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The quality of onion sets determines the harvest of onion next year. Sevok is obtained from nigella seeds. Many gardeners buy it in a store, but you can grow this crop yourself. The yield of turnips next season depends on how accurately you can determine the harvesting period of onion sets.
After 85-95 days after sowing, the onion sets ripen. However, this does not mean that after this time it should be dug up. When to remove onion sets from the garden? This will be discussed in the article.
Stop watering
In the middle lane, it is better to stop watering the onion sets in the last ten days of July. During this period, the aerial part of the vegetable should already be formed, and due to the lack of watering, bulbs will begin to form. The underground part of the onion can stop growing even due to rain. This is due to the fact that in moist soil all the forces of the onion sets are directed to the growth of greenery, while the bulb is at rest. In dry soil, the underground part will begin to grow again.
onion harvesting
How to determine when to dig up onions? For this, the average ripening period of onion sets is taken, which is 70 days. If determined by months, then the onion sets ripen in August – September. When the crop is harvested, two factors influence: the characteristics of the cultivation of the set and the time of planting.
Summer residents contrive to slow down or speed up the process of ripening onion sets. Of course, when calculating the ripening period of a vegetable, it is important to take into account the climatic conditions of the region.
For example, in the Urals and Siberia it is impossible to predict what the weather will be like in summer. In dry and hot climates, onions ripen faster, while in cool and wet climates, this will take longer. You need to dig onions after the first frosts, and they come at different times in different regions. Also a good sign that you need to harvest is the drying of the green mass of the vegetable.
When the above-ground part of the culture falls to the ground and its neck becomes thinner, the seed collection begins. And here you should not delay as much as having missed just a week, the plant will grow new roots, which is why the collected bulbs will be poorly stored in winter. Well, on the other hand, if you start harvesting onions ahead of time, before signs of ripening appear, then scales will not form on the bulbs and the neck will not have time to dry out. As a result, it will not be possible to save planting material. Unripe vegetables should be harvested only at the onset of the rainy season.
Lunar calendar
Some gardeners believe that the best way to determine harvest time is with a lunar calendar. So, the most favorable phases of the moon are determined in order to dig onion sets and other plants.
If you don’t have a calendar, you can harvest on the full moon. According to the statements at this time, the fruits have the greatest nutritional value.
Preparing for cleaning work
Subject to all the rules in the process of harvesting onion sets, it will remain in storage until spring and save all useful substances. For this you need:
- Lay the aerial part of the vegetable on the ground if it has not drooped.
- Stop systematic watering.
- Harvest on dry and warm days. The fact is that due to dampness and moisture, rot forms in the bulbs, as a result of which the entire crop may die.
- Harvesting onion sets is a painstaking job that requires patience and delicacy. Mechanical shocks and sudden movements damage the bulbs, so extreme care is required during the harvesting process.
- The harvested crop should be dried. In dry weather, you can leave it to dry right on the beds. If the weather does not please, then the collected onion can be laid out under a canopy or in a well-ventilated area.
Features of digging sevka
How well the onion sets are dug up will determine how well they will keep until spring. Bulbs damaged by garden tools will deteriorate very quickly. Therefore, this issue should be taken seriously.
There are a number of rules, adhering to which you can carefully harvest the entire crop without damaging it:
- The best time to dig up onions is in the morning.
- A tool that minimizes the chance of damage to the bulbs is the fork. With a shovel, you can spoil the entire crop of sevka. Damaged bulbs should be used for cooking on the same day they were removed from the ground.
- After digging the bulbs, they must be thoroughly dried.
If you pull it out of dry ground, then the stem is likely to break. As a result of such actions, the collected onion will be poorly stored.
Drying sevka
After harvesting, drying of the onion sets begins. It usually takes 14 days. This time is enough for the bulbs to absorb nutrients from the green mass of the plant and dry well. To do this, the onion is laid out on a dry surface, while the layer should be thin. In order for the drying to be uniform, it is recommended to stir the scattered onions from time to time.
Next, it must be moved under the roof, to the veranda or attic. The main thing is that the drying place is ventilated. Bulbs dry well in a draft.
Poorly dried bulbs are prone to various diseases, including neck rot and downy mildew. After two weeks after the start of drying, you need to cut the leaves from the bulbs, leaving a neck of 2–3 cm. Then you need to cut the roots under the heel of the bulb, but do not touch it.
For further drying, the onion must be transferred to a room with an air temperature of 25–30 ° C. At the final stage of drying, it is desirable to increase the air temperature to 40°C. In this case, the crop will be stored better, since all pathogenic bacteria will die in it. But here, too, it is important not to overdo it, the scales of the overdried onion will begin to peel off, due to which its shelf life will be reduced. In well-dried bulbs, the husk is whole and rather dense, rustles in the hands and does not have extraneous odors unusual for onions.
Features of storage
Once you have determined when to harvest the onion, it is important to figure out what the conditions for storing the vegetable should be so that it lasts until spring. So, the storage place should be dry and fairly warm, in which there is no access to sunlight. As a rule, the harvest is placed in nets or wooden boxes. The level of humidity and temperature in the room affect the safety of the set.
Bulbs that will be used for food are stored at a temperature of 1–3 ° C. Sevok can be stored in a room where the air temperature reaches up to 20 ° C. The optimal level of humidity that will not lead to damage to the onion is 70-80%. At higher humidity levels, the bulbs will begin to germinate.
Before sending the onion to storage, check each onion for damage. Otherwise, the entire crop will rot long before planting. Check the bulbs from time to time to remove sprouted and withered ones in time. By following the recommendations outlined in the article, you can remove the onion sets in time and save them until planting. We invite you to expand your knowledge on growing onion sets by watching the accompanying video material:
