How to grow and care for onions outdoors to get a good harvest?

The cultivation of onions must be carried out according to certain agrotechnical rules. This will allow you to harvest a rich and high-quality crop.

Biological features of onions

Bulb onions belongs to the liliaceae (onion) family and the monocotyledonous class. The homeland is considered to be Central Asia. This vegetable crop is grown in almost all garden plots. Spice heads are used as a seasoning and added to many dishes.

Onions are rich in nutrients. The taste and smell is due to the high content of essential oils. Their content can be different, it all depends on the growing conditions, the degree of maturity and storage of the harvested crop. Knowing the secrets of onion care and cultivation, you can get a healthy, rich and high-quality harvest.

More than 400 types of onions are distinguished, but only 10 of them have been introduced into the culture. The vegetable belongs to one, two and three-year-old group of plants. When sowing seeds (nigella), a set is obtained. The seeds are small, weighing only about 1 g, the seedlings reach 2 cm in diameter. When the seedlings are planted, large heads of onions are obtained. When they are planted in the third year, they again receive arrows with boxes in which the seeds ripen.

Onions are cold-resistant crops. Seeds germinate at a temperature of about +3 degrees. However, growth and development best of all occur at an air temperature of +11 degrees.

The onion root system is poorly developed, therefore, it makes great demands on the composition of the soil. In addition, onions need special care during cultivation.

Varietal variety of onions

There are two large groups of onions for outdoor cultivation:

1. A group of varieties for the northern regions, where daylight hours are about 16 hours. Only with this length of day will large bulbs form and seeds develop. Northern varieties with a short daylight hours will have time to form only green feathers.
2. Southern onion varieties can form a large, dense and juicy bulb with a short daylight hours (the day length is about 12 hours). If such varieties are planted in regions with an extended daylight hours, then the bulb will be poorly formed and stored.

Currently, breeders are developing varieties that do not respond to daylight hours. When planted in both northern and southern regions, you can get a good harvest.

Before sowing in open ground, planting material of any kind is recommended to be treated with growth stimulants and disinfectant solutions.

Onions are divided into groups according to their taste.

Exist types of onions, which can be divided according to taste. It all depends on the ratio of sugar and essential oils in the composition of the bulb:

• Sharp.
• Semi-sharp.
• Sweet (salad).

If the sugar content of this cultivated plant is low, then the level of essential oils is low. The bow will not be very sharp and will produce few green feathers. In addition, proper care affects the taste, and taking into account all the rules of agricultural technology. Breeders annually introduce new types of onions for cultivation. Among the new varieties, there are those that have a sweet taste without a hint of bitterness.

Sevok is planted very early in spring (late April or early May) or seedlings. Sowing nigella for seedlings begins in mid or early February. Within two months, the seedlings will be ready for transplantation to a permanent place. In order for a culture to receive all the necessary nutrients, it must be properly cared for.

General approaches to agricultural onion cultivation

If all agrotechnical techniques are followed, then you can grow a good harvest of onions in the basement. For this, special wooden shelves with lighting are made. A plastic wrap is laid at the bottom of the structure and the soil is covered. In the future, the cultivation technology is no different from the care of the beds in the open air.

Predecessors and compatibility

The reason why the onion did not grow in the garden is sometimes the wrong planting site.

The best precursors for onions are vegetables such as cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, courgettes, and legumes.

You can plant carrots, cabbage, beets, radishes, herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro) next to the onion beds.

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Soil requirements

In order for the onion heads in the garden to grow large, the soil must meet certain requirements:

• The soil in the beds should be moist, especially in the first weeks after planting. But waterlogging should not be allowed, as this leads to a decrease in taste, rotting and a decrease in the shelf life of the crop.
• There should be neutral acidity. If the acidity is increased, then it is recommended to add wood ash.
• To grow giant onions, the soil must contain a lot of nutrients, especially organic matter. In the fall, compost or humus is added to the soil at the rate of 5-6 kg per 1 sq. m.

Onions grow well in loose, loamy, sandy loam or chernozem soil, which is characterized by high moisture capacity and moisture permeability. If the soil is heavy and acidic, the harvest will be poor.

Environmental requirement

Another unfavorable factor why the onion bulb does not grow is bad weather conditions. Onions are cold-resistant crops, so you can plant them already in early May, when the air temperature is around +5 degrees. In this case, the soil temperature should not be lower than +10 degrees.

Cooling affects the rate of development and growth of the plant. The onion heads grow small, the plant has poor immunity, the harvested crop will be poorly stored.

The specifics of growing turnip onions from sets

Large heads are obtained by growing onions in the Chinese way. Seed material is planted on a hill - ridges that are prepared in advance. The bulbs are deepened by 3 cm and sprinkled with a small layer of earth.

Soil preparation for sowing

The soil for planting sevka begins to prepare in the fall. It is recommended to dig up a site deeply (to a depth of 25 cm), while potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied. With autumn soil cultivation, the ability to absorb moisture increases. With high acidity of the soil in the fall, it is recommended to add wood ash, dolomite flour or ground chalk.

Do not dig too deep in the soil in the spring, as the loose substrate prevents seeds from germinating. It is better to loosen the area with a rake in the spring and add nitroammofosk.

How many days onions grow depends on the variety. On average, a vegetable needs 2.5–3 months to grow. It is planted in May and begins to be dug up in August. Even if the head of the onion has not grown large enough, you should not overexpose it in the ground after ripening. As soon as the feathers turn yellow, dry and fall on the ground, they begin to dig it.

Seeding preparation

If a set of any varieties of onions was bought in a store, then it must be dried by distributing it in one layer on cardboard or fabric material away from heating appliances. If the seed was grown independently, then before planting it needs to be thoroughly warmed up to activate growth. It is necessary to heat for two weeks at a temperature of +20 degrees, then it is heated for 8-10 hours at a temperature of +35 degrees.

You can just pour hot water on the set for 15-20 minutes before planting (the water temperature should be about 45 degrees). After that, the set is transferred to cold water.

After the warming up procedure, it is useful to place the planting material in growth-stimulating solutions. For this purpose, drugs such as Zircon, Rost, Gumisol are used.

Onion seeds disinfect before planting in open ground. For this purpose, it is placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or in a solution with copper sulfate (5 g of copper sulfate are taken for 10 liters).

Planting sevka

It is best to plant sevka in mid-May, when the weather is stable. The soil should warm up to +12 degrees. The best landing site is an elevated location where no underground water flows. The site should be exposed to sunlight all day without obstacles.

In the selected area, furrows are made at a distance of 15-18 cm, 3 cm deep. After that, the furrows are watered with warm water and the seedlings are planted at intervals of about 8-10 cm. Do not deepen the seedlings too much, they cover it with a small layer of earth.

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What to do if the onion rots in the garden, how to deal with it and how to process it

After planting, the sets need special care. You need to water twice a week, you should not allow the spread of weeds, and after two weeks you need to do the first top dressing.

Top dressing

Proper care of onions in the open field consists in the timely application of fertilizers:

• The first feeding is carried out 15-17 days after planting, when the phase of active growth of greenery begins. If the feather grows weak, thin and pale, then micronutrients can be added earlier. They use a solution based on urea, which is poured under the root, nitroammophos. As the first feeding, a liquid mullein solution is suitable.
• The next fertilization is carried out in mid-June, three weeks after the first fertilization. At this time, the underground part of the plant is actively developing and it is important to add potassium-phosphorus compositions. You can prepare a solution of superphosphate and potassium salt.
• The third feeding with potash-phosphorus fertilizers (without nitrogen) is carried out only if the soil is depleted, and the plants themselves look weak and develop poorly.

If organic matter was introduced in the fall, all plant residues were removed from the site, then usually this is enough to get a good harvest.

Watering

Another point to consider when growing onions is that they love moist soil. In the first month after sprouting onions, watering should be done once every two weeks. If the weather is dry and hot, then the number of waterings increases to once a week.

Water for irrigation must always be warm and it is better to pour it between the rows. It is advisable to carry out the procedure in the evening or early in the morning.

Loosening of the soil is carried out after watering.This procedure kills pests and their larvae, prevents crust formation and allows oxygen and nutrients to reach the plant roots faster.

After watering, the soil should be wet to a depth of 10 cm. During the period of bulb formation, the abundance of watering increases.

Two weeks before the expected harvest, they stop watering, carrying out only dry loosening. This will allow all nutrients to accumulate in the head and not form a crust on the soil surface.

Loosening, thinning

As the onion grows, thinning is carried out. With dense planting, two thinning are carried out. The weakest and smallest plants are removed. At the first thinning, the distance between the plants is 4 cm. The second thinning is carried out a month later, leaving the distance between the onions of 8 cm.

Loosening is carried out after watering the soil and after rains. This procedure prevents the spread of weeds and allows oxygen to penetrate to the roots without obstruction.

Whether it is necessary to rake off the soil from the bulbs, the decision is made by each grower independently. But it was noticed that the procedure allows you to move the ripening period faster, since more light and heat penetrates to the bulb. Raking the soil should be a couple of weeks before harvest.

Protection against diseases and pests

Often, vegetable beds are attacked by pests and various infections. To reduce the risk of these misfortunes, preventive treatments of onion beds are carried out. Both folk formulations and ready-made, store-bought preparations can be used.

For preventive purposes, onions can be treated with a solution based on copper sulfate. 5 g of this component is dissolved in 10 liters of water and 30 ml of liquid soap is added.

Wood ash, ground pepper, tobacco dust help to protect against diseases and pests. A mixture of these components is sprinkled between the rows of onions. Between the rows, the soil can be watered with saline (200 g of table salt is diluted in 10 liters of water).

Helps to destroy pest larvae by loosening. Loosen the onions as often as possible, especially after watering or after rain.

Harvest

Harvesting begins after a third of the onion leaves turn yellow, dry and lay on the ground. At the same time, the neck of the bulb becomes soft, thinner and dries.

After digging up, the crop can be dried directly in the garden. If the weather is rainy, then the onion is removed indoors. It takes about two weeks for the bulbs to dry completely.

For onion harvest storage it is best to choose a cool, dry, dark room with good ventilation. The air temperature should be about +3 degrees.