Features and timing of planting onions according to the lunar calendar in 2022

Onions are one of the most popular and widespread garden crops in our country, represented by several species.

According to the lunar sowing calendar for 2022, onions grown for vitamin greens and for the purpose of planting turnips for storage for the winter need to be sowed and planted at different times. This is due to the influence of the heavenly body and zodiac signs on growth processes underground and on the surface. Many gardeners prefer to grow onion seedlings, which can significantly speed up the harvest and improve its quality characteristics.

The most favorable days for planting onions in 2022

Depending on the purpose for which the garden crop is grown, the timing of sowing can vary significantly. Today, along with onions, species such as shallots, leeks and spring onions are very popular, forming not only tasty, but also extremely healthy vitamin products.

What are the dates for planting onion sets (video)

Onion on turnip

In order to obtain large and high-quality turnips, onions can be obtained by sowing seeds and planting sets. The first option involves growing it in a two-year culture or in seedlings. When sowing seeds in the first year after ripening, the same seed is obtained, which forms a good turnip harvest the following year. It is necessary to sow onions quite often , taking into account the risks of germination and the favorable period according to the lunar calendar. Good, but too dense seedlings need to be thinned out. On plants that form turnips for long-term storage, it is not recommended to pick off the green feather.

The main agrotechnical measures include fertilizing and proper irrigation measures. Onion beds should be kept free of weeds, and the soil should be loosened after watering shallowly but often enough. Watering onions should be especially abundant and regular in June. After the crop reaches the ripening stage, it is very important to first reduce and then completely stop watering, which will prevent rotting of the stored crop.

Advantages of winter planting

When planting in winter, you can get feathers as early as early May. Bulbs are ready for harvest in July, and spring varieties only by the end of August. What are the other advantages:

• saving space in the garden - after harvesting the bulbs, you can plant other crops;
• simplifies maintenance - less weeding and watering is required;
• bolting decreases;
• plantings are little susceptible to pest invasion - the onion fly does not have time to damage the onion;
• In autumn, planting material can be purchased cheaper.

Important! To keep the number of arrows to a minimum, it is not recommended to plant large specimens before winter.

In cold weather, the bulbs undergo natural selection; by spring, only healthy specimens sprout. A possible drawback is that 15% more onions are required than for spring planting. Unpredictable weather conditions can lead to the death of the bulbous crop - severe frost in the absence of snow is especially dangerous.

Bow on feather

You can grow onions to produce green feathers not only from bulbs, but also from seed material. This method takes longer, but is quite cheap and accessible. The bulbs should not be too large, and the planting scheme involves deepening the planting material into the ground by about one tenth of the total weight of the bulb. During the sorting process, it is necessary to rid the selected bulbs of excess husks, and in order to increase productivity, before planting, they must be heated for 24 hours at a temperature of 40°C. After warming up, the neck of the bulb is trimmed using garden pruners. This technique increases oxygen access to the bulb and accelerates the appearance of leaves.

When grown from seeds, their germination rate should be more than 80-85%. To determine germination rates before sowing, seeds are tested by germination on a damp cloth. Before sowing, the seeds need to be soaked in water at room temperature for a day , and then treated in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and placed in a solution based on the drug “Epin” for 12 hours. The treated seeds must be dried to a free-flowing state and sown at a depth of one centimeter using a three- and four-line belt method with a distance between rows of 15-20 cm. For uniform distribution along the furrows, the seeds must be mixed with sand.

Possible mistakes

If the onion lags in growth or withers, the reason is a violation of the rules of care. Compliance with the rules of agricultural technology and crop rotation will help you avoid popular mistakes:

1. The covering material was removed too early. The seedlings are resistant to frosts below -5ºС. If the onions are subject to return frosts, fertilizing with potassium nitrate is required.
2. Violation of irrigation technology. The plant is watered at the root, after the top layer of soil has dried. If there is a lack of watering, the feathers will turn yellow; if there is too much moisture, the bulb will rot.
3. No fertilizers. For good growth, winter onions require nitrogen in the spring and if there is not enough macronutrient, the tips of the feathers turn white.
4. Cutting feathers. If the crop is grown to produce turnips, the greens cannot be cut.

The onion did not sprout - the reason is poor-quality planting material or a violation of planting technology. If the bulbs are planted too deep, they will sprout later. Vegetables can rot if the planting material was soaked, the beds were watered, or there was rainy weather in the fall. When there is excessive moisture, the onion fly damages the bulbs and feathers of the plant. To combat the pest, plantings are sprayed with solutions of Karate, Aktara, and Fly eater preparations.

Important! The plant is vulnerable to powdery mildew, fusarium, and downy mildew. To protect against fungal diseases, onions are treated with Quadris, Acrobat, Shirlan.

Growing winter crops is easier than spring crops. If you follow the recommendations, the onion will successfully survive the winter, and in May it will be possible to cut off the green feathers. You can cultivate onions before winter in any region of Russia if you choose zoned varieties and carry out planting work on favorable days of the lunar calendar.

Onion

The perennial green crop has become popular due to its unpretentiousness, excellent taste and great benefits. Despite the fact that each variety has its own characteristics that must be taken into account when growing, there are some uniform sowing rules that allow you to obtain a high and high-quality harvest.

If the air temperature allows for the cultivation of onions, then the seed material that has undergone pre-sowing preparation is sown starting in February. With such sowing dates, a good harvest can be obtained already in mid-summer. If you need to get fresh vitamin greens in early spring for the next season, you need to cut off the foliage remaining after harvesting before the first ten days of August, after which abundant watering and fertilizing are carried out, followed by thorough loosening of the soil. This method allows the plant to be filled with nutrients before winter, and guarantees high yields next spring.

When is the best time to plant onions in spring?

In this chapter we will indicate the approximate timing of planting nigella onion for seedlings and in open ground and onion sets.

When to sow chives for seedlings?

First you need to know the approximate timing of planting onion seedlings in open ground in your region. And subtract 60-65 days from the expected planting date.

Since it is recommended to plant seedlings in open ground at the age of 50-60 days. Although in the Krasnodar Territory it is possible to plant 35-40 day old plants.

We also add 2-3 days to this period for the seeds to hatch and 3-7 days for the emergence of seedlings (“loops”).

When to plant chives in open ground?

As we have already said, in the south of Russia, onions can be planted with seeds directly into open ground in late autumn, early spring, or during “warm windows” in January or February.

Winter-sown nigella onions withstand spring frosts better and are less damaged by diseases and pests than those sown in spring.

Winter onions also develop a strong, branched root system and therefore absorb nutrients better.

In spring, it is better to plant nigella when the air and soil temperature is +2-3 °C, despite the fact that onions can tolerate short-term frosts.

And now, thanks to the emergence of new early varieties, nigella onions can be grown as an annual crop in the middle zone, the Moscow region, and the Leningrad region.

For example, onions “Metelitsa” (45-60 days), “Black Prince” (65-90 days), “Karatalsky”, “Sibiryak” (80-90 days), “Strigunovsky” (80-100 days), “ Siberian Violet (83-93 days), Northern Lights, Siberian Golden (85-90 days), Red Baron (90-95 days) and others.

• To better warm the earth and prevent crust formation, the planting site is sprinkled with a 1-2 cm layer of mulch (low-lying peat, sawdust).
• And to protect against return frosts, the bed is covered with film or thick non-woven material.

When to plant onion sets in spring?

In the central regions of the Russian Federation, the Moscow region, the Volga region, the Leningrad region, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, the maximum yield is obtained when growing onion sets.

Many gardeners prefer to buy planting material rather than grow nigella seedlings themselves.

To plant onion sets in spring, the average daily air temperature should be at least +6-8 °C. There is no point in planting in unheated soil and in a hurry with planting.

To speed up the germination and rooting of seedlings in the garden bed, before planting, it is soaked in a solution with a growth stimulator.

It is better to plant onion sets on a dry day.

• Flower Festival Tip: Check the condition of the soil before planting. Dig the shovel into the ground and pull it out. If 2/3 of the spade blades are clean, then you can plant.

Shallot

Cultivating shallots for the purpose of obtaining vitamin-rich greens and turnips has much in common with growing onions. However, there are some subtleties and features that must be taken into account to obtain a high-quality and high yield. When growing this species in a long-term culture, it is important to remember that with prolonged cultivation in one place, it can degenerate. As a result, not only the quality characteristics, but also the quantity of the harvest are greatly reduced.

The soil in the area intended for cultivation must be fertile, very loose and well fertilized. The area must be thoroughly cleared of weeds. The culture succeeds best in soil with a pH level of 6.7-7.0, and any leguminous plants will be the best predecessors for shallots. Seeds must be subjected to pre-sowing treatment. The bulbs selected for planting should weigh approximately 9.0 grams and have a diameter of at least 30 mm.

Features of cultivation

The winter crop is cultivated to produce feathers and turnips. Before winter, onion seeds – “nigella” – are also planted; by spring the seedlings of the set will appear. Pre-winter planting has its own peculiarities - no processing of planting material is required, onions are placed in the soil at a certain depth, and the beds are covered for the winter. Winter crops can be planted in a greenhouse, then seedlings will appear in early May, and the plants will be protected from freezing.

Preparation of planting material and soil

Before planting, the onions are selected - damaged heads are removed. To obtain early greenery, you need small specimens; to grow turnips, you need large specimens. The planting material does not need to be soaked - the onion can germinate ahead of time.

In autumn, the soil is dug up, weeds are removed, and compost and humus are added (5 kg/m²). Onions grow well in loamy and sandy loam soils with a neutral pH level. Places with low groundwater levels are not suitable for planting. The bed is made in lighted areas where there are no drafts. The best predecessors of bulbous crops are corn, rapeseed, mustard, and beets.

Important! Onions are not planted in beds where legumes and nightshades grew last year.

Rules for planting and care

Make grooves 5 cm deep, 7-10 cm retreat between the bulbs. To avoid dense plantings, make row spacing of 10-15 cm. The bulbs are placed in the holes, and the earth is compacted. If frosts are expected, the beds are covered for the winter with spruce branches, straw, and dry plant stems. In winter, the planting site is covered with snow. With the onset of spring, after the emergence of seedlings, the crop requires care:

1. After establishing above-zero temperatures, the mulch layer is removed.
2. Watering - as the soil dries out.
3. Loosening the soil to improve aeration and supply the root system with oxygen.
4. Removing weeds.
5. To protect against pests, marigold seeds are sown around the perimeter of the beds. Carrots and dill are planted in the neighboring bed.

Plants need to be fed twice during the season. The first fertilizing is done in June, the beds are watered with a solution of rotted mullein (ratio of active substance and water 1:10). After 2 weeks, the onions are fed with complex mineral fertilizer Kemira, Agricola. Increased soil acidity is removed with wood ash.

Leek

In home gardening, leeks are grown by seeds or using seedlings. Early ripening and highly productive varieties such as “Goliath”, “Kilima” and “Columbus” have proven themselves best.

To grow leeks, it is necessary to prepare areas that are rich in organic matter, loose and fertile, with neutral soil reaction. Adult leeks have sufficient resistance to minor frosts , but for young plants and seedlings, low temperatures can be disastrous, so in the middle zone and in the northern regions it is preferable to sow seedlings.

Care

In winter, beds of onion sets do not need special care, except to adjust the film if necessary and make sure that the soil is not left bare. In the spring, the main thing is to maintain the correct timing for removing the cover. If you remove it too late, the onion will become soaked and the sprouts will be delayed in passing through the soil layer. Early “stripping” of the bed can lead to damage to the crops by returning cold weather.

When spring warming comes and the soil warms up, the film is removed, and a week later the mulched cover is removed. The open ground is loosened and 10 g of wood ash per square meter is added. Watering is done as needed if there is no rain and the soil dries out. Every rain or watering is a signal for loosening; it is good to remove weeds at the same time.

As soon as four leaves have formed, you can fertilize the beds a second time, since this is a sign that the bulb in the soil has begun to form. For feeding, the same mineral fertilizers are used - potassium and superphosphates - as in the fall, and in the same proportion. It is better if granular fertilizers are dissolved together with ash in the fermented grass before being applied to the soil. A necessary condition is thinning of thickened crops. The pulled out onion is suitable for preparing delicious vitamin salads and just for eating.

As an alternative to mineral fertilizers, you can consider chicken manure, which should be liquid and not too concentrated. If there is sufficient rainfall, you can water the onion beds occasionally, but a warm and dry spring is a reason to water the beds twice a week.

To protect the beds from the onion fly that appears in the spring, the area where the branch sets are planted is surrounded with flowers that repel pests. Optimally, these are calendula and marigolds.