Content
Onions and garlic are one of the most popular and beloved vegetables among the people, which are also seasonings and spices. Of course, every gardener is interested in their good harvest. If someone is lucky with the soil and it is characterized by increased fertility, then these two crops can be grown without additional fertilizing. But most gardeners, alas, cannot count themselves among such lucky ones. Therefore, the question: “To feed or not to feed?” usually not on the agenda. A more pressing question is: “Which fertilizer for onions and garlic should I choose?” After all, the choice of fertilizers nowadays is truly huge, and, in addition to traditional ones, there are also a large number of folk or grandmother’s recipes that have not yet lost their relevance.
Organic or mineral
For onions and garlic, in principle, there is no difference in the use of certain fertilizers. Rather, it is a matter of taste for the gardener himself. Many people do not want or do not have the opportunity to tinker with endless infusions and solutions of organic substances. Others prefer not to deal with mineral fertilizers, since they are deposited to one degree or another in vegetables, which will then be consumed as food.In addition, organic fertilizers usually do not act instantly, but over a much longer period of time and have a beneficial effect on the condition of the soil. The same cannot be said about mineral supplements. But their effect manifests itself quite quickly. In any case, the choice of what to feed onions and garlic is up to the gardener.
Mineral fertilizers
The most necessary elements for feeding both crops are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
It is an indispensable element for the earliest feeding onions and garlic. Its deficiency weakens plants and reduces productivity. But its excess can lead to an increase in various fungal diseases and poor storage of bulbs in winter. Therefore, it is important to strictly follow the dosage.
Nitrogen fertilizers include:
- Ammonium nitrate;
- Urea.
Any of these fertilizers is diluted in the amount of 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water and the plants are watered with the resulting solution.
Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are also applied in the fall when cultivating the land for future plantings of onions or garlic. The need for nitrogen appears in plants only in the first stages of their development.
Phosphorus helps onions and garlic become more resistant to diseases, activates metabolism, and helps to form larger and denser bulbs. Plants need phosphorus throughout the entire growth period, so it must be added regularly. The most popular phosphorus fertilizer is superphosphate.In the fall, it must be added when preparing the soil for planting both plants before winter. Starting in spring, 1-2 tablespoons of superphosphate are dissolved in a bucket of water and the plants are watered two or three times a season with an interval of 3-4 weeks.
Potassium helps onions and garlic survive unfavorable environmental conditions, which is why they especially love it. It also ensures good ripening of the bulbs and their long-term storage. The need for potassium especially increases in the second period of the growing season, when the bulbs are forming. Potash fertilizers are represented by the following types:
- Potassium chloride;
- Potassium salt;
- Potassium sulfate.
One tablespoon of any of the above fertilizers is diluted in a bucket of warm water and the root system of the plants is treated with the resulting solution.
Complex fertilizers
There are a significant number of complex fertilizers that are ideal for applying to onions or garlic. Often they contain, in addition to the three main macroelements, additional meso and microelements that have a beneficial effect on plant development.
- Granular fertilizer for onions and garlic from Fasco - NPK ratio is 7:7:8, additionally magnesium and calcium are present. It is used mainly as a soil additive when preparing planting beds. The application rate is about 100 g per 1 sq. meter.
- Fertilizer for onions and garlic “Tsibulya” - NPK ratio is 9:12:16, there are no additional elements in the description. The usage is similar to the first one. The application rate is about 80 g per 1 square. meter.
- Agricola-2 is a water-soluble fertilizer for onions and garlic. The NPK ratio is 11:11:27. Additionally, there is magnesium and a set of microelements in chelated form. This fertilizer is convenient due to its versatility of use. It can be added to the ground when preparing beds. But it is better to dilute 25 g in 10-15 liters of water with constant stirring and water the rows of the beds with plants. This amount should be enough for 25-30 square meters. Fertilizer Agricola-2 can also be used for foliar treatment of the green parts of plants, which is an integral part of care. To do this, you just need to reduce the concentration of the fertilizer solution by half.
Fertilizing with organic matter
The most popular organic fertilizers are manure and bird droppings. True, neither one nor the other can be added fresh to onions and garlic. Making infusions will be optimal. To do this, one part of manure is dissolved in 10 parts of water and infused for about a week. Bird droppings, being even more concentrated, are dissolved in twice as much water and infused a little longer.
For feeding, one glass of the resulting solutions is added to a bucket of clean water and the plants are watered every two weeks. These treatments can help deal with yellowed plant leaves.
Wood ash is a source of potassium, which is so necessary for both crops.
You can use ash water instead of watering with regular water.
A good source of macro and microelements in organic form is an infusion of any weed herbsUsually they are infused for a week and then used in the same way as manure, that is, one glass of liquid is added to a bucket of water.
Speaking about organic fertilizers, do not forget about sodium and potassium humates, which are easy to find on sale today. And also about microbiological fertilizers, such as Siyanie or Baikal. In addition to their fertilizing effect, they have a healing effect on the soil and are absolutely safe from an environmental point of view. Usually, with their help, a working solution is obtained, which is added regularly to the water for irrigation. In addition, they are absolutely safe for spraying garlic and onion greens.
Folk remedies
Currently, gardeners widely use a variety of folk remedies for feeding vegetable crops. Some of them are more growth stimulants than fertilizers, but all of them have a beneficial effect on plant development if used in reasonable quantities.
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide has long been used by aquarium hobbyists to clean them of unwanted microorganisms.
The fact is that an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide in its composition resembles melt water, known for its regenerating properties. It contains atomic oxygen, which can kill all harmful bacteria and saturate the soil with oxygen.
To water and spray onions and garlic, use the following solution: add two tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide to one liter of water. You can water winter garlic shoots with this mixture at the earliest stage of development.More mature plants can be sprayed with the same composition, which will significantly accelerate the growth and development of garlic and onions.
Yeast as fertilizer
Yeast has such a rich composition that this fact could not help but interest gardeners. In general, they have a rather stimulating effect on plant development. Thus, with the help of yeast, you can enhance root formation, increase plant resistance to diseases, and accelerate the growth of vegetative mass. If we talk about the action of yeast as a fertilizer, then they have a greater influence on the activity of soil bacteria, activating it. And they, in turn, begin to actively process organic substances, converting them into a form convenient for plants.
For cooking yeast fertilizer you need to take 0.5 kg of fresh yeast and dissolve it in a small amount of warm water. Then in a bucket of water you need to stir 0.5 kg of bread crumb and 0.5 kg of any herb. Finally, add the diluted warm yeast. The resulting liquid should be infused for about two days. You can water plants with it in the usual way at the root.
Because potassium is a vital element for these plants.
Ammonia
Ammonia is a 10% aqueous solution of ammonia, so it is natural to use it as the main nitrogen-containing fertilizer. This concentration is weak enough that it does not cause burns to the roots when watering; on the other hand, it would be an excellent means of protection against onion flies and other pests.Often, it is precisely because of the invasion of pests that the leaves of garlic and onions, before they have time to grow, already turn yellow.
Usually onion plantings are watered with a solution ammonia for prevention when the first true leaves appear. For these purposes, two tablespoons are diluted in 10 liters of water. This amount is enough to water two square meters of onion plantings. Then the ridges are watered with twice as much water. This is necessary so that the ammonia solution gets directly to its destination - into the deep layers of the soil.
At the same concentration, an ammonia solution can be used for foliar treatment of both crops in early spring. Additional protection from pests and first fertilizing will be carried out.
Conclusion
All of the fertilizers listed above can be used to accelerate the development and protect onions and garlic from various adverse environmental factors. Choose those that are more convenient for you to use, and then you will be provided with supplies of garlic and onions for the winter.
