Bulb onion: description of the plant, planting and care in the open field

Onion is a common plant that is grown by many summer residents on their plots. The popularity of this vegetable is due to the fact that it is added to many culinary dishes. Without it, some dishes seem simply tasteless and insipid.

Getting a quality onion crop is pretty easy. To do this, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the vegetable and the nuances of its cultivation.

Onion vegetable: description

About such a plant as an onion, people knew in the days of Ancient Egypt. The first images of this vegetable crop were found on tombs dating back to 2800 BC. In those days, onion heads were actively used in folk medicine to treat pestilence and other common diseases.Now they are most often used to prepare delicious dishes.

Before you start growing bulbs, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the basic description of the plant. Onion is a perennial plant, from the seeds of which small heads 1-3 cm in size are obtained in the first year of cultivation. In the next year, the resulting crop is used as a seed to obtain normal onion fruits. You can find out what onions look like with the help of photos that show the plant.

Varieties and size of bulbs

To obtain large bulbs, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with the varieties of onions. The fact is that this vegetable has different varietal requirements for daylight hours and growing conditions.

Southern

Popular among vegetable growers are varieties of plants that are grown in the southern regions.Their peculiarity lies in the fact that the normal formation of the bulb will be with a light day lasting 15-16 hours. In this case, the plant will quickly increase the vegetative mass and begin to ripen.

In the northern regions, planting such varieties is not recommended due to unsuitable climatic conditions. In the conditions of the northern climate in summer, daylight hours quickly reach their maximum and therefore the bulbs do not have time to fully form and ripen.

Northern

Northern varieties of elongated and elongated onions cannot be planted in the southern regions. In the northern regions, onion bushes constantly form leaf mass. Even with time, the formation of the bulb does not begin, as the plant does not have enough light to move on to the next growth phases.

Selection and storage of seed

To get a large amount of high-quality crop, it is necessary to prepare seeds of turnip in advance. You can buy them in specialized stores or grow them yourself. The latter option is complicated by the fact that you will have to familiarize yourself with the features of storing seed.

When preparing seeds for planting on your own, you will have to divide them into three groups in advance:

Group 1 - diameter 0.4-0.6 cm.
Group 2 - diameter 0.7-1.4 cm.
Group 3 - diameter 1.5-2.4 cm.

To achieve maximum yield, seeds belonging to the second and third groups are selected. Selected onion seeds are stored in a room with a temperature of about 2-3 degrees Celsius. They can also be stored in apartments if the temperature does not exceed 20 degrees. Violation of the temperature regime negatively affects the yield.Therefore, if the seeds were stored in a too cold or warm room, it is better not to plant them.

Technology for growing turnips

Before you start planting, you need to familiarize yourself with the technology of growing onions.

Onion predecessors

When choosing a site for growing onion bushes, you must definitely find out what plants grew there before. Some vegetables are incompatible with onions, and therefore, after them, the seedlings increase their green mass much worse.

Potatoes, tomatoes, beets and cucumbers are considered excellent predecessors. Bulbs also develop well in areas where carrots, radishes and plants related to legumes were grown.

Sowka planting period

To figure out how to grow large onions from sets, you need to determine the optimal planting period. Bulbs are planted in early April or late November for winter vegetable cultivation. However, most vegetable growers prefer spring planting, as growing conditions are unfavorable in winter, which will cause small onion heads to form.

When choosing a planting period, the region where onion bushes are grown is taken into account. Gardeners in the southern regions of the country plant a plant at the end of March or the first half of April. Residents of the northern regions will have to wait for the end of night frosts, as temperatures below -3 … 5 degrees completely stop the development and growth of bushes.

The requirement of onions to the soil

Before planting, you should study the basic requirements of the plant for the soil in which it will grow.

Many varieties of onions do not do well with fresh organic matter and soil with a high level of acidity. Therefore, it is recommended to prepare the site for planting vegetables in 2-3 months. To do this, lime is added to the ground to reduce acidity and rotted humus. Instead of lime, ash is sometimes used in the amount of 200-300 grams per square meter of the garden.

After adding lime or ash, the acid level of the soil is measured. Indicators should be in the range of 6-7 pH.

Fertilization

To grow onions, fertilizers are needed, which are added to the soil before planting a vegetable. It is not necessary to feed the plant, as this negatively affects the development of the bushes. Therefore, a small amount of top dressing is added to the soil, which will help build up the vegetative mass.

Before adding fertilizer to the soil, a preliminary digging of the site is carried out for half a shovel. Then rotted humus is added to the ground. No more than 3-4 kg of fertilizer is consumed per square meter of the garden. Green manures are also added to the ground, which will make it more loose and airy.

How to plant onions outdoors?

Before you start growing onions, you should familiarize yourself with the features of its planting.

Spring planting

In spring planting, the single-row method is often used. In this case, the distance between each bulb is made at least 10-15 cm. However, sometimes the distance changes during the growing process. If you plant a plant using the “shoulder to shoulder” method, the density between each plant does not exceed 2-3 cm. 10 days after planting, the seedlings are thinned out and their distance increases to 5 cm.A month later, repeated thinning is carried out, in which the distance increases to 15 cm between each bush.

Planting onions before winter

Planting varieties of onions before winter is carried out in the second half of September or early October.

During planting, the surface of the earth is compacted and leveled with a rake, after which holes are made on the site 5-8 cm deep. When the holes are created, their bottom is sprinkled with organic and mineral fertilizers. If the earth is dry, it is moistened with heated water.

After planting, the entire area with planted bulbs is mulched with pine needles or dried leaves. At night, rows with onions are covered with a film that will protect the seedlings from frost.

Onion care

The technology of growing onions also includes the proper care of planted plants. Proper care is the best way to get a quality crop.

Feeding

When growing onions, onions must be fed in open ground. For the first time, fertilizers are added 15 days after planting the seed in the soil. To do this, a mixture prepared from 10 liters of water and 30 grams of urea is added to the ground. Some gardeners use nitroammophoska or nitrophoska instead of this fertilizer.

The next fertilizer is carried out 20 days after the previous top dressing. In this case, a mixture created from 15 grams of potassium s alt and 25 grams of superphosphate is added to the soil.

Irrigation

Before watering onions, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of watering this plant. In the first month of cultivation, the plant is watered twice a week. If the weather is too dry, you can moisten the soil 2-3 times a week.A month before harvest, the bulbs are transferred to dry watering, during which the soil is not moistened at all and only loosens.

Protection from diseases and pests

To get a he althy harvest, it is necessary to protect plants from pests and diseases that often lead to the death of onions. To determine the presence of a disease on the bushes, it is enough to carefully examine their condition. In diseased plants, twisting of the leaves and a change in their color are observed. When such symptoms appear, all onion bushes should be sprayed with bioinsecticides. These mixtures can be safely used, as they are safe for plants and people.

Onion harvesting

To collect onions for storage, you need to make sure that they are fully ripe. To determine the ripeness of the bulbs, carefully examine their leaves.If the bushes turn yellow and begin to wither, then it's time to harvest. This is done on sunny and dry days so that the soil is not too wet. When digging up long-term varieties of onions, all bulbs are cleaned from the ground and dried. Then the entire harvest is placed in the cellar for winter storage.

Conclusion

All gardeners who like to grow vegetables are engaged in growing onions. To properly grow this vegetable, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of planting onion heads and caring for planted plants.