Is it possible to plant onion sets before winter? Many gardeners will answer in the affirmative. Although there are those who are afraid to plant winter onions, believing that frosts can destroy them or, at best, the bulbs will go to seed in the spring. Therefore, until recently, planting winter onions was not so widespread, for the reason that many do not know how to plant onion sets correctly. Residents of cold regions are especially wary of this. I hope this article will clear your doubts.
There are several rules for how to properly plant onion sets. Let's look at them in order.
Planting dates - when to plant onion sets
Experienced gardeners recommend planting onions 1-2 weeks after planting winter garlic. Our country is large, so planting times vary in different regions. So, in central Russia it is better to sow after October 20th. The southern regions begin sowing in late November - early December. In more northern regions, sowing dates will be slightly earlier than in central Russia.
Sometimes it is advised to plant seedlings on frozen ground. This is not entirely true. Before frost, the bulbs must take root, but do not have time to shoot, otherwise they will freeze. Therefore, the optimal period is 3 weeks before permanent frost. To avoid mistakes, you will have to listen to weather forecasts.
Optimal timing for disembarkation
Now let's find out when to start planting onions in the fall. If this is a seedling, then it needs to be planted at such a time that it has time to take root before the ground freezes, but does not begin to germinate. Typically in autumn with normal weather this takes approximately 2 weeks. Knowing the approximate timing of the onset of cold weather in your region, you can easily calculate the approximate date for the work and plant winter onions at the optimal time.
You can more accurately determine the timing of planting onions if you monitor the temperature: if it is 5-7°C, does not change during the week, and then is expected to drop to 0°C, then you can plant onions.
In each region of Russia, this will be different, but usually you can plant onions before winter in the Moscow region and the central zone, starting from the 2nd half of September and ending with the 2nd half of October. In the Urals and Siberia, you need to have time to plant onions before the end of September, and in the southern regions - in October and even November. You can also plant winter garlic at the same time.
If you need to sow onion seeds (nigella), then this rule is not necessary to follow. Seeds can be sown even in slightly frozen ground, in November, and in the southern regions in December. Naturally, the beds need to be prepared in advance: digging and cutting grooves. The soil that should be sprinkled on top of the onions must be taken to a dry and warm room so that it does not freeze outside.
After planting, all planted onions, both sets and nigella, should be covered with mulch of leaves, dried grass, old straw or peat. This will protect it from freezing in winter if it is cold or if there is little snow.
Preparing onions for planting
To protect yourself and prevent onions from bolting in the spring, although the likelihood of this is low, the bulbs are warmed up before planting. Before planting, they must be immersed in warm (60º) water for 2-3 minutes. This is a proven method, safe, and guaranteed not to give arrows to the bow.
Immediately before planting, it is recommended to soak the bulbs in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, saline solution, phytosporin, etc. If you decide to soak in phytosporin, do not mix it with other solutions, since it is a biological product. Of course, disinfection won’t hurt, but many people plant dry planting material. On the one hand, soaked onions will sprout roots and take root faster, but on the other hand, autumn is unpredictable, frosts can come unexpectedly. But dry sevka will do nothing.
Selecting a location and preparing the bed
Onions love good, fertile, loose soil with neutral acidity. He does not like clayey, acidic soil. Therefore, choose a sunny, ventilated place, where the snow melts faster in spring. It is important that water does not stagnate in this place; excess moisture has a detrimental effect on the bulbs.
If the soil is sandy, then sand is not added, but if the soil is dense, sand must be added. The sand will serve as drainage and increase the air permeability of the soil. It’s good to add compost, it adds looseness to the soil and provides good nutrition. Be sure to add wood ash. Ash nourishes, disinfects, loosens and deoxidizes the soil.
Although onion sets are an unpretentious crop, they are not friendly with some neighbors. The best neighbors for winter onions are carrots, parsley, strawberries, and cucumbers. Good predecessors for it are potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, parsley, celery. You should not plant next to garlic and sow it in the bed where it used to grow.
Soil preparation
For planting the crop, choose a well-lit area . It should not be located in a lowland; when the snow melts, moisture will stagnate in such places, which will have a detrimental effect on the crop.
The soil in the beds should be loose and fertile . The culture responds well to well-drained, loamy soils. It grows poorly on heavy, clay soils and yields will be low. If the site has soil with high acidity levels, dolomite flour and charcoal are added to it when digging.
A week before planting the seeds, the soil is dug up with the addition of humus (5 l/m²) and ammophosphate (20 g/m²).
Reference! When planting before winter, fresh manure is not used.
Predecessors
When planting onions, it is important to follow the rules of crop rotation. The best predecessors are potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin, and legumes. It is not recommended to plant the crop after garlic, sunflower, corn, and parsley.
It is allowed to replant onions in the second year , but after that it is not recommended to plant them in this area for 3-4 years.
At what distance to plant onion sets?
In the prepared bed, grooves are cut at a distance of 20-25 cm and a depth of 5-7 cm. This is done not only in a bed special for onions. For example, onion sets are planted between green manure.
The soil in the grooves is sprinkled with sand or drainage is applied. Without sparing, they pour ash on top. Everything is mixed with the earth. Then the bulbs are planted, without pressing into the soil, bottom down, at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other. If space allows, then plant onions on turnips and greens nearby. Then the distance between the bulbs is halved - 4-5 cm and they are alternated: for turnips - for greens, etc. This is convenient, since in the spring until half of the summer the green feather is pulled out earlier, and the turnip will continue to grow.
When sowing on greens, the bulbs are planted very tightly, literally bulb to bulb (1-1.5 cm). By planting in this way, it is possible for 1 sq. m plant up to 1 kg of onions, the result is a lot of feathers.
Features of cultivation and care
In winter, onion plantings do not require special care, except for shelter . Onions planted in autumn are not watered, as the rainy season begins at this time. This allows the seedlings to take root well before frost. In winter, the crop is dormant. Caring for the beds begins with the onset of spring.
Important! In the spring, remove the mulch in time to ensure access to sunlight for the onion plantings. Fine mulch is left and the soil is saturated with it while loosening.
Loosening and thinning
After each precipitation and after watering, the soil is loosened . This prevents the formation of a soil crust and provides air access to the onion roots.
During loosening, weeds that interfere with the full growth of turnips are removed. As the seedlings grow, the thickened onion plantings are thinned. Removed shoots serve as an excellent addition to vitamin salads.
Top dressing
In the spring, after the snow melts, remove the layer of mulch from the beds and carry out the first fertilizing with wood ash, sprinkling it on the beds at a rate of 15 g/m². During the growth of feathers, the formation of a turnip begins. During this period, fertilizing is carried out with chicken droppings. To prepare the solution, mix it with water in a ratio of 1:20 and leave for 10-14 days. The resulting composition is diluted in a ratio of 1:20 and applied at the root. After this, water it with clean water.
Organics are alternated with mineral fertilizers , using a solution of ammophosphate (20-25 g/m²) or urea (15 g/m²), superphosphate (30 g/m²). During the growth of turnips, potassium sulfate (15-20 g/m²) is used.
Watering
If there was heavy precipitation in the form of snow during the winter , you can take your time with watering in the spring to prevent excessive soil moisture. They are also laid during rainy weather in the spring. As the weather gets warmer, the onion beds are watered once a week. During the dry period, the frequency of watering is increased to 2 times a week.
Attention! From mid-May to mid-June, onions need abundant watering.
Protection from pests and diseases
Onion plantings are affected by various pests and diseases:
- Onion fly - especially prefers young shoots. Lays eggs between the scales of the onion neck. The drug “Zemlin”, which is scattered on the surface of the soil, fights insects well.
- Onion moth - eats the flesh of feathers. They fight it with a solution of ammonia: 30 ml/10 l of water. Infusions of tansy, wormwood, and tomato tops are also effective.
- Onion weevil - completely eats the green mass. To repel it, treatment with wood ash and tobacco is used.
- Powdery mildew may appear on onion feathers . Its appearance is promoted by thickened plantings and waterlogging of beds. When growing crops for turnips, it is allowed to treat the green mass with “Topaz” and 1% copper sulfate. When loosening the soil, crushed chalk and ash are scattered over the soil surface.
- Rust - Appears as rusty-brown fluffy growths on the feathers. To prevent the disease, the soil is treated with a rich pink solution of potassium permanganate before planting.
- Fusarium (bottom rot) - feathers turn yellow and dry out. Turnips stop growing, the roots and bottoms turn black, and the scales secrete mucus. For prevention, seedlings are treated with a solution of “Fundazol”. 2 times a month, watering is carried out with solutions of biofungicides “Trichodermin”, “Maxim”, “Previkur”.
At what depth to plant onion sets?
After the bulbs have been laid out, the furrows are covered on top with fertile soil or compost to the level of the edge of the furrows; there should be 3-4 cm of soil above the bulbs. Planting too shallow leads to the bulb freezing in winter; planting too deep may prevent the delicate feather from breaking through the thickness of the earth. The bulb may dry out or become wet in the spring.
It is not advisable to mulch the bed right away; this is done after persistent cold weather. Mown grass, fallen leaves, dry sawdust, carrot tops, and marigold stems are used as mulch. Marigolds, among other things, repel many pests. In the spring, be sure to remove the mulch from the garden bed so that the earth warms up faster.
It is not advisable to mulch the beds with peat, especially in a thick layer. Peat is moisture-absorbing, and in the spring it lies frozen for a long time. But a delicate onion feather cannot penetrate the thickness of the ice. Finally, peat greatly acidifies the soil, and onions react very strongly to this.
A good option is to sow winter seed and carrots in the same bed. In the fall, onions are sown first, leaving one furrow for carrots, which are sown later on the frozen ground. The advantage is that they will protect each other from pests. The sets are planted together not only with carrots, but also in a bed with strawberries to save space. At the same time, it will protect strawberries from fungal diseases and pests.
The best varieties
The best varieties of onions for planting before winter for each specific area are zoned varieties, as well as those that can be sown with nigella, since it tolerates low temperatures better. From all the variety, it is better to choose varieties with dense internal scales and a sharp taste. However, this is not necessary; varieties of onions with a softer structure and taste are also suitable.
Among the winter varieties of onion sets and nigella, the following varieties can be distinguished:
- Saratoga. An early ripening variety with a semi-sharp taste. Suitable for growing during winter sowing.
- Radar. Dutch large-fruited variety, resistant to diseases and cold. Recommended for growing turnips during winter sowing in an annual crop from seeds.
- Zolsky. A variety of semi-sharp taste, winter-hardy in the conditions of the North Caucasus region.
- Viking F1. Onion of sweet taste. Recommended for cultivation as a winter crop in the southern regions of the country.
- Strigunovsky local. Small size, spicy taste, long shelf life.
- Arzamas local. Small head size, sharp taste, fits perfectly.
- Senshui yellow globe. Large, sharp onions designed for long-term storage. Recommended for cultivation as a winter crop in the southern regions of the country.
- Stuttgarter Riesen. Small in size, has a pungent taste, and withstands storage well.
- Echo. Semi-sharp flavor. Recommended for growing turnips in an annual crop from seeds with winter sowing.
In addition to these varieties, others are suitable for planting onions in the fall before winter, for example, Swift, Bessonovsky local, Music, Electric, Myachkovsky, Zodiac, Lyuty, Siberia, Stansa, Hiberna MS, Ellan.
Advantages of winter planting onion sets
- Sevok planted in the fall is stronger and resistant to diseases and pests;
- Less damaged by pests, such as onion flies. At the time of summer, the onion fly is near the bulb. As a rule, a strong root system is formed and the pest cannot lay larvae in the bottom;
- Crops do not require watering for a long time - almost until half of May;
- It ripens 1-2 months earlier than those planted in spring. Greens or early ripening vegetables are then planted in the vacated beds;
- Early harvesting allows the turnips to dry well in the sun and then under a canopy. Well dried, it will be better stored until spring;
- Winter onions are stronger, healthier, and therefore will be stored better.
- Onions planted in the fall are sweeter.
There is also a drop of ointment in the ointment. Turnips grown from sets do not tolerate long-term storage; their yield is somewhat lower than that of spring ones. Of course, our breeding scientists are trying to take this factor into account and are working on developing productive and cold-resistant varieties.
I wish you good harvests!
When onions planted before winter emerge
Onions are a cold-resistant plant, so they can germinate as soon as the weather warms up. Naturally, there are no exact dates; it all depends on how cold or warm the spring will be. But one thing is certain - onions planted before winter begin to germinate much earlier than those planted in the spring.
We recommend reading
Review of onion variety Stuttgarter Riesen, growing features
Features of preserving green onions for the winter
How to dry onions after harvesting from the garden
Review of onion variety Strigunovsky local, cultivation features
