Tiered onions: planting, growing and care with photos and videos

Multi-tiered onion, or viviparous (Allium proliferum) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Onion family, which is still quite rare in summer cottages and vegetable gardens. In the people it is also called Canadian, Egyptian, walking or horned. Despite its exotic and unusual appearance, vegetable crops are extremely unpretentious in cultivation and care.

Origin and characteristics

It is believed that the multi-tiered onion comes from China and was the result of spontaneous natural hybridization of batun and onions. In the ancient Chinese herbal, dating from the end of the 14th century, there are references to a plant with similar morphological features called lau-chi-tsun.From East Asia, culture came to the European continent in the 19th century, first to England, then spread to other countries. It was brought to Russia only at the very end of the last century.

Outwardly, a viviparous onion looks like a batun. It also has hollow hollow leaves covered with a bluish wax coating, reaching a height of 45-60 cm and a diameter of up to 1.5-2 cm. The plant produces a flower arrow up to 0.8-1 m long, but not seeds are formed on it, but air bulbs (bulbs). Moreover, the plant is characterized by the formation of several bulbous tiers (3-4, sometimes 5).

At the first level, the largest onions are formed with a diameter of about 2-3 cm and a weight of about 15-25 g. As you move up, their size greatly decreases and often does not exceed 3-5 g.

Before the appearance of air bulbs, the leaves have a delicate juicy texture with an original spicy taste and are used in food in green form. Then they get rough and bitter. Slightly elongated onion bulbs are covered with thin scales of purple, golden or brown color (depending on the variety) and are more often used to prepare various pickles and marinades.

The root system of this plant is powerful and branched, it can go to a depth of 1-1.5 m. The underground mother bulb is small and loose, unsuitable for eating. Over time, it is divided into several parts, which, along with the bulbs, are used in the fall when transplanting or planting a multi-tiered onion to another place.

Features of reproduction

Air bulbs release roots directly on the bush and the plant propagates easily with them, reproduction occurs only vegetatively, since seeds never form on this crop. Ripe bulbs are harvested at the end of summer or autumn, immediately planted in the ground or stored until spring in a cool place.It is not recommended to cut the green feather more than 2-3 times per season, as the future seed material (bulbs) will be weak and too small.

The division of the uterine bulb is carried out at the same time, but it cannot be stored for a long time (because of the loose structure, it quickly deteriorates), so the slices are planted immediately in a permanent place. It is allowed to divide the bush during the entire growing season, otherwise the plantings will thicken greatly.

Requirements for conditions

The multi-tiered onion does not cause any difficulties in growing, it is frost-resistant, as well as drought-resistant and can grow anywhere. But in order to get the first green arrows as early as possible, you need to choose rich breathable loamy soils for this crop. Wet, acidic and heavy soils are unsuitable for viviparous onions.

When the substrate is swamped, underground bulbs quickly rot. A well-warmed and sunlit area is most suitable, from which the snow cover comes off early in the spring and water does not linger.

An important condition for growing and getting an early harvest will be the timely application of organic fertilizers. It is recommended to plant this onion crop after beets, zucchini, potatoes, radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, legumes.

Growing Technology

The viviparous onion has some cultivation features, it can be cultivated as a perennial and annual. In the first variant, ammonium nitrate (10-12 g), superphosphate (30-40 g) and potassium s alt (20-30 g) per 1 m² are added to the soil before planting. In the second case, when digging into the ground, it is necessary to add 6-8 kg of humus or well-rotted manure per 1 m².

To get the first early spring greenery, earthen bulbs are not planted, only bulbs that have started to grow roots should be planted.This should be done before mid-August, otherwise the heads will not have time to take root well. At later planting dates, the start of leaf collection is postponed and yields are reduced. If you plant the onions in the spring, then the cut feather will be ready in about 3-4 weeks.

Planting material is planted in open ground in rows, leaving row spacings of about 25-30 cm. Large specimens are placed at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other, small ones - 3-5 cm. depending on size). Thickened plantings are further thinned out, using the ground part together with the bulb as food. If you plan to grow a bush in one place for several years, then leave at least 40-60 cm between plants.

To get greens, you can grow multi-tiered onions on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, the temperature is not higher than +10 … +12 ° С. Large bulbs and bulbs are densely planted in boxes with a nutrient substrate and watered regularly.Planting material does not need to be harvested and stored in advance; you can dig a bush directly from the garden during the thaw. A fresh feather reaches nutritional condition in 20-25 days.

Features of care

Caring for onions of all perennial species consists of the following manipulations:

Loosening. The earth between the rows is loosened once a week to saturate it with oxygen.
Weeding. Weeds must be removed in time so that they do not take away nutrients.
Water. Humidification is carried out after drying of the topsoil. Approximately 1 bucket of water per 1 m² with a frequency of 10-14 days. Otherwise, in dry weather, the yield decreases, the feather grows poorly, the bulbs increase little in size.
Thinning. Thick plantings are thinned out, mother bushes are divided and planted.
Feeding.Onion beds need to be fertilized periodically. The first top dressing is carried out in early spring in the snow (70-100 g of nitrophoska per 1 m²). Leaves grown up to 35-40 cm are cut off at least 5-7 cm from the ground, then the bush must be fertilized with potassium s alt, ammonia compounds or liquid organic matter.
Garter. To prevent arrows with heavy air bulbs from breaking, they are tied to pegs or trellises.

In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, you need to remove all dead plant residues from the site, then feed the onion crop. Plantings are thinned out, 1 head is left in each nest, the rest are planted separately or used for food (this procedure can be performed in the fall before winter). To speed up the growth of greens for cutting, a bed with onions is covered with a film. In this case, the fresh feather will grow 10-15 days earlier, but it will have a lighter color and not as sharp taste.

Experienced vegetable growers do not advise growing viviparous onions for more than 5 years in one place. This plant gives the best harvest in the first 2-3 years of cultivation. Above-ground air heads are harvested as soon as basal tubercles appear on them, this time falls on the end of July or the beginning of August. If you do not have time to collect the bulbs in time, then they will spontaneously spill out onto the ground. Then the arrows turn yellow and dry out. Foliage stays green and fresh until frost.

Horned onions are sometimes affected by fungal infections or insect pests, but not more than other onion crops. For prevention purposes, it is recommended to spray the bushes with a solution of Bordeaux liquid (1%) and carefully remove all plant debris from the site. Aisles to repel insects are sprinkled with ash, mothballs, tobacco dust or hot ground pepper. To get a bountiful harvest, it is necessary to carry out timely and competent care.

Varieties

The varietal diversity of this crop is not too great. The following varieties are recommended for cultivation in the middle lane:

Gribovsky 38. Bush of medium height (up to 0.4 m), dense and compact. Frost-resistant and early ripe variety of Egyptian onions, zoned for Siberia and the Urals. The first cut of the green feather can be done as early as 21 days after planting the bulb.
Likova. An early ripening onion, characterized by high yield (up to 4 kg of greens per 1 m²), frost resistance and increased resistance to lodging. The foliage grows up to 0.45 m in 20-25 days, has a pleasant pungent taste. From 3 to 8 large dark purple heads are formed on the arrow. A small basal bulb with an unbranched root system.
Odessa winter. The feather reaches 0.25-0.4 m in length, the yield is about 2.4 kg per 1 m². Recommended for southern regions.Often shoots in the first year. The number of tiers depends on the climate, weather conditions and how to care for (a two-tier one is grown in the middle lane, 3-4 tiers have time to form in the south).
Memory. High-yielding (6 kg per 1 m²), early maturing, three-tiered variety, with a leaf length of up to 0.44 m. Medium-sized bulbs, red-violet color.
Chelyabinsk Super Early. The greens are low (up to 0.2 m), tender, juicy and soft, with a spicy taste. For 1 cut, you can collect 1.5-1.7 kg from 1 m².

Pros and cons of culture

A multi-tiered bow, planting and caring for which does not cause much trouble, is characterized only on the positive side. This is a very frost-resistant plant that allows you to get the freshest and earliest greens in the open field, greenhouse or at home on the windowsill. Bulbs do not need to be dug up in autumn, as they will overwinter well under a little snow cover even when the air temperature drops to -45 ° C.Since the plant does not have a dormant period, it can be planted at any time.

Leaves and heads of viviparous onions have a large amount of phytoncides and are rich in nutrients. In the green mass of this crop, nitrates and other harmful substances do not accumulate. The plant contains vitamins (C, PP, B1, E, B2), as well as potassium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, manganese and calcium.