Growing onions on a turnip in the open field: care and feeding

When growing onions on a turnip, you need to follow a number of agricultural practices and carry out special care. In this case, there will be no problems at any of the stages of plant development, and the harvest will please with its quality and quantity. First of all, you need to choose the most appropriate way to plant the onion.

Peculiarities of culture

Onion refers to one-, two- and three-year-old plant species. From the seeds of the vegetable, which is called nigella, onion sets are obtained in the first year. Sets of small size, 2 cm in diameter and weight about 5 g. Already in the second year, large onion heads are obtained from sets.If you plant such an onion in the third year, you can get seeds - nigella.

Growing turnips from sets has many advantages. You can harvest a rich harvest of large heads already after 75 days from the moment the first shoots appear. This vegetable does not require frequent watering and thinning. Onions grown from sets have a good and long shelf life.

The main criterion when planting onions on a head in open ground is soil temperature. It is better to wait for the upper layer to warm up to +12 degrees. If you plant onions in cold soil, many arrows will form, and the turnip will be small and such a crop will not be stored for long.

Planting material is mandatory selected. The bulbs should be smooth, dense, free of stains and unpleasant odors. It is better to select the largest heads, subsequently they form little arrows, tolerate cold well and grow quickly.

Planting material is disinfected. To this end, the bulbs are kept for some time in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, copper sulfate or edible s alt.

Soil preparation

For planting and care in the open field, choose a well-lit area where groundwater does not pass. It is better if the soil is loamy. Onions grow well in neutral soil. If the soil is acidic, then wood ash should first be added. Two years before sowing a vegetable, liming of the prepared soil can be carried out. The best predecessors for onions will be cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes.

In autumn, the land for growing sevka in open ground is freed from plant residues and weeds are removed. After that, water the soil so that the remaining shoots of weeds come out again. Then they start digging. The depth of the shovel should be at least 25 cm.

During the autumn digging, it is desirable to add humus or compost. For each square meter, it is recommended to add about 5-6 kg of humus. If there are not enough nutrients in the soil, then urea, superphosphate and potash fertilizers must also be added.

In the spring, before planting the seedlings, nitroammophoska is introduced during loosening. Planting onions on a head in open ground begins in the first half of May, when warm weather sets in. The main thing is that the soil warms up and is not lower than + 12 degrees.

Which variety to choose?

When choosing a variety of spicy vegetable, there are some characteristics to consider.

In terms of ripening, early (the bulb is formed in about 92 days), medium (the development period lasts about 110 days) and late (ripening occurs after 120 days) varieties of onions are distinguished. Some bulbs are grown for greens, others are designed for growing on turnips.
Fruit size can be from 50 g to 350 g.
Sharp, semi-sharp and sweet varieties of vegetables are distinguished by taste.

For growing onions on a turnip from seeds, early varieties with the formation of one bulb are chosen, for example, Odintsovets, Red Baron, Strigunovsky, Kaba, Tsitaussky, Shaman, Centaur, Rapture, Crimson Ball.

The selected seeds begin to be sown in pre-prepared grooves 1.5 cm deep approximately at the end of April. The area should be well lit. After germination, thinning begins.

Poorly growing onion turnip needs to be fed on time. Properly selected fertilizers allow you to collect a large and plentiful crop, as well as prevent a number of diseases and pests. A vegetable needs sufficient amounts of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen.

Onions most often form a lot of arrows as a result of early planting in poorly warmed soil, improper storage of planting material, or if the head size exceeds 3 cm. large heads.

Is it possible to plant an onion on a head in July? It is possible, only onions grown from sets are used as planting material. Select only dense, large bulbs. The only difference in care will be frequent watering of the beds. In this case, the greenery will delight all autumn. The bulb will only be suitable for consumption immediately after harvest, it will not be stored for storage.

When to plant?

It is very important to choose the right time when to plant onion sets on a head in open ground.Planting begins at a soil temperature of at least +12 degrees. At cold air temperatures and cold soil, the onion begins to actively develop green mass, while the underground part remains weak and underdeveloped. A lot of arrows with seeds are formed, which will take all the nutrients and moisture for their ripening.

In central Russia, where the climate is not characterized by stable warm weather, seedlings are planted in early May. In the southern regions, you can land a little earlier, at the end of April. In the northern regions, planting onions is best left until mid-May.

The processing of the site begins in the fall. They dig deep and apply organic and mineral fertilizers. The best soil is loamy or chernozem composition.

Landing

For turnip onions in the open field, loose, not acidified, fertile soil is considered the best.Planting onions in the spring on the head is most often carried out in one line. Furrows 6 cm deep are marked on the land plot, the distance between them should be about 14 cm. The interval between the bulbs themselves depends on their size. If the heads are large, then the distance should be at least 10 cm. If the heads are small, then 6 cm is enough.

The bulbs should not be sunk too deep into the ground. It is enough to slightly deepen and cover with a small layer of soil. After planting, the beds are watered and mulched with sawdust or straw.

Already on the 10th day, the first shoots appear. In order for oxygen and nutrients to be evenly distributed in the soil and to penetrate faster to the roots, it is necessary to loosen. Be sure to carry out weeding so as not to start the spread of weeds.

Onion heads for storage begin to be laid only after the final ripening and drying of the harvested crop. Otherwise, the crop will not be stored and will begin to rot.

Care

The first top dressing of onions on a turnip is carried out 14 days after germination. If the feather is pale in color, weak and sluggish, then fertilizer can be applied earlier. Usually use root watering with a solution based on urea or nitroammophoska.

The second feeding is carried out after another three weeks (usually coincides with the second half of June). During this period, it is important to replenish the soil with potassium and phosphorus reserves. You can prepare a solution of superphosphate and potassium s alt.

How to feed an onion head in July so that it grows large and juicy? If the soil is not sufficiently enriched with micronutrients, then a third top dressing is necessary. It is best to apply complex fertilizers. The ideal option is the ready-made complex Agricola 2, Giant, Effecton.

Water beds with onions should be moderate. The first weeks after germination, it is enough to water once every two weeks. If the weather is hot, without rain, then the frequency of watering is increased to once a week. After watering, loosening is necessary to prevent the formation of a crust.

In case of violation of agricultural practices and improper care, the risk of developing diseases increases. Onions are most often affected by a fungal infection (powdery mildew, root rot). Pests such as onion fly, moth, nematode may also appear.

When the length of the feathers reaches 15 cm, it is recommended to carry out preventive treatment of beds with copper sulfate from pests. On a bucket of water take 10 g of copper sulfate and 15 ml of liquid soap. You can sprinkle the beds with wood ash or tobacco dust.

Harvesting and storage

It is very important to harvest turnips and feathers at the right time.There are many ways to determine the timing of onion ripening. Most often guided by external signs. The feather begins to turn yellow, dry, curl, most of the tops lie on the ground. The neck of the bulb becomes thinner and dries out. The bulb is covered with a golden, rustling husk.

Two weeks before harvesting, stop watering the onion heads and fertilizing. This will allow the nutrients to concentrate in the turnip and not in the tops. Some gardeners rake the ground near the bulbs, slightly exposing them. This procedure allows heat and light to penetrate more quickly to the underground part of the plant.

Harvesting is best done in dry, warm weather. It is not recommended to pull the onion by hand, as you can damage the bottom and cut off the tops. It is better to dig with a pitchfork or a shovel. Adhering dirt is shaken from the heads, but you should not hit the bulbs against each other.

The harvested crop is laid out on sheets of cardboard or plywood in one layer right on the beds, allowing it to dry under the sun. If the weather is rainy, then the onions should be dried in a dry room where fresh air penetrates.

The onion dries completely in about two weeks. After that, they start trimming the tops, leaving a stump of 5-6 cm. If it is supposed to braid the tops into braids and hang them, then leave a length of about 10 cm.

It is better to store the heads in wooden boxes, cardboard boxes, cloth bags or nets. Periodically they need to be sorted out. In autumn, after harvesting, the site is dug up, all plant residues are removed from the garden and fertilized.