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One of the most popular vegetables in the vast Slavic lands is onion. Especially in various dishes, the following types are widely used: multi-tiered, leek, batun, onion. Some varieties are grown for their green petals, while others are grown for their turnip uses. But there are many summer residents who do not stop there and develop their knowledge and are engaged in growing special varieties of crops that are less common in Russia.
One of these varieties is Exhibition onions. This is a mid-season type of vegetable crop. It was bred in Holland and has a relatively large size. If you follow the basic rules for caring for Exhibition onions, many summer residents get an excellent harvest, for example, from 1 m2 3 kg of culture is collected. One bulb weighs on average 120–500 g. In addition to the fact that Exhibition is large in size, it is also in demand among consumers due to its excellent taste. It has a pleasant sweetish taste, without bitterness. Exhibition belongs to the salad varieties, therefore it is a perishable product. This article will talk about how to grow Exhibition onions, as well as the features of caring for them.
Growing in boxes, cassettes, cups
The seedling method of growing Exhibition onions is a rather complicated and troublesome task. However, this growing technique allows you to grow the largest bulbs. Seeds are sown in the first ten days of February, but before that they are prepared.
Preparing seeds for sowing consists of three stages:
- The seed is kept in warm water for several hours.
- The seeds are then wrapped in damp material. They should lie in it for several days.
- Planting material is disinfected. To do this, a solution of manganese is made at the rate of 1 g per 1 liter of water. The seeds should remain in the solution for 8 hours. The solution temperature should be about 400WITH.
Another important stage is the preparation of containers and soil for sowing seeds. To prepare the soil you will need rotted mullein, turf soil and humus in a ratio of 1:9:9. This mixture is used to fill containers for planting Exhibition onions. Plastic cups, boxes and cassettes can be used as containers. The seeds are sifted thickly. The depth of the hole for sowing should be approximately 1.5 cm. The sown planting material is covered with plastic film or glass. The place in which the seedlings will germinate should be warm and shaded. 10 days after the sprouts appear, you need to remove the film or glass and move the Exhibition onion to a sunny place. To accelerate the growth and development of onions, you can fertilize them weekly with mineral fertilizers. They are diluted at the rate of 0.5 g per 1 liter of water.
In snails
Experienced gardeners grow Exhibition onions in so-called snails, which they independently make from the backing for laminate flooring. This method is very convenient if you have little space to grow seedlings.
In the process of growing onions in snails, a small amount of soil is required. In addition, ready-made snails take up little space on the balcony. A greenhouse effect is created in the snails, due to which the seeds germinate well.
We invite you to watch a video on how to plant onions in snails. The video used as an example of sowing is not our onion variety, but the growing principle is the same:
Sowing on toilet paper
Some gardeners use ordinary toilet paper to sow the seeds of the Exhibition variety. It is cut into strips approximately 3 cm wide. The paste is also prepared in advance. When sowing seeds it should be cold. Paste recipe: 1 tsp for 0.5 cups of water. starch, mix it all and bring it over the fire until thickened. The paste should not boil. The cooled paste is applied to the paper using a toothpick in small drops. The distance between the droplets should be at least 5 cm. The seeds are immersed in the droplets of the paste.
To ensure that the seeds have enough nutrients, fertilizer can be added to the cooled paste. The dried strips are rolled into rolls and placed in plastic bags before planting in the ground. The technique was appreciated for the fact that during the growing season there is no need to weed onions. In addition, this reduces seed consumption. Seeds germinate within 10 days.
The optimal temperature for seed germination can vary between 20–25℃. To prevent the seedlings from stretching out, after the seeds begin to germinate en masse, the room temperature is reduced to 150C. Planting containers can be taken out onto the loggia. The film is removed and the seedlings are provided with sufficient light. Once a day, the seedlings are opened for ventilation. Further feeding onions are held every 10 days. Either organic or mineral fertilizers are applied.
Care
In the future, seedlings of the Exhibition variety bulbs need to be provided with high-quality care. The air temperature should be maintained between 10–220C. As mentioned above, you need to provide the onions with timely watering. Water for irrigation should be settled and warm. It is equally important to ventilate the room in which the seedlings grow.
After 2 months, about 2 weeks before planting in open ground, the young onions are hardened by taking them to the balcony or outside. During this period, potassium nitrate is added to the soil at the rate of 1 g per 1 liter of water. If the onion greens begin to lie down, then trim them, leaving 10 cm above the ground. The cut part can be used for preparing spring salads.
Transplantation into open ground
In the first ten days of May, when the Exhibition onion is strong enough, it can be planted in open ground, deepening the roots by about 3 cm. The place where the crop is permanently dislocated should be illuminated. The soil should be neutral-acidic, moisture-absorbing, loose and breathable.
Holes are made in the soil and spilled with water, the seedlings are planted at a distance from each other of approximately 20–30 cm. Each bulb is separated and planted in a hole, pressing the soil around it. After transplanting, the seedlings are watered daily.
Weed control
To protect the Exhibition onion from pests and diseases, carrots should be planted near it. These 2 crops cope well with all the parasites that threaten them. Potassium, nitrogen, magnesium and phosphorus fertilizers can be used as mineral fertilizers.But moderation is needed in everything, and fertilization is no exception. If you overdo it, irreparable harm will be caused to the crops. Follow the instructions for the preparations and then you will be able to fertilize the onions correctly.
In July, watering is significantly reduced. This way, the bulbs will be able to ripen, which will facilitate their longer storage.
Pest and disease control
No matter how much the gardener cares for the Exhibition onions, he gets sick from time to time. To cope with such circumstances, you need to have certain skills.
The most common onion disease is rot, which affects the bottom of the plant. It is most often noticeable when the vegetable is ripe. As a result, the bulb softens and rots, making long-term storage of the diseased vegetable impossible. When rot has already been detected, it will not be possible to save the bulb. Therefore, the disease must be prevented by providing the Exhibition onion with proper care. It is unacceptable for water to stagnate in the beds. Before planting seedlings, you need to drain the soil. To do this, remove its top layer and make a drainage of 3 cm from sand, gravel and turf, sprinkle the drainage with a small layer of earth, and then plant the vegetable.
Another common onion disease is smut. Manifests itself in the appearance of translucent dark gray stripes located on the leaves. The affected areas of the crop are removed. To avoid the formation of the disease, plant onions in the same bed no earlier than after 4 years. This is how long fungal spores retain their ability to spoil onions.
Gray rot manifests itself in rotting of the neck of the onion head, and then all its parts.Affected bulbs must be destroyed, thus protecting healthy ones. By following agrotechnical rules, the disease can be prevented.
Stem nematode is caused by a small worm measuring up to 0.5 mm in size. Curled and light colored onion feathers are the first sign of disease. When bulbs are infected with a stem nematode, they rot and crack as the worm multiplies inside. The diseased plant must be removed urgently, because otherwise the worm will crawl onto the healthy onion. To avoid this disease, it is important to observe crop rotation, timely liming of the land and use only healthy planting material.
With proper care and the use of healthy seeds, growing Exhibition onions will not be that difficult. And after 70 days, you will be able to enjoy the sweetish taste of the plant without shedding a single tear.
We also invite you to watch a video about the features of growing onions:
