Onions are one of the most popular crops grown in the world. Known since time immemorial. The ancient Greeks considered the onion a symbol of the structure of the Universe. In Egypt it was a symbol of eternal life.
Now grown on an industrial scale. The consumption of this product is extremely high. It is included in the recipes for preparing meat dishes in almost all nations. It is also added to various soups, salads, casseroles, pies, dumplings and manti. It gives dishes a pleasant spicy and islandy taste. It has been used in Russia for a very long time.
Useful properties of onions
Bulbs and leaves are rich in nitrogenous and sugary substances, contain inulin, phytin, the flavonoid quercetin, fats and enzymes, potassium, phosphorus and calcium salts, fruit acids, vitamins A, B1, B2, PP, C. A distinctive feature of onions is the essential oil with irritating type of action.
Onions have medicinal properties, for example, they are used for pulmonary diseases. This is one of the most multivitamin plants, which in early spring saturates the human body with essential substances. Onions have a digestive stimulating, calming and diuretic effect. Due to the irritant effect of the juice, it has a bactericidal and anthelmintic effect.
Water temperature requirements
When to water tomatoes after planting
Many gardeners who are just starting to plant onions have a question about whether warm or cold watering of onions is most preferable for the crop. Experienced gardeners insist that a decent harvest of juicy onions with large heads can only be grown in a plot equipped with a storage tank for water. This could be an ordinary welded tank installed at the highest point of the site. Water is poured into it from a well or tap and left for several days. During this time, the liquid warms up under the sun's rays and acquires the optimal temperature for watering onions.
Watering young onions
Slightly heated and settled water is best suited for irrigating almost any garden crop, be it beets, carrots or onions. Warm water will not only improve the growth of the heads, but will also minimize the risk of contamination of the crop with bacteria and fungal diseases. This is due to the fact that watering with warm water does not cause the onions to experience stress due to temperature changes.
Features of growing in open ground
It is grown almost everywhere due to its unpretentiousness. But you need to know certain principles of cultivating onions in open ground. According to varieties they are divided into northern and southern. Northern varieties love long daylight hours up to 18 hours, southern varieties up to 13 hours. Insufficient daylight hours and cool weather lead to the formation of shoots and the bulb is poorly formed.
Features of the place and soil
The future harvest depends on choosing the right place. The soil must be loose. If the soil contains clay, then it is better not to plant in such places. You cannot plant onions in one place for many years in a row. The land is depleted, the harvest is declining. Fungal spores or onion fly larvae may accumulate in the ground. For this reason, places need to be changed.
It is not recommended to plant after garlic or carrots. The soil must be fertile. The plant is cold-resistant, but if it is planted too early, the onion will go to waste. For this reason, it is better to plant after all frosts. The ground must be neutral. Does not like acidic soils with mineral fertilizers. You can use dolomite flour or wood ash to extinguish acidity.
Illumination
Despite its extreme unpretentiousness, onions do not like shaded places. Lack of lighting leads to pale leaves and fungal diseases. Bulbs can rot in such places. The area should be well ventilated; fungal flora can develop in stagnant places.
You cannot plant near fences, greenhouses, or houses where there is shade. The distance between plants is of great importance. Row spacing is at least 18 cm, between plants in a row - 10 cm.
Some gardeners plant onions in a line, alternating with carrots. This is the best option for small gardens, as onions ripen earlier. Carrots grow until late autumn. This results in significant space savings. Onions and carrots protect each other from pests. Just don’t plant them too close; the distance between the rows should be sufficient for convenient weeding, loosening, and watering. If the onions are shaded, they may begin to rot.
What water to water the garden
The temperature and quality of irrigation water is an important factor for plants.
Why can't you water with cold water? To prevent plants from getting sick after experiencing temperature stress (the same goes for too hot water). In addition, too cold or too warm water has a bad effect on the absorption capacity of the root system and the vital activity of soil microorganisms.
Therefore, the optimal water temperature for irrigation will be neutral in the range of 15-25°C. This can be achieved by filling a large container with water from a water supply or an artesian well in the evening, letting it settle overnight (or, depending on the outside temperature, warm up during the day) and reach a temperature that is comfortable for the plant.
The optimal difference between water and air temperatures is 15-20°C. If it is exceeded, the fruits may crack and lose their presentation.
Even if it's hot outside and you think your plants will like cold water from a hose, it's best to take your time and let it warm up. Only cabbage, garlic and onions, which are cold-resistant crops, can be watered with cold water. But even in this case, we recommend not pouring water under the root, but spraying it using a diffuser.
Sedimentation of water (especially tap water, river water) will also help to precipitate or evaporate possible harmful impurities, such as chlorine, in the first case, or an abundance of suspended particles, in the second. Ordinary water for irrigation can be alternated twice with healing infusions. For example, 3 tbsp. ash per 3 liters of water or the peel of two large onions, infused for a couple of days in 3 liters of water.
You can also use rainwater for irrigation, but only if there are no industrial facilities near your site. Otherwise the water will be contaminated.
Features of watering
Onion varieties are drought resistant due to their fibrous root system. It thrives in dry climates and tolerates lack of moisture. But at the same time, its taste is significantly reduced. The bulbs are small and taste very bitter. The leaves are narrow and hard.
How to organize watering in open ground
In open ground there are 2 methods of watering: sprinkling and drip. Sprinkling is watering from a watering can or hose from above directly onto the plants. You can also water at the root, but in the case of planting onions, you need to be wary of too powerful a jet, which can expose the onion heads, which is undesirable. The pressure of water from a hose can break the delicate feathers of onions.
More reliable and gentle drip irrigation using a special system. This is costly and time-consuming, but in the future it significantly saves the gardener’s energy, especially if the planting area is large. For a small garden bed, making a drip irrigation system does not make sense.
Water is supplied in doses directly to the root of the plant. This is the most economical and beneficial method of watering for onions. You can install an automatic system that will supply water at a strictly designated time. This will help avoid waterlogging, which is extremely undesirable for onions, which begin to be affected by fungal diseases and rot.
Watering onions after planting
Before planting the seed, the beds are prepared. The soil temperature should be at least +12 degrees. It is not recommended to plant onions in cold soil. It will begin to rot or go to waste. The bed is dug well to saturate it with oxygen, leveled with a rake to remove debris and roots.
Linear grooves are made at equal distances. It is very good to pour river sand into the grooves. After this, the grooves are spilled with a hot solution of dark cherry-colored potassium permanganate. This will kill putrefactive bacteria in the soil and fungi.
Prepared bulbs are planted at a distance of at least 10 cm for good growth. If you plant more often, the plantings will be too dense, the plants will not have enough nutrients, and the bulbs will be small. The bulbs are sprinkled so that the top is slightly above the ground. If you deepen it too much, the seeds will simply rot.
Let's start the first watering. The culture at the initial stage is extremely demanding of moisture. The soil should be well moistened. It is better to water from a watering can so as not to wash away the soil above the bulbs. You can add Fitosporin or manganese to the water. But you don’t need to get too carried away with manganese. Phytosporin can be used several times. This is an antifungal drug that prevents the formation of powdery mildew and rot.
How to water correctly
Proper watering ensures constant, uniform soil moisture to the depth of the root system without the formation of a soil crust and stagnation of moisture. Methods for irrigating onions are gentle: sprinkling (for greens), between rows (for turnips), drip method.
In the open ground
Atmospheric and soil processes significantly affect the moisture schedule of vegetable beds. The need for the next watering is determined by checking the condition of the soil at a depth of several centimeters.
Attention! It is important to avoid getting any liquid on the bulbs to prevent them from rotting. Regulating the water pressure will prevent soil erosion
Irrigate vegetables in the morning or evening, not in hot weather. This will prevent burns on the leaves and rapid drying out of the soil. Warm water is used (+17…+18°C).
In the greenhouse
Cultivation of onions in protected soil conditions is practiced year-round, mainly for forcing high-quality, abundant greenery (for feathers). In addition to the usual onions, perennial varieties are used: leeks, spring onions, shallots and others.
Onions are planted more densely on feathers than on turnips. Water the crop from a watering can (sprinkling) with warm water as the soil dries. Usually they moisten less often than in the open air (in dry weather), since in greenhouses there is less ventilation and constant air humidity is maintained. In some greenhouses, onions are grown hydroponically.
Drip irrigation
Drip irrigation is the most effective method because:
- prevents the risks of waterlogging and soil erosion;
- significantly saves water resources, including reducing wastewater losses;
- allows dosed application of fertilizers;
- protects bulbs and feathers from burns and getting wet;
- maintains good soil indicators: mineral composition, looseness, etc.
Simultaneously with drip irrigation, fertigation is carried out (the crop is fed with liquid fertilizers).
Watering during the growing season
After the first green shoots appear, watering is increased, since increased growth requires water. It is imperative to loosen the row spacing to prevent a crust from forming.
Subsequently, they are watered depending on weather conditions and the condition of the bed. You shouldn’t over-water it too much, as plants don’t like excess moisture - the bulb immediately begins to rot. When the bulb reaches 5 cm in diameter, you can water it at the root, but try not to expose the root system. The entire bulb should not come out of the ground.
Do not water during the day in hot, dry weather. This may cause burns on the leaves due to water lenses. Watering is carried out early in the morning or in the evening after 18.00. During the day, water evaporates too quickly. Evening watering is preferable, since plants grow mainly at night.
How often should you water?
It is recommended to water regularly. The soil should not be allowed to dry out for a long time. If there is precipitation, watering is not recommended. But if there is little rain, then you need to water at least once a week. At high air temperatures and rapid evaporation, you will have to water every 4 or 5 days. You need to look at the condition of the soil. Approximate consumption from 10 liters per square meter.
Daily watering, even during dry periods, is not recommended. Stagnant water causes significant harm. The underground part of the onion begins to rot, and fungal diseases may appear. Do not allow the soil to dry out, which will inhibit the growth of the bulbs and deteriorate their taste. Changes in humidity also lead to disease and poor growth. The soil should be moderately moist throughout the growing season.
Do I need to water when the bulbs ripen?
For normal ripening of bulbs, you do not need a lot of water. Waterlogging of the soil leads to poor storage of onions. If onions are grown for feathers, then you can water them more often - every other day.
When to stop watering
After new leaves stop growing, you need to significantly reduce watering. Limit watering for 2-3 weeks until watering stops completely 4 days before harvesting. Some gardeners even cover the beds with film from the rain so that the onions do not rot during storage.
Stop watering green onions 5 days before cutting. Watering must be completed even during periods of high temperatures and drought. During this time, the onion accumulates sugars and nutrients. If you do not follow the rules, the taste of the onion will be much worse.
| Growing season | Amount of water liters per sq. meter | Watering frequency |
| after landing | 10 | Once every 4-6 days |
| end of May – beginning of June | up to 12 | Once every 4-6 days |
| June | 8-10 | Once every 7 days |
| July | 5-6 | Once every 7 days |
| a month before harvest | 0 | watering stops |
Note: Watering frequency depends on weather conditions. Dry and hot weather is the norm here. There is no need to water during rains.
What water is used for irrigation
Onions don’t like cold water, but you can’t water them too warm either. The best option is water heated and left to sit outside in barrels. Under no circumstances should you water directly from a well, as this can lead to a weakening of the plant’s immunity and the occurrence of various rots.
Why is it important to water onions promptly and correctly?
Any plant needs moisture for good growth and normal development. Naturally, onions are no exception.
However, as in any business, you always need to maintain a balance. Therefore, under no circumstances should the onions be allowed to dry out due to lack of moisture, nor should the onion bed be turned into a swamp.
Note! Drought for onions is a signal that it is time to start the growing season, in other words, if you do not water the onions during their growth period, the bulbs simply will not gain mass and will remain small.
In addition, with insufficient watering during the growth period, the onion becomes more bitter.
And due to excess moisture, especially at the end of the growing season, if you continue to water the onions, the bulbs may simply become watery or begin to rot.
Drip irrigation
Of course, drip irrigation is ideal for watering all vegetables. Yes, onions are a relatively moisture-loving crop, but few people grow them on such a scale that it makes sense to use drip irrigation.
It's another matter if you grow onions for sale. However, this is a completely different story: here we are talking about amateur gardening.
Mulching
Instead of installing expensive drip irrigation, it is much easier to simply mulch your onion beds. Then, not only will you not have to water the onions often, but you will also practically get rid of procedures that are unloved by all summer residents, such as loosening and weeding.
If you grow without mulching, then after each watering it is advisable to loosen the soil and periodically weed (read about the nuances below), and the weeded grass can be left directly on the bed, it will later play the role of mulch.
Loosening and weeding
If you do not mulch the beds, you will need to periodically loosen and weed between the bulbs so that the plant receives enough oxygen necessary for development.
This measure is also necessary to ensure that a dense earthen crust does not form on the surface , which does not allow moisture and oxygen to flow evenly to the plants.
Periodically, loosening should be combined with weeding in order to eliminate fast-growing weeds .
Advice! When the bulbs reach medium size, you will need to gradually begin to rake away the soil from them, which will help increase their size and quickly ripen.
What can be combined with watering
Onions, like any plant, need nutrients. As the plant grows, the need increases. It is known that onions do not really like mineral and organic fertilizers.
Organic fertilizers - manure, humus or compost, as a rule, acidify the soil, for this reason they are not recommended for fertilizing onions before planting.
At week 3, you can feed with manure tincture at the rate of 1 kg of manure per bucket of water. The solution should sit for at least a day.
At the 2nd month, mineral fertilizers are introduced in the form of ammonium nitrate or viburnum nitrate. Fertilizers are used with abundant watering.
You can apply fertilizer:
- Boric acid to stimulate green feather growth. Calculation 1 tsp: 25 liters of warm water. Irrigate once a month.
- Copper sulfate to prevent fungal diseases and increase productivity. Calculation: 50g per bucket of water, process 2 times a month.
- The manganese solution is dark crimson during planting and when feathers turn yellow, used once.
- Ammonia to repel onion flies. Calculation: 10% -50 ml per bucket of water.
Using salt for irrigation
The salt solution is used by gardeners to prevent onion diseases. The solution destroys harmful insects and blocks the proliferation of pathogenic fungi. Used at the rate of 150 g of salt per 10 liters of warm water. Apply 1 cup 200 ml to the root of the plant. You cannot water more than 3 times. Do not allow the solution to get on the onion leaves. After treatment, water the bed well with clean water.
The benefits of salt water when growing onions
A common problem when growing onions is the drying out and yellowing of its green feathers. Most often, gardeners attribute this to insufficient moisture in hot weather and begin to water the beds even more, causing serious damage to them.
The most common cause of drying and yellowing of greenery is the onion fly - its larvae feed on the roots of the plant, causing it to wilt. Watering the onions with salt water, which is carried out three times a season with an interval of 10 days, will help correct the situation.
After each treatment, the onions should also be watered with clean water.:
- For the first watering, prepare a solution of 5 liters of water and 150 g of table salt. Processing of onion beds should be carried out immediately after the feathers reach 6-7 cm in height. Onions should be watered at the root, using at least 5 liters of solution per square meter. m.
- The second treatment of onion plantings is carried out after 10 days. The amount of salt increases to 400 g per bucket of water.
- For the third watering of the onions, the volume of table salt is increased to 600 g.
The number of treatments and salt used depends on the degree of onion fly damage. If the first watering helped get rid of the pest, you can use 300 g of salt for the next two treatments and do not increase this rate.
Growing onions requires compliance with certain agrotechnical rules and subtleties, one of which is timely moistening. Despite its unpretentiousness, the vegetable crop needs sufficient moisture. However, its excess can lead to diseases and rotting of onions. Maintaining a balance of watering will help you get a rich and high-quality onion harvest.
Onion diseases from excess moisture
Downy mildew (peronosporosis) is a fungal disease. Grayish spots with a coating form on the feathers of the onion. The leaves turn yellow, turn brown, and the stems become twisted. The fungus that causes the disease is resistant to low temperatures and overwinters well on plant debris. In the first stages, the disease is not detected. Then it enters the active phase and infects the leaves. They die off completely.
Onion fly - larvae gnaw passages in the onion and eat feathers. The plant is also attacked by root mites and onion moth larvae.
Properly organized watering of onions in open ground in combination with timely fertilizing, weeding and loosening will allow you to get a good harvest of green mass and large onions that will be well stored.
Preferred Onion Precursors
Before sowing, you need to decide on the required number of seedlings. The plant is demanding in terms of crop rotation on the site, so the locations and area of planting are determined in advance.
Popular vegetables that are good predecessors for onions include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, and lettuce. A significant amount of organic and mineral fertilizers are usually applied to these crops; before the onions are planted, they have time to dissolve well in the soil. The small number of pests common to these crops that overwinter in the ground also plays a role.
Onion pests often overwinter in plant debris from the previous harvest. The tops must be collected and destroyed before digging the beds in the fall. When using this waste to make compost, there is a high risk that pests will safely survive the frost.
How to plant onion and turnip sets
Sevok should be planted in pre-prepared soil when the last cold weather subsides - from late April to early May. First of all, it is necessary to plant small-sized seedlings, since they do not produce shoots even in a cool, long spring. Then you need to start planting medium and large ones. It is not recommended to delay planting too much, otherwise late sowings will not have time to develop large roots, which will significantly reduce the yield.
The sets are planted in rows with a distance of 8-10 cm from each other, the distance between the rows is no more than 4 cm. If you are planting small-space varieties, it is better to place the onions more densely. The sowing depth is 3-4 cm.
After planting, onions must be cared for by loosening, weeding, watering and fertilizing.
In the first phase of the growing season, it is very important to regularly loosen the rows and pull out weeds to create conditions for the growth of strong bulbs and the active growth of healthy leaves. If the seedlings grow slowly, it is necessary to carry out complex feeding
According to the experience of gardeners, in the first 15 days after germination, the plant actively responds to organic fertilizing. For this, bird droppings or mullein are used at a rate of 1:12. You can add ammonium nitrate to the resulting solution: 30 g per medium bucket. Fertilizer is consumed at a rate of 10 liters for every 10 meters of row length. The following feedings are carried out at the beginning of the bulb formation phase. For 10 liters of water you will need: potassium chloride - 10 g, superphosphate - 30 g, garden mixture - 50 g.
Often with heavy rains, the onion prolongs the growing season, the leaves still remain green and do not lie down. It is recommended to trim the plant's rhizomes 12 days before the harvesting procedure. Pruning is carried out no more than 8 cm below the bulbous bottom, in this way it is possible to stimulate the active ripening of the onion and the death of the leaves. During any phase of growing onion sets in open ground, the bulbs should not be allowed to be covered with soil, as this can weaken the crops and reduce yields.
The onion can be pulled out of the ground and laid out to dry when all the leaves begin to fall to the ground. When they dry, the leaves should be cut off, leaving a small part of 4 cm. If the weather is too humid and rainy, then the onions should be dried in a dry, ventilated room or under a wide canopy. You can also dry turnips at home in wicker bags or spacious baskets at medium temperature. However, the risk of onions spoiling increases significantly when stored in baskets due to the possibility of drying out.
Features of irrigating onions for feathers, when sowing seeds and winter plantings
Many gardeners grow not only onions, but also for feathers. Some varieties are used for winter planting. When moistening such beds, a special watering regime should be observed:
- Onions grown for harvest require more moisture than onions. Such beds should be watered every 2–3 days, adding an average of 8 liters per 1 m2.
- Onions should be watered equally abundantly throughout the growing season. Irrigation is stopped only 5–7 days before cutting, so that the harvest lasts longer.
- When planting onions with seeds (nigella), the bed is watered for the first time only after germination. In the future, the plants are watered only as the top layer of soil dries.
- At the beginning of the growing season, seedlings planted before winter are not watered at all until almost mid-May. In the future, watering should be moderate, without stagnating moisture in the soil.
Important! If you water the onion directly at the root, its leaves will be longer.
Methods for irrigating onions
Experienced gardeners know that the main condition when choosing a method of watering onion beds is to eliminate the possibility of soil erosion and exposing the bulbs. To comply with these requirements, it is recommended to use one of the following irrigation methods:
- Moisturizing plantings with a sprinkler provides gentle soil moisture, reduces the cost of effort and time, but requires certain financial costs.
- Manual watering using a hose is allowed if irrigation is carried out along furrows and it is possible to regulate the water pressure.
- Manual watering using a watering can allows you to regulate the amount and uniformity of distribution of the applied moisture, helps to moisten the soil with sufficiently warm water, but requires considerable labor.
- Drip irrigation systems free up the gardener's time and energy and save water. However, they require material investments and constant care, and also make mechanical processing of the beds difficult.
Important! You cannot water young onion plantings with a stream without a special spray nozzle, since in this case the soil is washed out and the rooting of the sets becomes difficult.
Using sprinkler irrigation systems
Using such equipment, you can water onions throughout the season. It is systems of this type that are considered the most suitable for this culture. The main structural element of such equipment is an irrigation head mounted in a special installation. Such sprinklers are laid underground. During irrigation, when pressure is applied to the pipeline, rods with nozzles at the end extend outward. The height of the sprinkler can reach 5-30 cm.
There are two types of such equipment on sale today - fan and rotary. The first type of sprinkler is better suited for onions. Rotary models are often used for watering lawns.
Preparing seedlings for planting in the fall
Autumn preparation of seedlings is somewhat different from spring due to one fundamental difference in planting purposes. If in the spring it is necessary to create conditions so that the onion begins to grow as quickly as possible, then in the fall, on the contrary, the onion should only take root and should not begin to grow.
If you cut off the neck of the bulb in the spring to stimulate the rapid appearance of feathers, then in the fall such an operation cannot be done. If in the spring the sets are often soaked for faster germination, then in the fall they are soaked only if the autumn is dry and only for the purpose of faster rooting of the bulb before frost.
Therefore, preparing seed in the fall mainly comes down to choosing the size of the fraction. Usually the smallest one or no more than 20 mm in size is used for this. The selected seedlings are immersed for 3 hours in a solution of salt with manganese to kill pests. After the solution, the seedlings are dried for a week in a warm room and then planted dry. A solution of salt with manganese is made by analogy with spring treatment.
Proper watering of onions (video tips)
From this video you will learn about the basic rules for watering onions:
Planting onions occurs in several stages, and watering plays an important role in this process. While the bulbs are growing, whether in open ground or in a greenhouse, the soil should be well prepared and watered. The better and higher quality the land is irrigated, the faster the crop takes root.
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Ekaterina A.
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