Such a vegetable as onion is present in our daily diet. Family onions in Europe are better known as shallots. We are used to calling him a family, a bush, a magpie, a bush. The article tells about what varieties of crops exist and how to grow them.
Description of the family bow
This type of onion is one of the most common crops among our gardeners. Family onions are a variety of the most common onion. The difference is that it is very juicy and fragrant. In addition, the vegetable has only a slight bitterness. Many consumers appreciate it for its mild taste. The name of the bow was due to belonging to the multi-primary forms. The most famous species is the shallot, which has small nodules and tender leaves. They grow in nests (4-10 pieces). The weight of one such family ranges from 150-300 grams.
Of course, due to the modest size of the bulb, it is not very convenient to clean. But this does not stop culinary specialists from all over the world who willingly use the vegetable to prepare wonderful dishes. Family onions are not only fried, marinated, stewed, but even jam is made from it. Fresh vegetable is ideal for salad.
According to reviews, family onions are well stored at home. In March, the vegetable can even be planted in pots on the window for juicy greenery.
Culture husk can have different colors: reddish, bronze, golden and purple. In the context, the bulb can be pink-lilac or white. The plant is characterized by lush greenery, which is readily used for cooking. Delicate and thin feathers are sometimes covered with a wax coating, they reach a height of 30-50 centimeters.
Culture has a urinary root system located in the surface layer. The inflorescences are located on a high arrow and look like umbrellas. The small seeds look like bulbs.
Best varieties
Culture has a lot of varieties. The best varieties of family onions can be divided into late, mid-season and early-ripening. Since there are a lot of plant species, we will give only the most popular varieties that gardeners love:
- The Veliky Ustyug species has a rounded shape. This variety is characterized by a strong and vigorous taste. The bulbs are red-brown in color and weigh about 80g each. The variety has a high yield.
- Knyazhich onion has a pleasant taste and delicate color (pink-brown). Inside the flesh is pink. The bulbs keep very well, weighing up to 75 grams each.
- The Old Believer variety was obtained in the Vologda region. The bulbs have an unusual copper-pink color. Despite the fact that the taste of onions is quite sharp, it is pleasant. The name of the variety was not due to the fact that the plants contain a lot of incredibly useful elements, but because the Old Believers use it as a remedy.
- Albic - plants with a semi-sharp taste and flat-rounded bulbs. The culture gives large yields of greens and tubers. Each bulb weighs about 50 grams.
- Plants of the Prometheus variety have the most delicate taste. Gardeners liked the high-yielding type of culture. Moreover, the weight of each bulb reaches 80 g.
- Seryozha is a variety with round tubers and an incredibly spicy taste.
- Grant is a productive variety that produces not only bulbs, but also high-quality greens.
Varieties of family onions can be listed for a very long time, they are presented in very large quantities. Therefore, if desired, you can choose the appropriate type depending on the ripening time and taste characteristics.
Soil preparation
Family onions love fertile soil. The soil must be drained. For culture, neutral acidity is more acceptable. Bulbs can be planted in beds where legumes, potatoes and carrots used to be. If you are planning to plant a family onion, then in the fall you need to add humus to the soil at the rate of up to five kilograms per square meter. It is also worth adding 15 g of potassium s alt and 25 g of superphosphate per square meter.
Date of planting
Shallot is a cold hardy plant. He is completelyit is not afraid of frost, and therefore it can be planted in open ground in March and April. The first greens can be harvested in May.
To get a feather early, onions can be planted in October. Before the start of winter, he will have time to take root, but will not grow. But in early April, you can already pluck the greens. Of course, in more northern regions, planting for the winter may not be so successful due to the freezing of some of the bulbs.
Late planting of onions leads to the rapid development of greenery, but the roots develop poorly, which means that the bulb is poorly formed. This negatively affects the harvest.
Marking beds
Onions are planted at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other, retreating between rows of twenty centimeters. With this option of landing per square meter of land, the consumption of material is at least a kilogram. For growing, it is better to take medium-sized bulbs. Small ones will not give a good harvest. They can be planted for greenery. Planting seed too close is also not worth it, so that the bulbs do not grow too small.
Preparing bulbs
Growing family onions is a simple process, but requires some knowledge. Before planting, the seed must be prepared. Bulbs are cleaned of excess dry husks. Then they are pickled in a solution of copper sulphate (a tablespoon per 10 liters of liquid). Next, the onion is washed with clean water. It is also recommended to soak the seed in a solution of complex fertilizer. This will replenish the supply of moisture,lost during storage. You can put a vegetable in the solution for ten hours.
If desired, the bulbs can be sprouted, but this is not necessary at all.
Planting onions
The family onion bulbs are planted before the ground warms up to +5 degrees. Culture is recommended to be grown in rows. First, furrows are formed for planting, and then they are filled with water. Next, place the onion to a depth of no more than 2-3 centimeters. It is not worth planting too high, since the roots of the plant will suffer from a lack of nutrients, but it is also not recommended to deepen them. Wood ash can be added to the grooves. Next, the beds are covered with earth and mulched from above.
Further care
Immediately after planting and until shoots appear up to ten centimeters high, the onion does not need care. Watering is not needed at this time. The roots must grow in depth in search of moisture, so that in the future the plant receives all the nutrients. You can only mulch the soil. You can use cut grass for this. This method will not only retain moisture, but also to some extent protect against weeds. Mulch not only retains moisture well, but also provides excellent oxygen access. Plants should be watered once a week. Usually, onions do not require separate dressings during cultivation. But sometimes the feathers begin to turn yellow prematurely. Then you can make a solution of potassium s alt (10 g), ammonium nitrate (10 g) per 10 liters of water. Instead of potassium s alt, wood ash can be used. From organic fertilizersuse bird droppings or manure. They are applied twice during the growing season only if onions are grown on depleted soils. The first dressing is applied during the formation of greenery, and the second - during the beginning of the formation of onions.
If plants are affected by diseases or pests, then spraying with a one percent solution of Bordeaux mixture should be carried out. But after processing, greens should not be eaten. It is not recommended to process onions two weeks before harvest.
Harvesting
You can start harvesting after most of the feathers wither. This usually happens at the end of July. Timing largely depends on the variety. It is also not worth delaying harvesting and keeping ready-made vegetables in the ground, because then the onion can be poorly stored. Watering is stopped a couple of weeks before the planned harvest. Excess moisture can activate growth, which then affects the maturation process.
Ripe bulbs are dug up in dry weather and left to dry in the beds until evening. It is best to choose a sunny day for harvesting. After the vegetables are cleaned in a dry and dark room. The drying process takes approximately fifteen days. The degree of readiness of the onion is determined by the neck of the onion. It should become dry. After drying, dried greens are cut off. For long-term storage, the crop must be sorted out. Damaged bulbs are selected for use in the near future. High-quality vegetables are stored in boxes in dark rooms, in conditions of low humidity.
Pests and diseases
Judgingaccording to gardeners, it can be argued that the family is resistant to diseases and pests. Proper agricultural technology is the key to obtaining he althy plants. To do this, only high-quality material is selected for planting, which is treated with disinfecting solutions. To protect crops from such a pest as an onion fly, plantings are treated with tobacco dust, wood ash. Also, as a preventive measure, the crop can be planted near carrot beds. The soil between the rows must be loosened, removing weeds. Near the plantings, you can lay out rosemary, wormwood, tomato tops. With its pungent smell, grasses effectively repel pests. Bordeaux liquid helps in pest control.
Sometimes there is such a problem as yellowing of the greenery of the culture. The reasons for this phenomenon can be very different, which means that the issue will have to be resolved in different ways. Yellowing is possible with a lack of nitrogen. An indicator of the problem is the appearance of white tips on the feathers. You can solve it quite simply by using organic top dressing.
Also, plants may lack potassium. In this case, use potassium s alt or ash.
Yellowing of feathers can also be caused by the onion fly. Her larva is damaged not only by greens, but also by bulbs. Ash, Agraverin and Fitoverm are used to control the pest.
Yellowing of greenery also contributes to overflow.
Possible growing problems
Sometimes some bulbs go to the arrow, which indicates a violation of storage conditions in winterperiod. In the event that you encounter such a problem, the flower stalks of the plants must be removed.
It happens that the onion goes green, but does not grow the bulb itself at all. There can be many reasons for this phenomenon: improper agricultural practices, violation of planting dates, an excess of nitrogen in the soil.
To avoid these problems, you need to plant the crop early, do not water it in the first weeks after planting, and do not overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers, which cause growth of green mass.
In general, the family onion is a completely unpretentious plant with simple farming techniques. Compliance with the elementary rules of care allows you to get a great harvest. All over the world, the culture is valued for its delicate taste and excellent qualities. We hope that our article will help beginner gardeners cope with planting onions.
