Onion is one of the favorite crops among gardeners and summer residents. Before planting an onion, it must be sown. Seeds, from which by the end of summer small bulbs are obtained for planting next year, are sown in the spring. And only after a year we can plant them in the soil.
In order for the grown fruits to be large and beautiful, you need to know how to prepare the onion for planting, as well as the features of caring for this plant.
Fit Options
So, you have decided to plant onions. Planting and caring for this plant is not difficult, but it still requires some knowledge. There are two ways to plant onions in springtime - on the head and on the feather. To achieve a "feather" result, you can plant both seeds and bulbs. But planting an onion on a head can be done exclusively with the help of sevka. Seeds cannot be used for this purpose. To get onion seeds, you needplant large bulbs in the third year.
When to plant
The planting of onions on the head does not require any exact date. A lot depends on weather conditions here. There is only an approximate period, which lasts from the end of April to the beginning of May. But there is a condition here too. In order for the onion to be planted in the ground, it must be warmed up by more than twelve degrees of heat. If you plant seedlings in cold soil, this will lead to the formation of a large number of arrows, which will greatly degrade the quality of the final product. And if, on the contrary, you are late with the deadline, then the onion will turn out small and not grown. Bulb development will be very slow. This is due to insufficient soil moisture.
Preparing onions for planting in spring
Before planting onions in the soil, they should be properly prepared. The quality of the result obtained will largely depend on this process. Onions should be sorted and sorted before planting.
You need to get rid of all diseased, dry or damaged specimens. All available sets are distributed depending on the size into three groups. In the same way (in size) the plant is planted. The uniformity of future shoots will depend on this process. Consider how to prepare onions for planting after sorting. When everything is sorted and all bad bulbs are removed, the remaining specimens should be dried. Do this for three or four days at a temperature of thirty-five degrees. This procedure is carried out inthe case when the plants were stored at a temperature of less than sixteen degrees Celsius. Onions need to be well warmed up before planting. Otherwise, its quality will suffer greatly due to the resulting arrows. There is an opinion that after drying, it is necessary to soak the bulbs in diluted fertilizer for eight or ten hours. Then dip them for five minutes in diluted blue vitriol. And after all these manipulations, the onion can be washed and planted in the ground.
To prepare the seeds for planting, they need to be kept in conditions of high humidity for two weeks. Two days before planting, they can be wrapped in a wet cloth, which should be moistened periodically. Seeds are planted in prepared soil towards the end of April.
Planting onions
In the previous section, we figured out how to prepare the onion for planting. Now you need to understand how to carry out the landing itself.
There are certain rules. The distance between rows should be in the range of twenty to twenty-five centimeters. But between the heads it should be from five to ten centimeters.
If you planted the heads too close to each other, then in the process of growth they will need to be thinned out, and the resulting onions should be used for food. Planting depth is also important. It should be four centimeters. This means that the layer of earth covering the tail must be at least two centimeters thick.
It must be remembered that onions do not like clay soils. If your beds are just like that, then add sand and peat to them. Then mix everything well. Of the crops, carrots are a good "neighbor" for onions. It is believed that she is able to drive away the onion fly.
Features of care
In order for a good onion to grow in your garden, planting and caring for it must be done correctly. This plant loves the light of the sun, so the best harvest will be in open areas. Onions do not grow well on acidic soils, so the beds are often limed. During the first one and a half months after planting, it is necessary to water every eight days. When the bulb begins to form and ripen, watering is stopped.
The only exception is a too dry period. If the color of the onion feather is whitish, then the plant does not have enough moisture, and a light green tint indicates that there is too much of it. Planting onions in the beds where tomatoes, beans or cabbage grew last year will contribute to a better harvest. You can not plant this plant after cucumbers, carrots, as well as the onions and garlic themselves. After these crops, this plant can be grown only after five years. In addition to watering, weeding and loosening the soil should be carried out. And also top dressing with fertilizers. "Feed" onions three times. First, nutrients are applied before planting. The next fertilizer is produced as soon as the leaves become about ten centimeters long. And the last time fertilizer is applied when the size of the onion head reacheswalnut.
Disease prevention
To prevent the occurrence of onion diseases, it is necessary to treat those plants that have already reached a length of fifteen centimeters with an antifungal agent. To prepare it, you need to take five liters of water, half a teaspoon of blue vitriol and half a tablespoon of laundry liquid soap. Onions can be affected by black mold, rust, neck rot and other ailments.
Harvesting
The onion harvest, which was planted in the spring, begins in mid-August. But it also depends on the growing region. In some places this may happen sooner or later. As soon as the stem has laid down and the plant has turned golden, you can start harvesting. The result of onion yield depends not only on the quality of care, but also on the plant variety, soil fertility and natural conditions.
Onion is one of my favorite crops to grow. This plant has healing properties and is able to protect the human body from colds. In addition, almost no meat or vegetable dish can do without onions. After all, it is able to improve the taste of food, and in addition, it will also facilitate its digestion. In this article, we figured out not only how to prepare the onion for planting, but also found out the basics of care and cultivation for this plant. By following all the simple rules, you will be able to achieve a high yield of onions in your beds, as well as a good quality of each head.