Pros and cons of planting green onions before winter
The main advantage of this type of cultivation is the quick harvest of greenery. It is harvested a month earlier than onions planted in spring.
This culture is more resistant to various diseases, as it has undergone winter hardening. It is less affected by pests: the first shoots appear when many insects are not yet there. Onions are less overgrown with weeds as they develop faster. Fall planting saves time and space for other crops that are planted in the spring.
Disadvantages of growing before winter:
- low germination;
- difficulties in determining the optimal planting date due to different climatic conditions;
- If the bulb does not have time to take root before frost, it will freeze.
Which onions to plant before winter on greens
There are many types of onions suitable for planting before winter, which differ in appearance, taste and ripening time.
Batun
Onions, which are often grown for greens. Onion is a perennial plant that grows in one place for up to ten years.
The first 3-4 years after sowing are the most productive.
Onion leaves are tubular, up to 40 cm high, up to 2 cm in diameter. Dark green, covered with a thin waxy coating. The batun has a well-developed root system.
The false bulb is oblong in shape, poorly developed, and has a mildly spicy taste.
Important! The species is frost-resistant. Greens grow from early spring to late autumn and tolerate low temperatures down to -8°C.
Productivity is high: up to 10 kg of leaves are cut from 1 m2 over the summer.
The most popular varieties, characterized by high yields: Maysky, Aprilsky, Russian Winter, Tenderness.
Schnitt
Another name for the species is chives. It has the shape of a spreading bush. Most often found in flower beds as a decorative ornament.
Popular varieties : Grass, Spring of the North, Green Ray, Karat, Elvi.
The leaves are tubular, up to 40 cm high. The color is bright green, the taste is pungent. The root system is branched. A small bulb forms in late summer.
Schnitt is unpretentious, resistant to low temperatures, and grows in regions with harsh climates. From 1 m2 up to 6 kg of greenery is harvested per season.
Slime
Salad onions contain large amounts of vitamin C and iron.
It tastes more like garlic.
The leaves are wide, flat, up to 30 cm in length, dark green. The plant has a well-developed root system.
The false bulb is cylindrical in shape, with 2-3 bulbs attached to each rhizome.
From 1 m2 per season, up to 3-4 kg of greens are harvested.
The most productive varieties: Green, Leader, Charm.
Multi-tiered
The second name of the species is Egyptian.
On the peduncle of the plant, bulbs form, forming several tiers.
The height of the first tier reaches 50 cm, the subsequent ones - up to 20 cm. Up to 4-5 tiers are formed in one season.
The leaves are hollow, up to 80 cm long, dark green with a waxy coating.
The taste is spicy. A false bulb is formed. The root system is branched.
Onions are resistant to low temperatures. During the season, 3-4 kg of greens are collected from 1 m2.
Popular varieties : Likova, Memory, Chelyabinsk.
Growing conditions
In order for onion greens to grow well, you need to observe the temperature and light conditions.
Onions love light, so they need to be provided with good lighting. At the beginning of growth (first 14 days), the plant should be illuminated for 10-12 hours a day. During the active growth phase, light is needed constantly - 20-24 hours a day. In this case, the bulb will not rot and the leaves will not turn yellow.
The optimal temperature for active growth is from 23 to 25 degrees. Under such conditions, onions grow up to 30 cm in height in 14 days. Overheating is harmful to the plant. At 26-28 degrees, the feather quickly withers and loses its juiciness. At 30 degrees it stops growing.
When to plant onions
Depending on the weather, the timing of planting before winter varies even within the same region. They are planted so that the bulbs have time to take root before the first frost, but do not sprout.
Planting is usually carried out in the second half of October, a month before frost. The optimal air temperature is +5°C, soil temperature is +3°C.
Important! The seeds are buried when the soil is frozen to -3°C. Depending on the region, sowing is carried out in November-December.
There are no specific deadlines for growing onions for greens in greenhouses.
Preparation of planting material
Onions are planted with seeds and bulbs before winter.
The seeds are pre-disinfected: soaked for 20–30 minutes in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate or for 5–10 minutes in 70% alcohol. Then they are dried to a free-flowing state at room temperature.
For planting, select a solid seed without damage, measuring from 2.5 to 4 cm. It is soaked for 20–30 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate and dried at room temperature.
Reference. To obtain uniform seedlings, choose bulbs of the same size.
Soil preparation
The selected area is cleared of the remnants of the autumn harvest to avoid fungal diseases and pests.
The soil is dug up to a depth of 20 cm, humus or compost is added (1-2 buckets per 1 m2). Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are added to depleted soils (15 g of potassium chloride, 25 g of superphosphate, 25 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 m2) so that the planting material takes root and overwinters.
To reduce acidity, add ash (150 g per 1 m2). Then the beds are formed.
Preparing the bulbs
Picking onions
For forcing green onions into the feather, pickling onions are most often used. Bulbs with a diameter of 2.5-4 cm are considered optimal for forcing. Bulbs with a smaller diameter will produce 1-2 feathers, and planting large bulbs is uneconomical: the number of feathers depends not on the size of the bulb, but on the number of rudiments formed in it.
To speed up germination, the bulbs are soaked in warm water for a day before planting. The water temperature is maintained at 30-35 degrees. Immediately before planting, the tops of the bulbs are cut off. You need to cut it very carefully so as not to damage the rudiment.
Trimming the tops allows you to speed up the germination of onions by 3-4 days. When we are talking about planting 30-50 bulbs, then it is justified, but when you plant fifty to hundred onions (50-100 sq. meters), it takes a lot of time and is really annoying. Therefore, I prefer to wait these extra 3-4 days, but not bother with pruning.
How to plant correctly
When planting onions with seeds in the beds, make grooves 2-3 cm deep, the distance between them is maintained at 25-30 cm. The seeding rate is 1.5 g per 1 m2. The furrows are sprinkled with soil and mulched with a 2-3 cm layer of humus to prevent future plants from getting too cold.
Sevok is planted using a belt or bridge method:
- With the tape method, grooves 3–5 cm deep are made in the beds every 20 cm. Bulbs are inserted into them at a distance of 10 cm from each other and sprinkled with earth. Then mulch with a layer of mowed grass and fallen leaves.
- For bridge planting, ridges 10–15 cm high and 1 m wide are formed. The distance between them is 50 cm. The soil is loosened to a depth of 7 cm. Then the bulbs are inserted close to each other to a depth of 3–5 cm. The surface is mulched with layers of grass or fallen leaves.
Which varieties race better?
When selecting onion varieties for forcing, you should pay attention to such characteristics as multi-bud and multi-nest. Multi-rumination is the number of bud-buds in the bulb from which a green feather grows. The buds are considered to be buds that are located at some distance from each other and separated by onion scales. There can be 4–6 rudiments, which is considered ideal for forcing, but 8–15 rudiments are also found. The yield of green mass depends on this amount.
Multilocularity is the number of fused bulbs, each of which can be multibudded. When purchasing planting onions, you should cut the bulb crosswise to determine the number of rudiments. If the bulb has 1–2 buds, the amount of green mass will be small. And the main goal of the vegetable grower is to collect the maximum amount of ready-made green onions from 1 m².
Therefore, for forcing onions, you should choose multi-primed onion varieties:
- Karatalsky (Karatal) - multi-bud (3-7 buds) variety with a medium-sharp taste. It has a short dormant period, wakes up early and is suitable for forcing in early autumn. The yield of green mass is 70%.
- Rostov (Lugansk) - has an average dormant period, has more than 3 rudiments, is distinguished by its pungent taste and fleshy feathers. When forced from a large turnip (more than 5 cm) and rational feeding, you can harvest green onions - 6–7.5 kg/m², when planted 10 kg/m².
- Stuttgarter Riesen (Stuttgart) - a variety with a long dormant period, semi-sharp taste, and has more than 3 rudiments. Suitable for forcing in mid-winter and characterized by a good increase in green mass (70–90%).
- Egyptian - imported onions. Usually harvested in April-May, so the dormant period is coming to an end. Has good performance in feather forcing. You can find such an onion experimentally by cutting the onion and determining the number of rudiments.
- Chalcedony - a widely available onion variety of the middle dormant period, suitable for forcing in the winter-spring period. The feather is juicy without bitterness, up to 16 cm long. The number of rudiments depends on the size of the bulb: 4-6 cm - 3-6 rudiments (yield 70%), 3-4 cm - 2-4 rudiments (yield 50%). Productivity 5–7 kg/m².
- Spassky local improved – a spicy variety with a medium dormant period, multi-primordial (7–10).
- Slime onion (ferruginous) — the feather is dense, wide and thick, not demanding on lighting. It has high taste and a weak garlic aroma. The yield from 1 kg of planting material in 4 weeks is 2–3 kg of greens.
- Shallots (varieties Zvezdochka, Delikates, Izumrud, Sir-7) - feather up to 40–50 cm. Unpretentious in cultivation, the first harvest is obtained within 10 days after planting. Productivity from 1 kg of planting material is up to 3 kg of feathers.
- Leeks (pearl), varieties Kamus, Goliath, Tango - does not form bulbs, the height of the feather is 50–70 cm. The leaves grow on a false thick white stem, the most delicious part of the plant. Stem weight – 200–400 g. Productivity – 2–3 kg/m².
- Onion - perennial varieties Baron, April, Voskhod, Parade. There is no bulb. It forms an even shoot with a long cylindrical false stem, which is cut 2-3 times per season. Productivity - 2.5–4 kg/m².
- Schnitt (chives sibulet, Siberian), varieties Vesenny, Bohemia — the feather is thick, narrow and delicate up to 50 cm, does not become coarse. Used for forcing in winter with small false bulbs or seeds. Feather productivity - 2.5 kg/m².
- Multi-tiered bow (Canadian, horned) - forms basal and aerial bulbs. The feather is 40–50 cm long; after 15–20 days it can be cut off for culinary use. Feather yield is 10–16 kg/m².
In addition to those listed, popular varieties of onions that are used in the production of greens are the varieties Arzamassky, Mastersky, Soyuz, Bessonovsky, Troitsky, as well as red varieties - Samarkandsky, Black Prince, Red Baron, Carmen.
Did you know? Russian botanist Andrei Famintsyn first used kerosene lamps to illuminate plants in a greenhouse in 1868 and proved the importance of not only natural light, but also artificial light in photosynthesis.
Care
If there is little snow in winter, the mulched beds are covered with film. With the onset of spring, the film is removed so that the planting material does not rot.
In the spring, with the onset of warm weather, snow is cleared from the beds so that they warm up faster.
After the emergence of seedlings, the greens are thinned out and the first fertilizing is carried out. The beds are watered with mullein infusion (1:5 with water). If the greens grow slowly, then after 2-3 weeks they are fertilized again: potassium salt, saltpeter and superphosphate, taken in a ratio of 1:1:2, are added to 10 liters of water.
The emerging seedlings are watered abundantly for the first 14 days, then once every 8–12 days. As weeds appear, the beds are weeded. After watering, the soil must be loosened: this helps the roots breathe and accelerates the growth of the crop.
Disease and pest control
During growth and development, onions are susceptible to various diseases and pest attacks. To prevent this, observe crop rotation when planting, do not flood the crop, thin out and remove weeds.
Advice. To obtain a high-quality harvest of greens, plants are not treated with chemicals.
Downy mildew
With peronosporosis, the leaves become covered with a white coating. The causative agent of the disease is a fungus that is found in the upper layers of the soil. For prevention, onions are planted in a well-ventilated place and the watering regime is observed.
To combat the disease, diseased plants are removed from the beds, watering is reduced and fertilizing is stopped. Plants are sprayed with a solution of soda ash (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water) or copper sulfate (10 g per 0.5 liter of water).
Onion rust
Yellow-brown spots and convex formations appear on the leaves, in which fungal spores mature. The leaves turn yellow and dry out. For prevention, the remains of last year’s plants are carefully removed from the beds and the soil is dug up.
Infected specimens are removed and watering is reduced. Onions are sprayed with the preparation “HOM” (40 g per 10 liters of water). The procedure is repeated a week later.
Onion fly
Fly larvae eat the underground part of the plant - it turns yellow and withers. For prevention, the soil is dug up in the fall and the seed material is disinfected before planting.
To combat the pest, the rows are watered with a saline solution (300 g of salt per 10 liters of water). Repeat the procedure after two weeks.
Secretive Proboscis
It lays eggs inside onion feathers, and the hatched larvae eat the flesh from the inside. For prevention, regularly loosen the soil and remove plant debris.
To get rid of the insect, plants are sprinkled with a mixture of tobacco dust and ash in a 1:2 ratio.
Trips
The larvae of this insect suck the juice from green feathers. The leaves become deformed and crop growth slows down . For prevention in the fall, dig up the soil, loosen it regularly, and plant celandine or mustard next to the onions.
To get rid of the insect, onions are sprayed with a solution of red pepper. To prepare it, add 1 kg of red hot pepper to 10 liters of water, boil and cool. The resulting solution is diluted with clean water (125 ml of solution per 10 liters of water). Spraying is repeated after a week.
Onion care
How to get a high yield? Onions need careful care and constant supervision. It is important to take into account important aspects of agricultural technology, not only by planting plants according to a certain pattern of planting onions on a feather, but also by weeding, loosening, watering the soil, and fertilizing the plants.
Loosening the soil. During loosening, the roots of the plant are saturated with oxygen. Loosening must be done frequently so that a dense crust does not have time to form on the surface. It is better to do this two days after watering.
Watering. How much to water? How often? Moisture is the main nutritional component needed by onions. It brings other useful elements to the roots. It is better to water the onions twice a week. Of course, this is the recommended amount of watering; you need to take into account the weather, the amount of precipitation, as well as the type of soil and how long it remains wet. In hot weather, water the onions three times a week, and every day in severe drought. The older the onion, the less moisture it requires.
Fertilizers. Using special solutions, the plant is fed in the form of watering. The most popular fertilizers are urea solution or nitroammophoska. Fertilizing is carried out at a time when the greenery has already begun to be cut. Fertilizers at this time are needed in order to regrow damaged feathers. If you do not use feeding, the first feathers become dull, become thinner, and their aroma and taste change.
Removing weeds. Removing weeds is very important. If there are large numbers of weeds, they will deprive the onion of all the nutrients it receives from the soil. You should not use row spacing for growing other crops, as is sometimes done when growing onions.
Features of growing in a greenhouse
A greenhouse for growing onions for greens is equipped with shelving, lighting fixtures, and a heating system . The optimal temperature for the crop during the day is +20°C, at night - +13...+14°C.
Sandy soil is used for cultivation. Before planting, fertilizers are applied to the soil: per 1 m2, one bucket of compost or humus, 1 tsp. sodium chloride, 2 tsp. superphosphate. Onions are planted using strip and bridge methods.
After the emergence of seedlings, fertilizing is carried out (1 teaspoon of urea per 10 liters of water). Water the plants as the soil dries, every 2-3 days.
Growing onions for feathers: creating conditions
Almost all types of onions that we have listed are frost-resistant. In addition, onions are unpretentious. To grow an onion head of excellent quality, you need to add various fertilizers to the soil, weed it, water it on time and protect it from pests. When growing onions, you don't need to put in as much effort. But you still need to comply with some conditions.
The first nuance is sunlight, and when grown in greenhouse conditions, artificial lighting. Light is necessary for onion leaves to become bright green and acquire their valuable taste. If the lighting is low, the leaves will be very long, which is not good.
When choosing a place to plant onions under a feather, you need to know that the soil must retain moisture well. But an abundance of moisture can also harm plantings. You cannot plant onions where the groundwater level rises too high.
For planting in open ground, the type of soil does not matter. And when planting onions on feathers in a greenhouse, it is better to use organic fertilizers that can improve the condition of the soil in the boxes. Peat, humus or compost are suitable for this. They are added during planting, then the bulbs are covered with soil.
Onions can be planted with seeds and onion sets. Both methods are effective; the only difference between the methods is that planting must be done at different times. When planting seeds, you will have to wait a little longer for the harvest.
Preparing planting material
Onion sets need to be prepared before planting. It is sorted, sorted, damaged and infected are removed. Then they put it in water and soak for several hours so that the bulbs are saturated with moisture. This allows the bulb not to dry out in the soil, adapt well to growth, and produce good shoots. For planting, bulbs with a diameter of at least 2.5 cm are considered best. It is not recommended to plant bulbs that are too large (from 4 cm). When planting, the top must be cut off to speed up the forcing of greenery.
Prepared planting material sprouts 50-75% better, and the amount of greenery increases. When growing green feathers from seeds, the time increases, but this method is the most cost-effective. Perennial onion varieties will also help you save money. Those seeds that are purchased in specialized stores do not need additional preparation for planting, since they are already pre-processed. If the seeds are bought secondhand or collected yourself, it is advisable to soak the onion in warm water, just like the sets, to stimulate growth.
Making beds, preparing the soil for planting
There is no need to prepare the soil in any special way for sowing seeds. To plant onion sets on feathers, you need to carefully dig up the soil. Deep digging is necessary to add organic matter to the soil to stimulate onion growth. This type of onion does not require mineral fertilizers. They can only be used in very poor, heavy soil.
On the day of planting, the soil is leveled and compacted a little so that it does not naturally sag with the bulbs and lift them up. The beds are not made wide; experienced gardeners believe that a higher yield can be grown in narrower beds.
Timing for planting onions
When to plant onions to get a rich harvest? Planting time does not depend in any way on the variety or type of onion. When planting in open ground, onions are planted in late autumn, shortly before the onset of frost. This is necessary so that the bulb does not have time to sprout, otherwise it will die after frost. It is too late to plant seedlings in frozen soil; the bulbs will freeze and will not germinate. If you are late with planting in the fall, it is better to wait until spring and plant using seeding in open ground or in a greenhouse.
Growing onions in a greenhouse in winter is possible from October to April, when greens begin to appear in open beds. From February, the seedlings are planted in greenhouses to receive green feathers until May. Planting onions with seeds is carried out in mid-July.
Harvest and storage
Feathers grow constantly, so there is no specific time frame for harvesting. The greens are cut when their length reaches 30 cm. They are re-harvested when they grow back.
Important! Feathers are cut at least 5 cm from the ground. Fold into bundles and store horizontally.
In the refrigerator, in the vegetable drawer, fresh greens can be stored for up to thirty days. To increase the shelf life to one year, the product is frozen or dried.
To freeze, greens are chopped, placed in bags or containers and placed in the freezer.
Feathers are dried in crushed form in an oven, dryer or in the open air. Store the finished product in glass jars or paper bags in a dry, dark place.
Harvesting
The average green yield is 10–12 kg (sometimes up to 16 kg) per 1 m², which provides a 65% yield of green feathers. Before harvesting, it is advisable to water the plantings to ensure the juiciness and freshness of the greens. The bow should hold well and not sag, which indicates its quality and elasticity.
Harvesting begins when the leaf length reaches 25–40 cm. The root system of the plant is trimmed with a knife, since pulling it out can damage the green part. Freed from the ground if forcing was carried out on the ground. During commercial production, they are placed in boxes with turnips down for further sale or sent to the kitchen for culinary use.
You will be interested in learning how to prepare and store green onions for the winter.
Growing green onions is an economically profitable business with a high probability of payback and the possibility of obtaining vitamin-rich greens for individual consumption, even in an apartment.
