The secrets of growing onions in the open field from sevka

Planting onion sets is the most practiced way of growing a crop, allowing you to get a generous harvest in one season. To do this, take small onions, the mass of which does not exceed 5 g, and the diameter is 2 cm. This is the sowing, or arbazheyka, arpachik. It is obtained when the growing season of onions planted with seeds ends. Most summer residents prefer to purchase sevok in specialized stores, without wasting time and effort on growing it in the garden.

Optimal site

The culture is demanding on the intensity and duration of lighting, so it is better to make beds for onions in a place open to sunlight. Plants need to provide moderate soil moisture, in no case overflowing them. Dry air will not affect their development. But the lack of moisture in the soil, especially at the stage of active feather growth and bulb formation, will have a bad effect on the crop. At the end of the growing season, watering the beds is stopped. Excessive moisture will slow down the ripening process of the bulbs and worsen their keeping quality. For this reason, seedlings should not be planted in areas prone to waterlogging and flooding, as well as in places with shallow groundwater.

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• potatoes;
• all kinds of beans;
• cabbage crops.

They all love organic fertilizers, so the seedlings will be comfortable in the soil released after them. For its cultivation, areas where beds with garlic, carrots and any kind of onions were located last season are unsuitable.

The last condition must be observed, otherwise you should not hope for a rich harvest. If crop rotation is disturbed, plantings often suffer from pathogens and pests accumulated in the soil, and in depleted soil they will not have the opportunity to grow a large head. Seeds can be returned to the previous site when 3-5 years have passed.

It is advisable to plant onions on a turnip in loose and fertile soil. Acidic soils do not suit him. On them, the plants are weak. They do not absorb nutrients well and often fall ill with peronosporosis. Powdery mildew greatly reduces the immunity of the onion and makes it vulnerable to pests, despite proper care.

Acidic soil must be neutralized. You can do this by adding the following components to it:

• lime;
• chalk;
• wood ash;
• dolomite flour;
• ground limestone.

Soil preparation

In order to plant onions, they begin to prepare in the fall. After removing the predecessor plants, weeds are removed. Experienced gardeners advise to carry out abundant watering so that the grass seeds remaining in the soil sprout and can be disposed of. This will greatly facilitate the care of plantings in unprotected ground in spring and summer.

Having scattered well-rotted manure around the site, it is carefully dug up, deepening into the ground by 20-30 cm. Peat-dung compost can also be used as a fertilizer for sowing. Enrich the soil with organic matter in the fall. Its introduction before planting will provoke an intensive growth of green mass, and the bulbs will turn out to be small. Do not fertilize the soil with humus, fresh manure, chicken droppings. They can cause plant diseases.

It is impossible to dig up the earth at the same time as manure and lime. Because of it, the fertilizer loses its effectiveness, as it reduces the nitrogen content. To neutralize the acidic reaction of the soil in this case, it is correct to use other compounds.

Autumn tillage includes the introduction of mineral compounds with a high content of phosphorus and potassium. In the spring, the area allotted for turnip onions will need to be dug up again. Before the procedure, fertilizers rich in phosphorus and potassium are again scattered on the ground, adding nitrogen-containing ones to them. Nutritious chernozem soil does not need such preparation. It will be enough to introduce rotted organic matter into it during the autumn digging. If the land in the country is peaty, nitrogen fertilizers are excluded, focusing on phosphorus compounds. Their dose will need to be increased by 30-40%.

Soaking or heating?

Proper preparation of onion sets for planting is the key to growing a good harvest. The arbazheyka purchased in the store must be dried. If it is planned to plant seedlings from the garden, which was stored in cool conditions (at a temperature below 18 ° C), it is warmed up. Do it right in 2 steps.

• First, the bulbs are kept for 15-20 days in a room where the air is heated to 20 ° C.
• Then the temperature is raised by 10-20°C. In such conditions, the seedlings need to lie for 8 to 10 hours, but no more. Overheating will negatively affect its germination.

If it is not possible to carry out a long preplant care, you can influence the arbazheyka with contrasting temperatures. Many summer residents prefer to soak it, saving time.

• Sevok is poured with hot (45-50 ° C) water and left in it for 10-15 minutes.
• Having taken out the bulbs, they are immediately dipped in cold water for the same time. After this, the seedlings can be planted.

Both preparation options start growth processes in the bulbs and help to avoid their shooting. Soaking or warming up is a matter of personal preference and time availability. The treatment of seedlings with a growth stimulator is effective. It increases productivity and strengthens plant immunity. If there is no special preparation at hand, you can use complex mineral fertilizer. In its solution, planting material should be soaked for 5-6 hours.

Pruning and disinfection

Professionals advise cutting the bulbs "on the shoulders", removing their upper part. This allows bulbs that are sick with bacterial rot to be discarded. Thanks to pruning, seedlings appear faster, they are more friendly, and the plants have the same height. Developing at the same rate, their heads mature at the same time. But for inexperienced summer residents it is better not to resort to pruning or to carry it out on several bulbs. If too much is removed, the seedling will be damaged. Then the onion will give a little feather, and the heads will ripen small.

An obligatory element in the preparation of seedlings for placement in the soil is disinfection. Most often, the bulbs are disinfected by immersing them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. But copper sulfate is also suitable for this. For 10 liters of water take 35 g of the substance.

The secrets of crop productivity were known to our ancestors. They approached this task responsibly and knew how to prepare onion sets for planting:

• it was dried for a week in warmth (at a temperature in the range of 20-25°C);
• 3 hours kept in a salt solution, stirring 1 tbsp. l. substances in 1 liter of water;
• washed;
• disinfected in a strong solution of potassium permanganate (it was recommended to soak the bulbs in it for such preparation for 2 hours);
• washed again;
• slightly dried out.

Such care made it possible to grow large bulbs without the use of chemicals.

How not to miss deadlines

The timing of planting onions on a head in open ground depends on the climate of the area and on what kind of spring it will be. The sevka needs warmth to germinate, so it is placed in the soil when its upper 8-10 cm layer warms up to 12 ° C. In the middle lane, this is often done at the end of April. In Siberia and the Urals, the optimal planting dates are shifted to the beginning of May (until the 10th). The best landmark here is the flowering of bird cherry and crocuses. The weather in the Urals is unstable, so they start planting seeds there if the thermometer is confidently at around 5-10 ° C.

To get onion heads in Siberia earlier, you will have to try hard by preparing high beds for its cultivation. Features of their design and filling allow the soil to warm up faster. Its temperature will be 7-9°C higher than in the neighboring area. On high beds, even in the harsh climate of Siberia, sevok is placed in open ground at almost the same time as in the middle lane.

Planting in cold soil will cause onions to shoot early and reduce plant immunity, making them easy prey for pests. It is also impossible to delay the procedure, otherwise the earth will dry out, which will have a bad effect on crop yields.

It is important to choose the right seed variety. It must match the climate of the region. For cultivation in the Urals, sevok Buran, Family, Red Baron are suitable. In Siberia, it is recommended to plant more hardened varieties: Arzamas, Siberian annual, Ermak, Black Prince.

In regions with a warm autumn, sevok can be placed on the beds in June (but at the beginning of the month). But if the cold comes early, already at the end of September, the bulbs will not ripen with such a planting. It is necessary to take into account the purpose of growing sevka. If it is bred for fresh greens, then planting in June and even later will be appropriate in any climate. Arbazheyka is also grown on a feather in winter - in greenhouses or at home.

Winter varieties of sevka are popular with summer residents. In Siberia, they are planted in October. By the onset of frost, the onion should have time to release 4-5 true leaves and build up a neck 5 cm thick.

The subtleties of landing

It is necessary to plant sevok on the beds, sorting it by size. It determines the layout of the bulbs.

• If their diameter does not exceed 1 cm, the interval between them is made equal to 4-5 cm.
• For 1.5 cm bulbs, it is increased to 6-8 cm.
• Sets with a diameter of more than 2 cm are placed at a distance of 8-10 cm.

Between adjacent rows in the open ground, 20-25 cm of free space is left. So it will be easier to care for the onions planted on the turnip. If you arrange the plants more often, they are less ventilated, which increases the risk of diseases. The sowing is deepened by 3-4 cm.

Having immersed it in the soil and tightly squeezing it around the bulb, the beds must be mulched. Correctly do this with straw, sawdust, peat.

The layer of mulch should be 2.5-3 cm. Experienced gardeners, after watering the garden bed before planting the sevka, sprinkle it with sand. It is believed that it increases the rate of bulb growth. By placing the arbazheyka in the soil, seedlings can be expected in a week.

Loosening and watering frequency

Caring for beds with onions does not require special skills. It includes:

• regular loosening;
• watering;
• weed control.

Large bulbs can grow in light soil that allows air to pass well to their root system. Care in the form of loosening begins to be carried out early, before germination, deepening into the ground by 3 cm. It is repeated every 2 weeks, not allowing the formation of a dense soil crust. Regular cultivation of the land has another advantage - it inhibits the growth of weeds. Ideally, each watering should be accompanied by loosening the soil.

When the bulbs grow to medium size, planting care includes loosening. It accelerates the ripening of the crop and increases its size. It is carried out simply - they gradually rake the earth from the plants, exposing the head.

For onions, the purity of the soil is important. He does not tolerate the neighborhood of weeds for 2 reasons:

• next to them, the bulbs form a thick neck, which makes them difficult to dry;
• weeds help retain moisture in the soil, which often provokes crop diseases.

Regular watering of the sevka is necessary at the initial stages of development. In May and June, such care is carried out once a week, focusing on weather conditions. 7-8 liters of water are added per 1 m² of soil surface. When the ripening of the bulbs begins, watering the beds is reduced to a minimum. But if July turns out to be dry, without moisture, the plants wither. In this case, they continue to be watered, but occasionally and moderately.

The appearance of the onion will tell about the lack or excess of moisture. If its feathers have become bluish-white and bent at the tips, the plant is not getting enough water. Waterlogging makes onion leaves turn pale green. Watering is completely stopped when 2-3 weeks remain before harvest.

Feeding and preparing for harvest

Care in the form of dressings in onion farming is optional, but it can be done if the growth of the heads is slow. It is carried out in 2 stages using organic compounds. For the first feeding, a manure solution is suitable. It is prepared by mixing 0.5 kg of the substance with 5 liters of water. Such care is performed when 20 days have passed since the planting of the sevka. For the second feeding take bird droppings. It is correct to dilute it at the rate of 0.5 kg of fertilizer per 7 liters of water. The plantings are fed with a nutrient composition one month after the introduction of the manure solution.

Leaves should not be trimmed from plants. This impairs the ripening of the bulbs, and the exposed neck is easily infected. Many summer residents, closer to the harvest, trample down dried tops. This technique has a bad effect on the quality of the bulbs. The leaves give them nutrients, due to which the turnip ripens. The trampling of the tops prevents this process.

Onion is a grateful culture. It's easy to take care of him. Wet soil at the beginning of the growing season, loosening and weeding - that's all the onion needs for the development and formation of large heads. If you do not deprive the beds of attention and adhere to the rules of agricultural technology of culture, at the end of summer the plants will delight you with a generous harvest.

Cultivating onion from sets is much less troublesome than when it is propagated by seeds. It grows quickly, crowding out weeds and reducing the frequency of weeding. A developed root system increases its resistance to drought, so the beds with sevka are watered less often than with onions sown with seeds. Such plants tolerate adverse weather conditions more easily, have good immunity and suffer less from pests and diseases. The maturation of bulbs in sets is faster, and they are stored better. It is not surprising that this method of breeding culture has many fans among summer residents.