Onions are one of the most popular vegetables in Russia. It is difficult to find a summer cottage that does not have a bed with this plant. The place for planting vegetables should always be prepared in advance, and therefore it is always important to pay attention to what to plant onions after. There are vegetables that enrich the soil with the substances necessary for a given crop, and there are also those that make the substrate poorer. The growing rules are not at all complicated - after studying them, anyone, even an inexperienced summer resident, will be able to reap a colossal harvest.
Soil fatigue: causes
If the same crop is planted in the same place year after year, so-called soil fatigue occurs.
This is expressed as follows:
- due to regular consumption of the same nutrients from the soil, it becomes more scarce and an imbalance occurs;
- identical plants are affected by the same pests, which already adapt to this place, lay larvae in the soil and their number increases from year to year. In addition, the soil also absorbs insecticides, with which gardeners fight insects, and therefore it becomes toxic;
- spores of viral diseases and fungal infections also persist in the soil;
- the substrate accumulates colins - root secretions (sugars, organic acids, hormones, enzymes, phenol compounds);
- the soil acidity level changes.
Onion bed
Important! Some cultures are OK with the accumulation of colins, but for most it is unacceptable. They begin to become smaller, their growth and development slows down.
What soil and conditions are needed for onions?
Sandy and loamy soils are best suited for onions. In the first case, growth and development occurs faster, it is advisable to grow onions on feathers, and on loam the heads will be larger and more pleasant to taste.
Clay soils are not suitable for growing this crop, as dense soil will interfere with the development of the plant. But this problem can be solved very simply: you need to add sand to such soil to loosen it, and you can safely start growing any type of onion.
The acidity of the soil is also of great importance; it should be in the range of 6.4 to 7.9 pH (neutral or slightly alkaline). If the soil is overly acidic, the following components are added to it:
- slaked lime;
- chalk;
- dolomite flour;
- ground limestone.
Important! The soil on which the vegetable will be grown must be nutritious. To enhance the effect, organic fertilizers are used. Only fresh manure is not suitable.
Leek feeding
Does the earth need to rest after the bow?
The following year after onions you can grow:
- Legumes;
- Pumpkin;
- Solanaceae;
- winter crops and root crops.
These plants will not accept all the pathogens that have accumulated in the ground; the composition of the soil is ideal for them.
What can you plant after onions next year:
| Perfect fit |
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| Landing allowed |
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| Absolutely not suitable |
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Planting onions before winter
Landing dates
There is no need for haste here, so we won’t rush into planting winter onions. It is optimal to place it on the plots about a month before the start of the real frost (otherwise it will begin to grow, how it will gain strength, and then what to do with it?). But in fact, in the case of onions, it is advisable to meet the deadlines and you only have to rely on the thermometer and weather forecasters.
Let's take the middle lane as an example. Experts write that the optimal time for planting onions before winter here is from the 5th to the 20th of October. Imagine a 15-day range of deadlines! More than two weeks. And why? But because the weather is very changeable and capricious, and during this period of time it can change dramatically. We need to somehow plan to plant the onions so that all planting is completed three weeks before the soil freezes completely. It is clear that this period is different in each region, you can only rely on the weather forecast, for example, if for two or three days the temperature drops to +5 and does not rise anymore, then you can completely start planting onions. During my life I observed different things: it happened that on the Intercession, that is, already in mid-October, such snow fell that it no longer melted, and it happened that even a month after the Intercession there was still no snow. Let’s summarize: don’t rush, monitor the weather forecast, choose the optimal time so that the onion not only does not have time to form roots, but also does not show the tiny tips of the leaves from under the soil, because then you can’t count on a good harvest. And if it doesn’t form any roots in the soil at all and sits until spring exactly in the same form as it was planted, then that’s also nothing good. Ideally, the roots should begin to grow, and the onion should come to life and immediately freeze (and not freeze) until spring.
A covered bed with onions planted before winter. herbie
Preparation of planting material
So, we have sorted out the soil, the planting date is approaching, it’s time to start preparing the onion planting material. This is a mandatory and necessary event and cannot be ignored. Why do they sort onions before planting? In order to remove all damaged and diseased bulbs from the overall batch, the onions are then usually divided into four batches, which are entirely dependent on their size. Typically, the first category includes bulbs whose diameter is from a centimeter to one and a half, the second category includes bulbs with a diameter from one and a half to three centimeters, and a separate selection must be made into which the bulbs whose diameter is considered to be quite large - more than three centimeters - are placed. Onions that do not fall into any category, that is, very small ones (less than a centimeter), are called wild oatmeal, and are placed in separate boxes.
Onion sorting
This sorting of onions is important in order to obtain uniform plantings. How you sort the bulbs is how you plant them: this is not a trivial calculation of how many large bulbs you have, how many medium ones, how many small ones, and so on.
Planting onions
Before planting, I would advise digging up the already selected area, which we have described above, with a shovel full, adding 5-6 kg of humus or compost per square meter, as well as a handful of wood ash. Next, the area needs to be perfectly leveled and grooves made five centimeters deep, in which the bulbs will be planted.
However, not all onions are planted according to the same principle. For example, it is advisable to plant wild oatmeal, a typical winter onion, to a depth of two, maximum three centimeters; it is not worth burying it deeper at all.
It is better to leave a distance of six or seven centimeters between the bulbs, and arrange the grooves themselves so that the distance between them is equal to one and a half ten centimeters. Next, it remains to place the onion vertically, lightly squeezing it with your fingers, sprinkling the soil and leveling it.
By the way, we described the method of planting onions in furrows, but this does not mean that they can only be planted this way and not otherwise. It is quite possible to plant onions in holes (for example, using the square-nest method, beloved by many), the planting principle is the same.
In the future, it is advisable to water the soil in the beds where winter onions are planted well and ensure that the soil is moist before the onset of frost (before covering).
Onion braids. moestuinweetjes
Then plant onions of various varieties
The agricultural technology of this vegetable does not cause any difficulties. It only needs proper watering, weeding, loosening and fertilizing. But it is also worth taking into account the crops that grew before him in the garden.
Then plant the onion on the feather
Onions are most often planted for feathers in the fall, and sets are most often planted. It is preferable if any green manure plants, except clover, grew in this place. Cereals, legumes and mustard are perfect. Fast-growing plants like itself, for example, radishes, lettuce, and herbs, are also suitable.
Then plant the onions on the turnips
Turnips can be planted after green manure plants, which enrich the soil with nitrogen and draw all the nutrients hidden deep inside to the soil surface. A good large harvest is obtained if the plant is planted after legumes.
Onion variety
After what crops should vegetables be planted before winter?
You can grow this vegetable before winter after many vegetables. After which it is best to plant onions before winter:
- mustard;
- beans;
- beans;
- rape;
- rye.
They make the soil looser and enrich it with nitrogen due to small nodules located on the roots. After them, winter onions will give maximum yield. Such plants have a powerful root system, penetrating into the deepest layers of the soil and pulling out all the nutrients from there. They enrich the upper layers of the soil with these substances, from which onions receive the necessary food.
The following predecessors are also suitable for winter plantings:
- tomatoes;
- cabbage;
- cucumbers;
- salad.
You can plant winter onions after potatoes. However, in this case there is a high risk of infection with some diseases of the predecessor.
Attention! If you choose potatoes as a predecessor, you need to make sure that they are absolutely healthy.
What vegetables should you not plant onions after?
You cannot plant vegetables before winter in those beds where representatives of this family were already growing. If crop rotation is not observed, the land will be depleted, the same substances will accumulate in it, as well as pathogens that will damage the crop. There will also be a sharp increase in the likelihood that the seedlings will be infected with onion fly, which causes irreparable harm to the crop. Planting after such plants as:
- alfalfa, red clover;
- root parsley;
- parsnip;
- radish;
- carrot;
- radish.
Over the course of a season, they pull huge amounts of nutrients from the soil. And for growing onions in general, in particular for winter plantings, the amount of nutrients in the soil is very important.
Important! When planting in open ground in central Russia (including the Moscow region), it is necessary to cover the beds with winter plantings with spruce branches or special garden breathable material. They can be opened in the spring, as soon as the snow melts.
Planting process
After the area chosen for planting has been dug up, it must be fertilized. Onions love fertile soils, and winter onions especially need them, since they will need strength and reinforcement to endure the harsh conditions of winter. Typically, experienced gardeners apply potassium fertilizers, superphosphate fertilizers, and humus, and to be sure, sprinkle future beds with wood ash. The process itself is quite simple
Make shallow trenches in the soil (five centimeters deep is enough). Each bed is removed from the previous one at a distance of 15-20 cm.
Prepared and dried seedlings (bulbs from 1 to 3 cm in diameter), laid out at a distance of 5-7 cm, are covered with a layer of dry and loose soil.
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Watering is not required, only if it does not rain for 10 days, you can water, but a little.
Before frost, the beds are covered with spruce branches or pine needles; dry leaves can be used for this, but are not recommended due to the potential danger of pests overwintering in them.
The preparation of seeds is different if shallots are planted instead of the usual onions: instead of drying the seed, their necks are cut off and kept in intensely warm water for 24 hours. If you grow trumpet in order to get greens full of vitamins in the spring, you don’t have to resort to such difficulties - just dry the seeds and plant them according to the instructions given above.
What to plant after onions in the same season
Onions are most often harvested in August, and sometimes earlier (early ripening varieties), so to prevent the garden bed from being empty, you can plant something else immediately after. What can be planted after onions in the same season:
- A salad that will always delight you with freshness and will fit on any table. The bag of lettuce should have a mark indicating that it is suitable for summer sowing.
- Early ripening cabbage, most often these are hybrid varieties with ultra-early ripening.
- Early ripening varieties of beets and carrots, which are not suitable for long-term storage, but will delight you with their juicy fresh fruits, ripened in early autumn.
- Radish, which should not be too deep into the soil when planting late after onions.
- Radishes, for which planting at this time is ideal due to the shorter daylight hours. When planted in spring, it can go into arrows, and the second half of summer is very suitable.
- Dill and other greens that you always want to have fresh on the table.
Symbiosis with strawberries
The best neighbors, what to plant nearby
The best neighbor in the garden is strawberries. They have an excellent symbiosis, as a result of which strawberries develop and grow. Its berries become larger and sweeter. But after it it is not recommended to plant this vegetable. In addition to strawberries, onions get along well with carrots, celery, lettuce and beets.
Union with carrots
Interesting! Onions next to carrots is a classic combination. Carrots cope well with the onion fly, which often affects the vegetable crop. This type of planting will not require the use of insecticides.
It’s amazing how the harvest of such a seemingly simple plant can depend on its predecessors and influence its followers. It is very important to choose the right plants growing before and after, as well as allies. Then the results will be able to exceed even the wildest expectations. Even beginners, having studied a number of simple rules, will be able to grow a crop that will be the envy of experienced gardeners who do not know them.
