There is an opinion that processing onions before planting in spring or autumn has a positive effect on yield. Moreover, it prevents the appearance of arrows. And it prevents diseases from developing. Good all around, right? However, many gardeners do not soak onion sets and get an excellent harvest. Others, on the contrary, carry out pre-sowing preparation according to all the rules, but remain dissatisfied with the result.
Why process onions before planting? In what cases is this procedure necessary, and when is it unnecessary? What are onion sets soaked in? These are the main questions we have to understand.
When to plant onion sets, family onion in the spring?
How to plant onion sets on a head in the spring?
Planting of sets should be carried out in the spring after the cessation of frost and the likelihood of night frosts.
- If the spring was early, then you can plant onions on the head from mid-April (if frost hits after sowing, the onions may go into decline).
- In order not to take risks, “garden masters” plant onions on the head in mid-May, focusing on the gardener’s calendar.
The planting date also directly depends on the size of the set..
- On the eve of sowing, it is recommended to calibrate the bulbous heads. In other words, planting material must be distributed into small, medium and large heads.
Planting is carried out in an incremental manner.
- Small sets are planted first, in early to mid-May.
- It is customary to stick a medium onion (from 1 to 2 cm) into the ground half a month after the small one.
- Large sets must be planted last to prevent them from growing into feathers.
Very often among the planting material you can find quite small bulbs (no more than 1 cm) - such sets are recommended to be planted only in greenhouses.
- The family onion “Kushchevka” or the so-called “shallot” is considered more resistant to frost, so it can be planted from mid-April.
Soil selection and preparation
Onions prefer light sandy and loamy soils, not floating chernozems. Onions grow well on moderately moist soils with close groundwater, but do not grow well on waterlogged soils and with high acidity. Acidic soil must be limed in advance, two to three years in advance. Onions are responsive to fertilizers, but it is not advisable to apply fresh manure, as this promotes increased leaf growth and delays the ripening of the bulbs. Manure is applied to the crop preceding the onion.
To grow onions, you need to allocate open, well-lit areas. Gardeners who have mature fruit trees on their plots must also take into account the fact that onions are very light-loving and do not tolerate shading even from a hedge.
Onions should grow in the sun: the slightest shading is harmful to them
The beds for onions must be prepared in the fall with the addition of humus, peat and other types of organic fertilizers for digging - one or two buckets per 1 m2 with the simultaneous application of nitrophoska - 60–80 g per 1 m2. On heavy soils, sifted river sand is added. In the spring, after surface loosening, digging with a garden fork is carried out to a depth of no more than 15 cm, while simultaneously adding a handful of wood ash. The surface of the bed is lightly compacted.
How to properly plant onion sets and family onions in the spring?
Preparing the sets
Preparation of planting material
Planting onions in the spring always begins with calibrating the planting material. (described above)
- If onion heads were purchased and not grown last year, then they must be dried.
- If the planting material is left over from last year, then in winter it must be stored correctly - at a temperature of +18 degrees.
An important condition before planting your own material is to warm it up.
Warming up the sets
Warming up the seed before planting
Method No. 1
- On the eve of planting, place the onion heads in conditions with a temperature of +20 degrees.
- We maintain this temperature regime for about 20 days.
- After the specified time has passed, we create conditions for sowing at +30-40 degrees for 10 hours.
- We make sure not to overexpose the planting material to fairly high temperatures.
- On the eve of planting the seed, heated in this way, we treat it with growth stimulating agents (read below).
Method No. 2
- Place the seeds in hot water (+40-50 degrees) for 10-15 minutes.
- After the specified time has passed, transfer the onions to cold water for the same 10-15 minutes.
- At the end of 15 minutes, immerse the seedlings in a solution of complex mineral fertilizer for onions for 5-6 hours.
Planting onions
Planting onion sets
- Before planting onions, it is necessary to make furrows up to 4 cm deep in the prepared area (in general, the depth directly depends on the size of the set) at a distance of 15-25 cm from each other.
- It is necessary to stick the bulbs into the prepared furrows at a distance of 7 cm from each other so that after they are buried, the dry part of the set is barely visible on the surface.
Some experienced gardeners recommend watering the onions thoroughly after planting, and then making mulch from straw or sawdust..
When processing onion sets won’t hurt
So, why do you soak onions before planting them in the garden?
First of all, to warm it up. The fact is that it is preferable to store large and medium-sized sets at a warm temperature (22-25°C). A small onion (up to one centimeter in diameter) is best preserved at 2-8 degrees Celsius. If seed is stored in unsuitable conditions, it will spoil. A spoiled set will give out the arrow, and a good onion will not grow from it. When we ourselves grow onion sets from seeds and store them in a cellar or apartment, we know everything about them. In what weather was it harvested, how was it dried and at what temperature was it stored... If the onion was stored in a cellar, before planting it is enough to keep it dry and warm for three weeks, that is, at room temperature. And he's ready to go!
But we know nothing about purchased onions. At what humidity and temperature it was stored is a mystery without a solution. Such seed requires additional processing in order to reduce the percentage of those that have gone into bloom.
In addition, seed bulbs can be processed for disinfection. Prevention is the right thing to do. So soaking in an antiseptic solution will not harm either large or small onions, your own or store-bought ones.
The conclusion is obvious. If we are sure that the onions were stored as expected, we can do without preparation or carry out only disinfection. But if the seedlings are purchased, it is better to play it safe and process it “in full”.
Preparing a bed for onions in the spring
Preparing a bed for sowing onions in the spring
To plant onions, you need to choose open, well-lit and ventilated areas of land .
- As a rule, preparing a site for planting onions is carried out in the fall, so you need to take into account that the piece of land allocated for these purposes should not be located in a lowland, where water stagnates for a long time in the spring.
- Water can become a dangerous enemy for onions , and their heads will begin to rot in the ground, thereby ruining the entire harvest.
- Sevok does not like acidic soils . If the soil in the selected area is highly acidic, you can add lime to it, which neutralizes the acid.
- It is not recommended to plant sets in an area where the same onion was grown the day before - the area should be given at least three years for rehabilitation.
- Potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, peas, and pumpkin are considered good predecessors for onions
- A scheme that has proven itself very well is when carrots are planted close to onions - the smell of carrots drives away the onion fly, and the smell of onions neutralizes the carrot fly.
- During the autumn preparation of the site, it is recommended to dig up to a depth of a shovel (15-20 cm) and level it.
- The best option is to fertilize the soil for onions in autumn with manure , peat manure compost or superphosphate mineral fertilizers.
Important! It is strictly forbidden to fertilize the soil immediately before planting, since the onion will go to the arrow and not to the head.
Is it necessary to soak onion sets in the spring for a good harvest?
There is an opinion that soaking onions before planting is not at all necessary. It’s easier to take care in advance to buy onions from trusted farmers, and be sure that these onions grew in good soil and were stored properly. This may be correct, but everyone knows that a good harvest on your own plot is the direct merit of an experienced gardener.
Beginners often encounter problems, for example, that the crop is destroyed by pests, various kinds of diseases, and sometimes infections simply do not allow the plants to fully reveal their qualities. And until now, gardeners are still arguing about whether it is necessary to soak onions before planting?
This seemingly simple crop has some growing requirements. The lack of sunlight, which in recent years is quite important for central Russia, negatively affects the state of the crop and can provoke the formation of fungi.
Failure to comply with the watering regime, in particular very frequent moistening of the soil, also contributes to the fact that the bulb loses its protective properties. A large amount of moisture or, conversely, a lack of it during the formation of roots and green mass can affect the yield.
Fungal diseases and infections are the main enemies of vegetables. And without pre-treatment, the seeds are subject to aggressive attack from these same enemies. Additionally, insects will happily feast on juicy bulbs.
How to treat onions before planting in the spring and what to soak them in?
Processing onions before planting
In addition to heat treatment, which was described in the article above, other antiseptic and nourishing procedures are also applied to onion sets before planting:
Processing in potassium permanganate
- To achieve an antiseptic effect, a week before planting, soak the seeds for 20-30 minutes in a light solution of manganese (30 g of potassium permanganate per 10 liters of water).
- After soaking, thoroughly wash and dry the onions (if you are not going to plant them right away).
- There is an option to plant in the ground immediately after potassium permanganate without rinsing.
Wood ash treatment
- Treatment with a solution of wood ash can help prevent the rotting process.
- To prepare a solution, dilute 500 g of ash in 10 liters of water.
- Before lowering the seed into the solution, put it in a net and immerse it in water with ash for five hours.
- After the specified time has passed, we take out the onion and send it to dry in the sun for a couple of hours.
- We immediately plant the dried planting material in the ground, it is protected from rotting and receives fertilizing for powerful growth.
Fertilizing with complex fertilizers
- We dilute a tablespoon of complex fertilizers for onions in 10 liters of water.
- Dip the seeds in a fertilizer solution for 8-10 hours
Copper sulfate treatment
This manipulation will protect the crop from fungal diseases.
- Add a teaspoon of copper sulfate to 10 liters of water.
- Dip the seeds into the solution for 10-15 minutes
- Remove the onion from the solution, wash it thoroughly and dry it
“Grandma’s” method of treating seedlings with salt against stem nematodes
- For a week we dry the bulbs indoors at a temperature of +25 degrees.
- Dilute 2 tbsp in 2 liters of water. salt
- Soak the seeds in saline solution for 3 hours
- Remove the onion from the solution, wash it and dry it
Treatment with saltpeter
- In 10 liters of warm water (+40 degrees) we dilute 1 tbsp. saltpeter
- Soak the seeds in the solution for 20-30 minutes
- It is best to use saltpeter treatment when planting onions early to prevent diseases and for better growth of the head and feathers
Treatment against fungus with Fitosporin
- Dissolve approximately 35-40 grams of Fitosporin in a 10 liter container and soak the onion planting material in this solution for about 30 minutes.
- Immediately plant the onions in the garden bed.
In addition to the described methods for processing onions, there are also industrial growth activators and chemicals for processing onions; they are used only when planting onions in spring and cannot be used when planting before winter.
- Biostim or Silcom - these activators are sold with detailed instructions. Your task is to strictly follow these instructions, warming up the onion beforehand, as mentioned above.
- Epin-Extra - dissolves a couple of capsules in a 10 liter container of water for no more than 15 minutes. The bulbs will receive powerful nutrition for the root system, which will increase the growth and yield of onions.
When choosing a processing method, you should choose only one of them.
How to soak seedlings before planting. Soaking the sets
For soaking, use only baking soda, since soda ash (sodium carbonate) is more aggressive. The use of sodium bicarbonate during the pre-sowing preparation of onions helps eliminate the lack of minerals. Plants treated in a soda solution better tolerate periods of drought and are able to grow in poor soil.
Vegetable growers have noticed that soaked sets do not have a tendency to develop shoots, which impede the growth of the bulbs. To prevent bolting, gardeners supplement the soaking procedure by heating the seedlings, keeping them near heating devices at a temperature of +35...+40°C.
The success of the procedure is affected by the temperature of the soda solution. Its minimum value should not be lower than +45°C. The optimal temperature of the mixture in which the bulbs should be kept is +55°...+60°C.
When preparing the solution, it is necessary to observe the proportions of the components, since an insufficient concentration of sodium bicarbonate will worsen the antiseptic effect of soaking, and a high content of the substance will make the environment unnecessarily aggressive. The same reasons limit the time of the procedure.
To soak onions you need:
- water (1 l);
- baking soda (1 tsp).
It is recommended to use soda to reduce the acidity of the soil prepared for planting material, which has a beneficial effect on the growing season of the plant (Photo used under standard license ©ogorodnye-shpargalki.ru)
To maintain the temperature of the solution during soaking, it is prepared immediately before immersing the bulbs. It is recommended to wrap the container with antiseptic liquid and sevka in a blanket and cover it. The planting material is kept in the solution for 0.5 hours.
An alternative to disinfection with sodium bicarbonate can be soaking the bulbs in a saline solution (1 tablespoon of table salt per 1 liter of water). The exposure of the seed in the liquid is 1.5-2 hours.
Before immersing in an antiseptic, the onion is cleaned of flaking scales, but it cannot be completely exposed, otherwise the set will not sprout. Its spring processing and autumn soaking are somewhat different from each other. It is not recommended to trim winter onions: their resistance to pathologies will be minimal.
Feeding onions in the spring on the head
Feeding onions in the spring on the head
- Fertilizing, or rather fertilizing the soil for onions, is best done in the fall with manure.
- It’s worth saying right away that if the land in which onions grow is fertile, or if it was sufficiently fertilized in the fall, then it may not need spring feeding at all.
If the soil fertility leaves much to be desired, then the onions can be fertilized in the spring.
- The first feeding of onions is carried out when its feathers reach a height of 10 cm.
You can fertilize onions with a herbal infusion of weeds..
- To do this, you need to collect any herb in a jar, fill it with chicken droppings, yeast or fresh mullein and leave it in the sun for a week.
- The strained fertilizer must be diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10 and fertilized with it on the onions.
You can also feed the onions with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
- To do this, you need to dilute 10 g of fertilizer in 10 liters of water.
- This amount of feeding is enough for 1.5 sq.m. beds.
Some gardeners recommend adding superphosphate and urea to the soil when feeding onions for the first time.
The second stage of feeding occurs 30 days after the planting date.
- At this time, you can fertilize the onions with any phosphorus and potassium fertilizer .
- To do this, you need to dilute 25 g of sulfate and superphosphate in 10 liters of water.
What to soak onions in before planting. Processing onions before planting before winter
Winter onions are processed using various technologies. This is done to obtain a healthy and high-quality harvest. What methods of preventing onion diseases exist and how to use them correctly will be discussed in the article.
, pay attention to the regionalization of the variety. Southern heat-loving varieties are not suitable for these purposes. Typically, onions grown from their own seeds, the so-called nigella, are perfectly adapted to winter sowing.
Varieties suitable for planting before winter:
- Stuttgarter Riesen – sharp in taste, keeps well, a little small.
- Shakespeare is not as spicy, it stores a little worse, but the onions are larger.
- Senshui – spicy, large, for long-term storage.
- Arzamas - spicy, fits well, a bit small.
- Danilovsky - sharp, well stored, smallish.
- The radar, or Raider, is sharp and well stored.
- Red Baron – spicy, for long-term storage.
- Strigunovsky is sharp and stores well, but is small.
- Sturon is sharp and stores well.
- Ellan is sweet in taste and stores well.
Optimal timing for planting before winter
Each region will have its own planting dates. You should choose a time to plant onions before the soil freezes. In this case, the bulb will have time to take root, but will not have time to germinate.
Important! Onions take one to two weeks to germinate.
If the onion grows 1-2 cm, there is nothing to worry about, but if the height of the feather is higher than 5 cm, it will not be able to survive the winter. That's why it's so important to choose the right time.
Pay attention to the climate conditions in your region. Monitor your temperature for a week. If it stays at +5°C... +7°C and gradually drops to 0°C, then it’s time to plant winter onions.
Optimal planting dates for Russian regions:
- Central region - from the end of September until the second half of October;
- Siberia and the Urals - until the last days of September;
- Southern regions – October-November.
Do I need to soak winter onions before planting in the fall?
To get an excellent healthy onion harvest, gardeners do soaking. This is necessary to disinfect the bulb against diseases. In winter, onions will be susceptible to fungal diseases due to high humidity. But be careful: if you soak the bulbs for too long, they will become oversaturated with moisture and freeze. Therefore, when disinfecting, choose preparations with a short soaking period.
Why process onions before planting in the fall?
Before planting, healthy seed material is selected. It must be clean and undamaged, up to 3 cm in diameter.
Important! Dry or sprouted bulbs are not suitable for planting.
Before planting begins in the fall, fertilizers are applied to the onions, and the selected bulbs are processed. This is done to prevent diseases and obtain a high-quality harvest.
Advantages
There are various ways to process onions.
All of them are aimed at:
- protection from pests and diseases;
- reducing the formation of flower shoots;
- improving the quality of the crop;
- increase in crop size;
- increasing germination.
Optimal time for processing onions
Methods for processing onion sets before planting are different. These can be both chemicals and folk remedies. For 2-3 days, the seedlings should be heated by air, placing the bulbs near the radiator. This will help avoid the formation of arrows and inflorescences.
Chemical treatment is usually carried out 3-4 hours before planting in the ground. If you choose a folk remedy, then it is recommended to soak them in such solutions 30 minutes before planting.
How and how to treat onions before planting before winter
Seed onions are processed before planting in the ground. Treatment is carried out in order to prevent diseases and pests.
"Fitosporin"
Treatment with Fitosporin has a disinfecting effect. “Fitosporin” is a biological product based on microorganisms that has a prophylactic purpose against fungal and bacterial diseases. Systemic drug. This means that after entering the crop, it spreads through the vessels of the plant and begins to treat diseases.
"Fitosporin" prevents bacteriosis, peronosporosis, and various types of rot. The biological product has no harmful effects on pests and is available in the form of powder, paste and liquid. Dry and pasty mixtures are pre-soaked in water for two hours.
Important! It is recommended to use filtered water for preparing mixtures. In chlorinated water, the bacteria included in the drug will die.
To prepare a solution from the powder, take 10 g of the mixture per 500 ml of water.
How to feed winter onions in the spring, planted in the fall?
Feeding winter onions in the spring
Spring work on caring for winter onions begins with removing the covering material that warmed it all winter and loosening the soil.
The first fertilizing can be carried out with the first shoots of the plant .
- As a fertilizer, you can use highly diluted mullein, chicken manure or nitrogen fertilizers , which are applied to the ground along with watering.
The second stage of feeding occurs at the moment the leaves appear (two weeks after the first feeding).
- For these purposes, you can use the same mullein or chicken droppings.
- As well as mineral fertilizers, immunomodulators, antistress agents and other growth stimulants. For example, Biona, Vegeta, Agricola-2, Effecton-O for garlic and onions. They are sold with detailed instructions.
Note! Onions are a crop that is better under-fed than over-fed. Therefore, add fertilizers in very small portions, or avoid using additional fertilizers.
Preparing onions for planting in the fall
Only healthy bulbs are selected. The set must be dry, clean and undamaged. Soft, sprouted, rotten specimens are discarded.
Sorting
The crumbling dry husks of the selected planting material are removed and the dried tops are shortened.
Next, the bulbs are calibrated. For planting, select heads whose size does not exceed 1.5 cm. From such a set a high-quality turnip will grow.
Heads with a diameter of 2-3 cm are planted to obtain green feathers in early spring.
The larger the planting material, the more powerful the greens will be and the greater the likelihood that such onions will form arrows with seeds.
How to plant onions on a feather in the spring?
How to plant onions on a feather in the spring?
The procedure for planting onion sets on a feather in the spring is no different from the procedure for planting an onion set on a head.
- The only difference is the distance between the bulbs in the garden bed.
- The furrows for planting sets should be placed 15-20 cm apart from each other, and the bulbs themselves should be placed at a distance of up to 10 cm from each other.
A more budget-friendly and less expensive way to plant onions is to sow them with seeds. With this method of sowing, you can get a continuous harvest all summer long.
- To do this, you need to sow onions in the same place with an interval of two weeks.
- In order to sow onion seeds on a feather in the spring , you need to make furrows at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other.
- In the resulting furrows, you need to sow the seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm - it is advisable not to spare the seeds and sow thickly.
- After sowing, the furrow must be filled and watered.
You can sow onion seeds when the severe frosts have ended and the temperature remains above zero during the day. By the way, small night frosts for sown onions are not as bad as for sets.
We hope that all the information given in the article will help beginning gardeners get a wonderful harvest of onions in the fall, and enjoy delicious, aromatic green onions in the summer.
How to process onion sets
A mandatory preparatory step is processing the onions. It is performed immediately before landing and consists of the procedures described below:
- immersing onion seeds in a weak (2 tablespoons of salt per two liters of water) saline solution. This treatment allows for rapid development of the plant, as well as its protection from any aggressive environmental influences, and disinfects the bulbs from nematodes. You can use either regular rock salt or sea salt, the effect will be the same. Dive time is approximately 2-3 hours;
- disinfection using potassium permanganate. Despite the emergence of many effective modern substances, this remedy still remains the most popular and inexpensive. Treatment before planting is carried out in this way: 35 grams of potassium permanganate is diluted in 10 liters of water, after which the seeds are immersed in the resulting solution. Two hours will be enough to provide protection against any plant diseases.
Instead of potassium permanganate, you can disinfect before planting with copper sulfate or Fitosporin, using the same dosage.
Is it necessary to cut off the top of the set before planting?
When growing onions in a small area, it is recommended to sample the top to speed up germination and provide better conditions for the growing season.
Correct pruning involves trimming the woven part of the top by 2-4 mm from the top and the roots. This will make soaking more effective, as the solution will penetrate deeper between the scales.
For feathers, 1/3 of the top is cut off from large heads. When planting on the head, only the tail is cut off so as not to damage the white skin.
Some varieties are pruned on both sides to speed up growth and formation of the root system. Results are visible within a few days.
Experienced gardeners recommend cutting off the woven part of the top, since it is difficult for feathers to break through it.
The quality of the future onion harvest depends on pre-sowing treatment. It includes a set of agrotechnical measures, thanks to which you can grow tasty and healthy fruits.
Watch the video! Preparing and planting onion sets in spring
Why do you need to treat onions with salt before planting?
Soaking onions, including in saline solution, is an optional part of preparing them for planting. When cultivated on an industrial scale, it is not practiced; only amateur gardeners resort to such “disinfection” of sets. Also, onions are not treated with salt before planting before winter.
Gardeners who plant seedlings in the spring on their own plots are not recommended to neglect this procedure. The only exception is complete confidence in the quality of onions for planting, in particular, cultivation in healthy soil, storage in winter in suitable conditions, and the absence of pathogenic microflora. But most often there is no such guarantee, so:
- germination rate drops significantly;
- the bulbs ripen small and deformed;
- many of them are not suitable for long-term storage due to the presence of traces of mold and rot.
It is impossible to independently verify that purchased onion sets were stored in proper conditions and are not contaminated with pathogens.
All these negative consequences can be avoided by soaking the onions in a saline solution before planting. Salt is an accessible and cheap natural antiseptic; its disinfectant properties have been scientifically confirmed.
It not only “dissolves” surface deposits of dust and dirt on the seed heads, but also effectively destroys pathogenic microflora. The risk of onion becoming infected with the most dangerous diseases for it - powdery mildew, late blight, and gray rot - is noticeably reduced. Also, a salt “antiseptic” is an effective prevention of pest attacks (onion flies, thrips, nematodes) throughout the season.
The phytoncides contained in onions protect them from many, but not all pests.
Treating onions with salt before planting in the spring (but not in the fall) has other advantages:
- Increasing overall endurance and “stress resistance”, reducing the negative impact of adverse weather factors on onions.
- Stimulation of rooting and growth of seedlings, ripening of heads. This is especially true in regions with cold late springs and short summers.
- Fewer arrows.
- Protecting the soil from pathogens transmitted along with planting material. Most of them successfully winter in the ground; they are dangerous not only for onions, but also for crops that will be planted in this bed in the future.
When shooting, the quality and keeping quality of the bulbs inevitably suffers.
Properly prepared saline solution for onions is harmless. But if the concentration is too high or the recommended soaking time is exceeded, the liquid “softens” the seed, which provokes the development of rot.
Important! To enhance the effect, gardeners often do not limit themselves to soaking onions in a saline solution.
Salt is compatible with any purchased fungicides and folk antifungal remedies
Advice from experienced gardeners
Knowledge of important nuances and recommendations from experienced gardeners will help you treat onions with a saline solution before planting with maximum benefit:
- There should not be much time between soaking the onions in a saline solution and planting them in the beds. As soon as it is completely dry after washing, you can already plant it. Delay in this case negatively affects the germination of the seeds.
- It is not recommended to neglect soaking onions in a saline solution before planting in regions where cool summers with frequent and heavy rainfall are typical. Such conditions favor the active development of many pathogens, especially mold and rot fungi. The risk of losing most or even the entire harvest increases, because such bulbs are unsuitable for human consumption. Accordingly, sevka needs good general endurance and effective “support” of the immune system in order to minimize the likelihood of infection.
- Soaking onion sets in salt before planting, increasing its proportion and thus hoping to provide it with the most effective protection from diseases and pests, is a bad idea. It is very likely that the liquid will simply “burn” the growth points, destroying the rudiments of roots and “feathers”.
- Increasing the time spent in saline solution will not give a better effect. On the contrary, the experience of gardeners shows that in this case the risk of rot development increases. If several products are used sequentially to soak onions, the total “holding” time should not exceed three hours. It is divided approximately equally between salt and another “antiseptic”. A maximum of 30 minutes is allocated for fertilizers and biostimulants.
- Soaking onions in salt before planting is not a panacea. The product may be useless even against pathogens that have managed to penetrate inside the bulb. Accordingly, during the season we must not forget about preventive treatments with insecticides and fungicides. Equally important for the normal development of plants is the correct choice of location for the bed, its preparation and regular care of the plantings throughout the season.
Limiting yourself to treating with a saline solution before planting and not caring for onions at all during the season will not work.
You can treat onions with salt before planting only in the spring. For pre-winter sets, soaking, on the contrary, will be harmful, because the soil temperature drops quickly, and the risk of freezing or rotting of the water-saturated bulbs increases. An exception may be the southern Russian regions with a subtropical climate. But here the gardener, counting on friendly shoots in the spring, must take care of insulating the beds, because in the south, as a rule, there is little snow.
For onions planted before winter, soaking in a saline solution is not suitable; other antibacterial treatment is required