow
Slime onion, or drooping onion (Allium nutans), is a perennial plant of the Allium family. It has cylindrical or conical underground heads up to 2 cm in diameter in a thin shell. The bulbs are attached to a rhizome that grows horizontally or at an angle. The stem of the plant is thick, up to 70 cm tall, drooping at first, but then straightening at the time of flowering.
The slime onion is very different from other varieties in the structure of its feathers. The leaves of the plant are obtuse, with rounded tips, sickle-shaped, reaching 30 cm in length.The structure of the feathers is juicy, mucous inside, easily broken, and have a mildly pungent taste. During flowering, the slime bears spherical thick umbrellas of pink or purple color, due to which it acquires a very beautiful appearance.
The slime onion enters the decorative period at 2-3 years of age.
Onions can grow in one place for up to six years. Only young feathers of the crop are eaten. The plant's underground false bulbs are very small and inedible.
Varieties of slime onions
Slime onions are represented by many varieties that differ in flavor and yield. There are several of the most popular ones.
Green
Tall onion with light green feathers has a pronounced garlic aroma and slightly spicy taste. The plant produces up to 6 kg of yield per meter of garden, and continuously grows leaves in one place for several years.
The advantages of the Green variety include resistance to white rot and downy mildew.
Leader
The popular mid-season variety of onion produces tender and juicy greens with a pungent taste. Allows you to harvest monthly; from a meter of planting you can get up to 3.5 kg of plant feathers.
Leader slime onion has increased frost resistance and is suitable for northern regions
Dwarf
The low variety reaches up to 20 cm above the ground and produces abundant feathers that curl slightly in a spiral. The plant tolerates low temperatures and withstands drought well.
Onion-slime Dwarf gives 1.5 kg of feathers per cut
Salad
Mid-season mucilage onions have a rather mild taste and garlicky smell, and yield more than 3 kg of greenery per meter of garden. The plant rarely suffers from fungi and pests, so it is suitable for cultivation in difficult soils.
The Salad variety allows you to harvest 40 days after germination
Waltz
Early slime onions bear fruit within a month after germination; up to 900 g of feathers are cut from one bush. It has good juiciness and a pleasant spicy taste. The plant is often used in landscape design - it is planted in flower beds and on alpine hills.
Over the summer, you can collect up to 4 kg of greenery from one slime onion of the Waltz variety.
Advantages and disadvantages
The slime bow has many advantages. The positive aspects of the plant include:
- early ripening;
- high productivity;
- rich taste and aroma;
- cold resistance;
- unpretentiousness to growing conditions;
- development in one place for more than five years.
However, the slime bow has its drawbacks. Namely:
- reacts sensitively to waterlogging of the soil and begins to rot;
- does not produce edible bulbs - only feathers are suitable for consumption.
Slime onions react poorly to prolonged lack of moisture and excess hot sun. The plant's feathers become less succulent and become coarser.
The benefits and harms of slime onions
Slime onion greens not only have good taste, but also great benefits. Fresh plant feathers:
- increase hemoglobin in anemia;
- improve immunity and protect against viruses and infections;
- normalize blood pressure and strengthen blood vessels;
- regulate the functioning of the thyroid gland;
- balance hormonal levels;
- normalize the acid-base balance in the body;
- protect the heart from diseases;
- help with inflammation of the mouth and throat.
It should be borne in mind that in excess quantities, mucus onions can provoke heartburn, stomach pain and increased blood pressure. It is necessary to avoid plants in your diet:
- with individual intolerance;
- for stomach ulcers and pancreatitis;
- with gastritis with high acidity;
- with inflammation of the urinary system;
- for hypertension.
Slime onion, when used in moderation, stimulates appetite
Planting slime onions in open ground
Growing slime onions from seeds is carried out both at home and in open ground. Planting in the garden allows you to regularly obtain large volumes of fresh harvest.
Landing dates
Slime onions are sown in open ground after the snow cover has melted and the soil has warmed to 8-10 °C. Plants are usually planted in mid-April or early May. In the southern regions and in the north, dates may shift in one direction or another depending on the weather.
Seed preparation
Regardless of whether the onion is to be grown at home in a pot or in open ground, the seeds must be treated against diseases and pests before planting. To do this, the material is placed in a light pink manganese solution for about ten seconds, and then washed in clean water.
To speed up the germination of the plant, it is also recommended to soak the seeds in any growth stimulant. They must be left in the solution for several hours in accordance with the instructions.
Site selection and preparation
To plant slime onions, you must choose a well-lit place with well-drained soil. The plant responds positively to moisture, but does not like waterlogging. Therefore, you need to make sure that there is no underground water passing nearby.
The slime onion is undemanding to the soil, but does not grow well on clay and acidic soils. Loams are best suited for it.
When planting, it is necessary to take into account the rules of crop rotation. The crop is placed in places where tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes or legumes used to grow. It is not recommended to plant in areas after other onion slugs.
Planting scheme
Typically, slime onions are planted in open ground with seeds from late April to mid-summer. Algorithm:
- Planting material is pre-disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in a growth stimulator.
- Seeds are germinated in damp cloth for several days.
- The plot in the garden, dug up with compost in the fall, is loosened and furrows up to 2 cm deep are made.
- Water the beds and sow the seeds at small intervals of 5 cm.
- Cover the area with film for insulation.
After the first green shoots form, the polyethylene is removed from the beds. The seedlings are thinned out from time to time as they develop. There should ultimately be at least 15 cm between neighboring plants.
When planting onions, you need to leave 20 cm of space between the rows.
Growing onion seedlings
Growing slime onions on a balcony or windowsill before the weather finally warms up is especially convenient in the northern regions. This method allows you to avoid wasting extra time waiting for suitable weather to sow seeds.
Seedlings are grown according to this scheme:
- At the end of February or early March, the seeds are soaked for a day in warm water and disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- In shallow containers filled with nutritious soil, make grooves and water the soil abundantly.
- Dried seeds are placed in depressions no more than 1 cm deep and sprinkled with earth on top.
- Cover the containers with the plant with film or glass.
- Until greenery appears, keep in a warm place with moderate lighting.
After the seedlings have formed, they begin to grow slime onions on the windowsill, while slightly lowering the temperature, and water the seedlings as needed. For elongated seedlings, they pick, leaving only the strongest and most developed plants in the boxes. The seedlings are transferred to the soil with the onset of final warmth in late April or early May.
7-10 days before transplanting into the garden for onion seedlings, you need to start hardening
Caring for slime onions in open ground
When growing slime onions in the garden, you need to ensure that the crop does not lack moisture and nutrients. If this condition is met, the harvests will be stable and juicy.
Watering
Slime onions are grown to produce greens, so the crop requires moisture throughout the growing season. The beds are watered as the soil dries from spring until the end of August or beginning of September. After the final cutting, they stop moistening the onion so that the plant can go into a dormant state.
Loosening and weeding
Stagnation of moisture leads to rotting of the roots of the crop, so beds with onions need to be loosened regularly. The procedure is carried out after each watering. At the same time, weeds are pulled out, taking away nutrients from the plant.
How to feed the slime onion
You can feed the slime onion in the spring with complex mineral fertilizers with urea, phosphorus and potassium or with an infusion of bird droppings. Nutrients will ensure rapid growth of the crop and make the greens more juicy. It is better to give preference to organic matter so that the edible plant does not accumulate nitrates.
It is recommended to repeat feeding throughout the season after each feather cutting. In the fall, you can scatter rotted manure or compost on the beds; they will insulate the plant and increase the winter hardiness of the onion.
Disease and pest control
Slime onions are relatively resistant to fungi and insects, but still suffer from some diseases. In the garden they harm him:
- rust - the fungus develops when the soil is waterlogged, the feathers of the plant become covered with small reddish spots;
In case of rust, you need to thin out the bed, leaving only healthy onions, and spray the plantings with Bordeaux mixture
- peronosporosis - downy mildew leaves grayish or pale purple marks on the leaves of the onion.
The fight against peronospora is carried out with copper sulfate or fungicides
Of the pests for the plant, the onion fly is the most dangerous. She lays larvae, which begin to eat the onion turnips from the inside. You can get rid of the pest by dusting with tobacco dust; spraying with an infusion of wood ash or a solution of laundry soap is also beneficial.
When infested with onion fly, a strong unpleasant odor emanates from the beds due to rotting turnips and stems
To prevent fungi and insects, you need to monitor the degree of soil moisture, loosen the soil in a timely manner and remove plant debris from the beds.Before planting slime onions in the garden, it is recommended not only to disinfect the seeds, but also to spill a solution of potassium permanganate on the soil to eliminate possible microorganisms.
Reviews of onion-slime
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the slime onion demonstrate a hardy and quite beautiful garden crop with simple care requirements. The plant produces juicy, healthy greens for salads and main courses throughout the summer. At the same time, for abundant harvests, only watering and periodic fertilizing are needed.
