Secret No. 1. Boarding time
Planting onions in winter guarantees the early appearance of green onions in the spring, and onions in the summer, plus sufficiently strong plants that are less susceptible to the effects of the onion fly. But you need to plant onions in the middle zone no earlier than October, and ideally on frozen ground or even on the first snow, when no thaw is expected. In this case, the onions will not overheat before frost, and you will preserve their harvest. In this case, the seedlings need to be planted a little thicker than in the spring, and always dry.
After harvesting the onions, you can plant herbs or quickly ripening vegetables in the beds.
- Planting onions before winter - optimal timing and suitable varieties
Dreaming of spring greenery straight from the snow? Then start planting onions in the fall and ensure yourself an early harvest.
Tips and tricks
Caring for winter garlic in spring
How to care for winter onions in Siberia? Cultivation of onion crops in the Siberian region requires mulching the soil during the autumn sowing of winter onions. To prevent the seedlings from freezing, on the eve of frost, the bulb beds must be carefully covered with dry leaves. Pea or bean tops are even better for this purpose. This not only saves the bulbs from freezing, but also increases soil fertility.
Bean tops save onions from frostbite
Caring for winter onions in spring and summer in Siberia is carried out in the same way as in other regions of the country.
Every gardener must remember and follow the following rules:
- Before planting the seed, you must carefully remove all weeds from the garden bed;
- If the soil is infertile, you can feed it with humus and wood ash;
- You need to take care of preparing the seed material in advance. The sets must be free of damage and rot;
- Before sowing, the bulbs should be kept in salt water for about half an hour and washed. For disinfection, treat the seeds with a solution of potassium permanganate;
- In order to stimulate the development of the root system, planting material must be kept in the Epin solution for 3-5 hours;
- The soil ball should not be allowed to dry out. Make sure that the beds under the crop are sufficiently moistened. However, frequent watering can cause onion turnips to rot;
- In order for the bulbs to grow large and even, the soil should be systematically loosened. This agricultural practice is especially important immediately after the snow melts;
- Weeds should be actively controlled, especially at the early stage of onion feather development;
- If the onion overwintered well and the shoots appeared in unison, you need to make a strong-willed decision and thin out the frequent shoots. The distance between growing bulbs should not be less than 10-12 cm. Young greens remaining after thinning are good to use for food;
- In Siberia, this type of onion is most often planted in the last ten days of September. This should be done about a month before stable frosts. It is worth considering that the daytime air temperature should be +5+7°C, and the night temperature – -5-0°C. Such conditions allow the seedlings to take root and germinate well.
Secret No. 2. Small sets
This secret is closely related to the previous one. The fact is that small sets or wild oatmeal are difficult to preserve until spring planting, and it is better to choose it if you want to prevent your onion from going to waste. In addition, small sets have time to ripen earlier than large ones. For pre-winter planting, it is better to use onion varieties such as Arzamassky, Bessonovsky, Danilovsky, Strigunovsky, Stuttgarter Riesen.
If you plant a large seedling in the fall, it will definitely shoot.
Before planting the seedlings, carefully sort them out and discard rotten specimens with soft or damaged bottoms. Then soak the bulbs for 15-20 minutes in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, dry thoroughly and only then plant.
- What can you sow and plant in the garden in the fall?
Pre-winter planting of garden crops has become a good tradition among advanced summer residents. Want to know why?
Description of varieties of winter onions
Winter onions include the following varieties:
Good winter radar
Radar
This variety of onions has gained popularity due to its ease of care and excellent wintering in open ground. The bulbs reach large sizes after ripening.
The radar is frost-resistant. The sub-zero temperature that this variety can withstand depends entirely on the thickness of the snow cover on the soil. If the thickness of the snow layer is quite high, it feels good down to -23 degrees. If the winter is not snowy, then the bulb’s preservation ability will be maintained down to -15 degrees.
This dependence on temperature is inherent in all varieties.
This variety is not capable of producing arrows. The bulbs are very resistant to all kinds of diseases and insect attacks. In order to achieve a good harvest with huge bulbs, you need to plant and care for it correctly.
The average onion weighs up to 150 g. And growing such a large harvest will not be a hassle. In some cases, there are fruits that weigh about 300 g.
Due to the fact that the scales of the Radar onion have a high density, this facilitates long-term storage.
Shakespeare
Shakespeare
This variety of winter onion has excellent advantages. The majority of gardeners prefer to grow Shakespeare.
It has higher frost resistance than the Radar variety. In the complete absence of snow cover on the ground, it winters well down to -18 degrees or more.
The bulbs of this variety are very large, on average one bulb weighs 100 g. The shape of the bulb is round, the flesh itself is white and quite dense.
Centurion
Centurion
This variety is also quite popular among winter onion varieties. The shape of the bulb is round and slightly elongated. The main advantage of this variety can be safely noted for its long storage. Subject to the minimum storage rules, the aging period reaches 8 months, retaining its full taste.
It is also worth noting that the Centurion does not have the ability to shoot arrows. Ripe bulbs reach 110-160 g. The high yield of the variety is also striking.
Senshui
Senshui
Senshui is no less popular among winter onion varieties. It not only has good yield, but also quite early ripening. The bulb itself is shrouded in dense scales.
Mostly the bulb has a more round shape, but flat shapes can also be found. If storage standards are observed, this variety retains its properties and quality for up to 6 months. Doesn't shoot arrows.
Senshui onion has been noted to be resistant to diseases and insect attacks.
Stuttgarten Risen
Stuttgarter Risen
This onion variety was bred by German breeders. The scales are yellow and slightly brownish. But you can also find white bulbs. The shape of the fruit is round.
The main advantage of the Stuttgarten Riesen selection is its huge size. On average, one onion weighs 100-150 g, but sometimes the weight of one unit reaches 250 g. It has a long shelf life.
The Stuttgarten Rieser onion variety contains a record amount of vitamin C.
Struton
Sturon
This onion variety has an excellent and pronounced taste that cannot be confused with any other variety. The shape of the bulb is oval, wrapped in dry scales. Onion scales are golden brown. This type of onion is also distinguished by its size. The average weight of one unit will be around 180 g.
It is highly resistant to all kinds of diseases and pests. If storage standards are observed, Struton can be aged for up to 8 months without loss of taste and quality of the product.
Keep Well
Keep Well
This onion variety has recently gained great popularity among gardeners. Translated from English it sounds like “well stored.”
This variety is not afraid of insect attacks (onion fly, onion nematode) and most diseases. The shape of the bulb is oblong and weighs on average 100-150 g.
Secret No. 3. Loose soil
Onions should only be planted in loose soil - dense or clayey soil is not suitable for this. Before planting, the soil must first be loosened: firstly, onions love places that are lit and accessible to the wind, and secondly, they hate stagnant moisture. It is worth digging up the soil for one more reason: the onion fly already mentioned above does not like to lay eggs in loose soil. When digging, add 5-6 kg of humus, 10 g of potassium salt and 20 g of superphosphate per 1 sq.m. Before planting, sprinkle the soil with wood ash at the rate of 10 g per 1 sq.m.
Secret No. 6. Regular watering
As you may have guessed, you will have to water the onions regularly. But remember that stagnation of moisture is detrimental to this vegetable crop. Therefore, you need to start watering the plant when the ground dries out after the snow has melted and the rains have fallen. One watering per week will be enough: during this period the soil needs to be moistened only 10-15 cm deep (look at the tips of the feather to see if they have begun to turn yellow). During the formation period, the bulb needs a sufficient amount of moisture - at least 35 liters per 1 sq.m. However, at the same time, it is important not to over-moisten the soil - therefore, water in accordance with the precipitation.
During the ripening of the bulbs, soil moisture should be stopped until harvesting: in this case, the heads will ripen better and be stored well in winter.
Secret No. 8. Proper feeding
It is most effective to feed onions in May-June when feather growth is weak. To feed, 1 part of cow manure is diluted with 5 parts of water - this is how a mullein infusion is obtained. Immediately before using it, 1 liter of solution is diluted in 10 liters of water and applied under the onions at the rate of 2-3 liters per 1 sq.m.
- Mullein is an indispensable fertilizer for the garden and vegetable garden.
It is difficult to find a more versatile and useful fertilizer than mullein. Read the article about how to prepare it and where to use it.
You can also feed the onion at the root three times a season or spray it with an infusion of ash: a 10-liter bucket is filled one-third with ash, then filled with hot water to the very brim and infused for two days. After this, the infusion must be filtered.
You should not feed onions with nettles: this will slow down their growth.
Secret No. 10. Drying
If the weather is dry, then freshly harvested onions can be left in the garden: they will dry out and be disinfected by the sun's rays. In this case, it is better to leave it outside for three days, turning it periodically so that it dries evenly. In wet weather, place the onions under a shelter and leave them there for the rest of the day. Move the dried plant to the attic, spread it out and leave until its neck is dry. When this happens, the onion is ready for storage.
- When to remove onions from the garden and how to properly store them in winter
We'll tell you what to do so that in winter your soups and stir-fries are not left without aromatic onions.
We wish you a rich onion harvest!
Selection of planting material for cultivation
Onions are planted in one of two ways: planting onion sets or sowing seeds. Regardless of the choice of method, the farmer must choose the right planting material.
Did you know? Residents of Libya eat the most onions, consuming 33 kg of product per capita per year.
Selection of sets
To obtain a set, you must first sow the seeds. Sowing should be done in March - then the planting material will ripen in August. The resulting onion set is ready for planting for the winter, however, you first need to select the best specimens. An important criterion when selecting material is size.
The average diameter of a suitable set is 1 cm. However, when selecting bulbs, pay attention to the variety. Some varieties have small planting heads, while others have large ones. Data on a specific variety can be obtained from the seller or from reviews of other gardeners.
Seed selection
Experienced gardeners always check seeds for germination. To check, soak the material in clean water. Floating grains can be thrown away - they will not yield a harvest. Healthy seeds will go to the bottom of the container - they should be sown for the winter.
