Planting nigella onions for seedlings at home in 2022

Today, many vegetable growers practice cultivating onions, and cut off the flower stalks during flowering so that all the beneficial elements enrich the onion. However, many years ago, growing onions for nigella was actively widespread.

It will be useful for both experienced and novice gardeners to know how to plant nigella onions for seedlings at home in open ground.

When to sow in 2020

Black onions are small onion grains that are used to propagate vegetables. It has such an interesting name because of its color. Nigella ripens when the inflorescence blooms. Each seed is formed in a triangle-shaped mini-box in the place of one flower.

While cultivating onions in the garden, many have observed that at a certain period each plant produces an arrow that blooms.

Traditionally, the arrow is broken so that the vegetable crop uses all its energy to grow the head and not to the flower. But, if the inflorescence is allowed to bloom and then the capsules ripen, then grains are formed in them - nigella. If you sow them, an ordinary set will grow, which summer residents purchase for planting in their dachas.

Seedlings need approximately 75-90 days to be ready for planting outdoors

Therefore, in order to understand when it is possible to sow seed material, it is initially necessary to decide when the gardener plans to plant seedlings. If in May, then it is necessary to sow in February, if at the beginning of summer, then sow in March.

Certain dates suitable for work should be chosen correctly according to recommendations from the lunar calendar.

Favorable days according to the moon

Gardeners working according to the moon have a principle: all plants growing upward must be planted on the waxing lunar body, and all vegetables growing downward must be planted on the descending one.

The onion grows downwards (the onion grows), therefore the waning satellite of the Earth is considered a suitable period for planting the seed material of this plant.

In 2022, the decrease falls on certain favorable days:

01.20 – 11-24;
02.20 – 10-22;
03.20– 10-23;
04.20 – 9-22;
05.20 – 8-21;
06.20 – 6-20;
07.20 – 6-19;
08.20 – 4-18;
09.20 – 3-16;
10.20 – 3-15;
11.20 – 1-14;
12.20 – 1-13, 31.

Any of these days is suitable for planting.

When can you plant depending on the region?

Traditionally, annual onions ripen in 120-130 days, once the sprouts hatch. Before transplanting into the garden, the seedling material must grow and become strong; this will take up to 60 days. Onion is an unpretentious plant that tolerates slight drops in temperature and unfavorable weather without problems.

To harvest an early harvest of onions, you can plant seedlings in the garden already in the last days of April or in the first days of May

Taking into account the recommendations, you can calculate the ideal time for sowing nigella - March 4-20. The earliest sowing is not recommended due to excessively short daylight hours and a lack of sunlight - this will cause the plants to stretch out.

For gardeners living in the northern territories, it is problematic to grow vegetables through seedlings, however, it is possible. Every year it is necessary to select the sowing date based on weather conditions.

But on average by region the timing is as follows:

southern territories - from the end of February (can be grown without seedlings);
central regions, Chernozem region, southern Volga region - the first days of March;
North-West, Volga region - after March 15;
Ural, Siberian, Far Eastern regions - March-April.

If you follow the recommendations, you have a greater chance of getting a big harvest.

Unsuitable dates

Dates when the moon is waxing are neutral. It is not correct to sow in them, however, when there is no choice, planting is allowed. But landing on the new and full moon is not allowed.

In 2022, prohibited lunar days:

01.20 – 10, 25;
02.20 – 9, 23;
03. 20 – 9, 24;
04.20 – 8, 23;
05.20 – 7, 22;
06.20 – 5, 21;
07.20 – 5, 20;
08.20 – 3, 19;
09.20 – 2, 17;
10.20 – 2, 16, 31;
11.20 – 15, 30;
12.20 – 14, 30.

These days are prohibited for planting.

Reproduction: how to properly collect seeds to get sets

You can get black onions in the following way: select several large onions you like. The process of planting selected bulbs directly on the beds is best done in early spring, as soon as the last snow has melted. Or you can plant them before winter, treating the soil well to protect them with organic minerals. You can read more about planting onions in open ground before winter here.

It is better to choose a sunny and dry place for planting. The bed needs to be dug well, gradually adding humus mixed with wood ash. It must be remembered that onions love to be next to carrots - this crop repels onion flies. You can also plant seedlings of dill and calendula seeds on the onion bed - dill also prevents the invasion of insects harmful to onions, and calendula prevents round earthworms from developing. If very long arrows have grown from the bulbs, they must be tied up to prevent them from breaking.

It is recommended to maintain a moderate watering regime for bulb beds.

In the summer, you need to wait for the appearance of onion umbrellas, which, after flowering, accompanied by the opening of the seed pods, scatter the desired seeds near them.

There is a risk that the bulb may be damaged by insects - wasps or onion flies - during flowering. Gardeners protect themselves from this danger by covering the flowers with a gauze cap. This method will prevent the seeds from scattering on the ground and protect the flower from harmful insects.

You can also get nigella in a faster way - simply collect the bulbous umbrellas, spread them on newspapers in a dry, warm room and wait for about 2-3 weeks to ripen.

The resulting seeds quickly lose their viability, so it is recommended to use only fresh seeds for planting.

Pros and cons of growing seedlings

The process is long but interesting. The disadvantage is that the waiting period for the harvest is longer. Another disadvantage is that onion sets often:

dries;
preet;
is rotting.

Therefore, experts have developed several new species of annual plants. All that remains is to choose the variety correctly, plant it correctly and care for it. The advantages of the method are the ability to control the process and obtain strong plants.

You can harvest several times a year. Allowed to sow before winter

From experience, the results are as follows:

requires less time and care;
minimal cash expenses;
minimum loss of planting material.

However, it is unrealistic to guarantee 100% germination. During the winter period, planting material freezes and rots. To avoid losses of nigella, the only thing left is the method of growing seedlings. For this you need to take only hybrids.

These hybrid varieties are sweet and semi-sweet, which allows you to consume the product in any form. The method of obtaining a vegetable by sowing nigella on seedling material will allow you to obtain a bountiful harvest in harsh climates. In addition, the percentage increases, and the area occupied is 2 times less.

The taste of the vegetable is different, the bolting period is shorter. The difference between the seedling technique is the high keeping quality of the crop. Annual bulbs do not lose their aesthetics and taste for up to 9 months

Suitable varieties

Nigella is the seed material of any onion vegetable. However, among our vegetable growers there are special varietal species that are cultivated directly from seed material. Therefore, when they say nigella onions, they usually mean this.

Before choosing a variety, you need to decide on the area of use of the vegetable.

So, for example, white onion is ideal for salad dishes; it is not spicy. Red onions are rarely used in canning, but are loved by chefs to add flavor to dishes. Yellow is for marinades. Varietal types of nigella.

Planting on seedling material

Planting nigella onions for seedlings should take place without violating the recommendations of breeders.

The seed material of onions is small black grains called nigella. Before sowing, nigella must be prepared in order to increase the germination capacity of the seeds and speed up their germination. Preparation consists of soaking in advance. For this, some people use a weak solution of manganese (1 g per liter of water), in which the seeds are placed in a linen bag for no more than 45 minutes.

Usually, soaking in water at a temperature of +30-35°C is enough. To maintain the temperature, you can use a thermos or place a container on the radiator for 24 hours.

Immediately after soaking in water or manganese, the seeds should be immersed in an Epin solution made according to the instructions on the package. It takes approximately 15 minutes to process.

After preparation, the nigella is dried, spreading the seeds evenly over paper or fabric. This is necessary so that the small seeds become crumbly and move away from each other more easily.

Soil for sowing

Preparation rules and schemes have been developed for sowing nigella onions for seedlings. The soil for seedling material should be loose and enriched with useful elements. It can be made from:

turf;
humus;
sand;
peat

You can improve the composition of the soil:

dolomite;
unslaked lime;
wood ash.

The acidity of the prepared soil should be neutral

Containers for sowing

It is convenient to sow nigella seeds in common plastic containers with sealed transparent lids. It is allowed to use any containers:

glasses;
pots;
plastic bottles cut lengthwise.

It's better to take larger containers

Direct sowing

When everything is prepared, you can sow. Sowing takes place in stages:

containers are filled with earth so that its layer is 70-80 mm;
spill the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, Bordeaux mixture or fungicide so that the seeds do not become infected;
Use a spoon to make shallow grooves at intervals of 50 mm from each other;
use tweezers to lay out the seeds so that the distance between them is 30 mm (then there is no need to pick up the seedling material);
cover the nigella with a thin layer of dry soil and compact it a little;
irrigate with a spray bottle.

Cover the container with a lid or PE and put it in a warm place for pecking.
When the loops of onion seedlings appear (in a week), the container is placed on a windowsill where there is a lot of light and the temperature is +18-20°C. You don’t have to remove the lid right away, but be sure to wipe it every day to remove condensation.

It is possible to cultivate seedlings in groups; this will increase the amount of harvest, but will affect the size of the vegetable.

How long does it take for nigella onion to sprout?

This process requires certain conditions. After how many days the nigella onion seeds germinate depends on the fulfillment of a number of requirements. The average period is 10-25 days. The optimal temperature for their growth is 16-18°C. It is important not to overheat them - a temperature of 30-35°C can be destructive. Planting material may not survive hypothermia. The critical temperature is -3°C.

How to speed up the germination of nigella onion seeds?

Even favorable conditions are not a guarantee that this process will occur in a short time. There are several ways to quickly germinate nigella onion seeds:

Pour warm water into a 0.5 liter container and add 2 drops of Epin to it. Wrap the planting material in gauze and place it in the solution for a day. Remove the package from the product, squeeze it out, and place it in a plastic bag. You need to fill it with air, tie it, creating a tightness. You need to leave the seeds for 4-5 days, this time is enough for the nigella onion to hatch.
Place the planting material in warm water, wrapping it in gauze. After 5 days, remove them and send them to a warm place. The gauze in which they are wrapped must be constantly damp. Sprouts will appear after 3 days.
Brew a glass of strong black tea, add 1/2 teaspoon of soda to it. Wrap the seeds in a gauze bag and place them in the liquid for an hour. After extraction, transfer them to a humate solution for a day.

Why doesn't the nigella onion sprout?

There may be several reasons for this. Nigella onion seeds do not germinate if:

Mistakes were made or stages of preparing planting material were missed.
Incorrect care provided.
Lack of normal conditions - non-compliance with temperature conditions and optimal humidity.
If the germination of seeds has not been checked, there is no guarantee that it has been preserved and that the planting nigella onion will produce a good harvest.
Using unprepared or inappropriate soil quality can cause low or no germination.

Sowing into a snail

It is convenient to sow small seeds in “snails”. Seedling material can be easily damaged; work with it very carefully. To avoid problems, gardeners are coming up with an alternative to cultivating onion seedlings in snails. The process is step by step:

strips measuring 150x400 mm are cut from the backing for the laminate board;
cover the top with a layer of toilet paper;
wet it by spraying it with a spray bottle;
Having retreated 20 mm from the bottom of the strip, spread the seeds evenly at a distance of 10-15 mm;
then the material is rolled into a roll and fixed;
place the “snail” in a dense PE bag and put it in a warm place;
after 14 days, the “snail” is carefully untwisted and the seeds are covered with a layer of loose soil, irrigated with a spray bottle and placed in a tray.

The snail with seeds should be kept warm in the light, constantly monitoring the moisture

Landing at the site

The grown seedling material will get stronger by approximately 45-50 days after the seedlings hatch - during this period the plant can be transferred to the garden. The best time for planting is early May. By this time it is necessary to prepare the territory. Holes or small grooves are made in the fertilized and dug up soil.

The seedlings look like young grass - thin green feathers. If sown in common containers, divide the plant, taking care not to injure the roots

Onions grown from nigella take root better and will shoot if the roots and top of the seedlings are slightly trimmed before going to the garden.

The distance is left at least 50 mm, the embedment depth is about 10-15 mm. After deepening work, the earth is compacted a little around the stem. Now you can water and add mulch.

Features of cultivation

Knowing the features, you can grow a rich harvest of healthy onions. There are certain rules. Taking care of the plantings will not be difficult.

Plant crops are irrigated as needed; if there is a lot of rain in the summer, then there is no need to irrigate. Excess moisture should not be allowed. 14 days before harvesting the vegetable, watering is completed.

The first time is fertilized two weeks after planting the seedlings to stimulate growth. Therefore, fertilizing is done with nitrogen. It is good to water with ammonium nitrate and chicken droppings. Subsequent fertilizers are made with manure infusion. Organic matter must be alternated with minerals.

We must not forget about loosening. This must be done very carefully, between plants. The main thing is not to damage the root crop. The earth must be enriched with oxygen

Sometimes thinning is carried out if necessary. If there is a need to dive, then you need to dig up the seedlings carefully. Be sure to remove weeds regularly.

Disease prevention is systematically carried out, since treatment at the seed stage does not provide complete protection against diseases. Treatment with ash and tobacco helps. Apply after rain or irrigation.

How to care for nigella onions after planting?

It is important to consider the following recommendations:

Watering
. Nigella onion, its cultivation requires regular soil moisture. It needs to be watered 1-2 times a week. If the weather is dry, you need to do this more often. If there is no moisture, it will grow weak and small. In mid-July, watering should be completed so that the vegetables do not gain excessive amounts of moisture, due to which they will quickly deteriorate in the winter.
Weed control
. It begins with the appearance of sprouts.
Loosening the soil
. Nigella onions will give a poor harvest; if the soil dries out, a crust will form on it. Loosening helps avoid this.
Feeding
. The first time it is carried out after thinning using mullein infusion, which is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Two weeks later, a second feeding is performed using potassium salt and superphosphate, taken 20 g each.
Fighting diseases
. One of the most common crop infections is fungal. To eliminate it, spray with “Fitosporin” once every 10-14 days. If the lesion is large-scale, Bordeaux mixture is used.

Planting nigella onions can also be affected by pests:

Onion fly
. Signs of damage are plant feathers that have turned yellow and curled at the tips. To combat the pest, a saline solution is used, which is prepared at the rate of one pack of salt to 10 liters of water. The beds are sprayed with the liquid, and a couple of hours after treatment they need to be watered with clean water.
Mining moth
. The insect leaves white burrows on the stems. To combat it, insecticidal preparations are used - “Iskra”, “Dachnik”, “Metafos”.
Owl caterpillar
. The pest destroys the onion feather at the root and lives in the soil around the plant. It is removed manually, but you can also use such products as “Borey”, “Arrivo”, “Sherpa”.

Answers to frequently asked questions

Despite detailed agricultural technology and recommendations, inexperienced vegetable growers ask questions. Experts give specific answers.

How deep to plant?

The depth should be 10 mm. There is no point in digging deeper. The grain needs to rise. Sowing closer to the top is also bad. The bulb must grow in the soil and receive useful elements from it.

When will it sprout?

If the sowing was done correctly and the seeds are of high quality, then seedlings can be observed on the 15-25th day. The first shoots are even earlier. You can speed up germination if you soak the grains in a growth stimulator before sowing. Epin, Zircon and Energen are suitable.

Plant growth stimulants Epin

How to plant before winter?

For sowing before winter, soft soil is necessary, since it will not be possible to sow seeds in frozen ground. Therefore, it is correct to plant in the last days without frost. Sowing depth is approximately 10 mm.

Some gardeners cover their beds with dry grass or woven material, but this is usually unnecessary. In the spring, when it gets warmer, the seeds will hatch.

Cultivating onion seedlings from nigella is a complex process. This method is suitable for those who grow a few vegetables, are engaged in breeding interesting varietal species, and want to get early harvests.

Additional recommendations

Using the basic principles outlined above, you can grow a good harvest in your garden.

Experienced gardeners also advise:

do not pick green feathers for food from onions planted “on a turnip”;
plant marigolds around the perimeter of the bed to protect against pests;
break off flower stalks so as not to waste the plant’s energy on flowering.

Growing a useful plant from seeds significantly expands the choice of variety for a gardener. Despite the additional care, this method allows you to get a good harvest even in one year.