Helenas winter onion: variety description, reviews

Onion Helenas is a young hybrid variety with good yields and a pleasant taste. The culture is easy to grow in open ground, but before planting, you need to study its features.

History of origin

Bow Helenas (Helenas) was bred in 2009 in the Netherlands. The well-known agrotechnical company Enza Zaden Beheer BV is listed as the originator. The plant is a first-generation hybrid and combines the best qualities of conventional varieties. In Our Country, the variety appeared in 2011. The variety is recommended for cultivation in the Lower Volga region, but in practice it is successfully cultivated in other regions of the country.

Description and characteristics of Helenas onion varieties

Dutch onion Helenas is similar in appearance and characteristics to many other varieties of culture. But it also has distinctive features that make the hybrid especially interesting.

Appearance

Bulbs of the Helenas variety have a regular rounded shape. The outer scales of the fruit are thin and smooth, of a golden or bronze hue, tightly adjacent to each other. The neck is medium in thickness, numerous filiform roots up to 70 cm long depart from the bottom. In large bulbs, such processes can be up to 80, in sets – an average of 35-60. The inner pulp of the fruit is white, dense, with a slight greenish tint.

Helenas onion mass averages 100-60 g

The Helenas onion variety is grown not only for turnips, but also for feathers. The green leaves of the plant are tubular, moderately thick, hollow from the inside, with a thin layer of wax coating on the surface. New feathers are formed weekly, so they can be cut for food consumption continuously throughout the season. At the end of June, the onion sometimes releases a long arrow up to 1 m with a spherical inflorescence at the end, but it is better to remove it already at the beginning of formation. Flowering negatively affects the quality of the crop, since the plant redirects all its forces to reproduction.

Ripening time and yield

Helenas onion ripening takes an average of 90-105 days. When planted in the ground in spring, the culture fully ripens by the end of summer, and when sown in autumn, it gains juiciness by mid-July.

Ripening is quite uniform – at the time of harvest, about 90% of underground turnips are ready to eat. Fruiting rates are quite high – from 1 m² collect about 6 kg of onions.

Disease resistance

Onion Helenas has good immunity to diseases and pests. With good external conditions and proper care, it does not suffer from root rot, infections and insects. But at the same time, changes in temperature and humidity are dangerous for onions, they increase the vulnerability of the culture.

Composition and Properties

The nutritional value of Helenas onion is due to its chemical composition. The pulp of the fruit contains:

• ascorbic acid;
• iron and zinc;
• vitamins of group B;
• potassium;
• carotene;
• phytoncides and essential oils;
• vitamins A and PP;
• antioxidants and fiber.

With moderate use, Helenas onion has a beneficial effect on the heart system and strengthens blood vessels, improves blood quality and prevents the development of anemia. You can use it with a slow metabolism and slagging of the body, with inflammatory processes and infectious diseases.

Helenas onion can be harmful in acute gastrointestinal diseases and hypertension

Application

Onion variety Helenas belongs to the universal varieties. Its green feathers are added to salads and snacks, and juicy turnips are consumed fresh in cold and hot dishes, or boiled, stewed and baked. Bulbs have a characteristic pungent odor and a semi-sharp pleasant taste.

Advantages and disadvantages

Variety Helenas has its strengths and weaknesses. Before planting Dutch onions on the site, you need to objectively evaluate its characteristics.

The main disadvantage of the Helenas variety is precisely the fact that planting material must be bought annually in the store. Seeds harvested from onions by hand are not suitable for cultivation. A hybrid variety with this breeding partially or completely loses its unique characteristics.

Planting onions Helenas

There are several ways to grow Helenas onions on the site. For propagation of the culture, seeds purchased in the store are used or seeds are planted in the ground.

Cultivation from seeds

Helenas onion is planted with seeds through seedlings. In this case, it is possible to get a crop in standard terms, even if spring comes quite late.

The seed sowing algorithm looks like this:

1. A week before planting in mid-March, the material is soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for a day, and then laid out on damp gauze and left in a warm and bright place for germination.
2. A shallow but wide box is filled with a mixture of garden soil, compost, sand and peat, and then the substrate is shed with a fungicidal solution.
3. The seeds are slightly dried from moisture and buried in the soil by 1 cm in rows at intervals of 5-6 cm.
4. Sprinkle planting material with earth and water with a spray bottle.

Under the film, the container is cleaned in a warm place until the first sprouts appear. After germination, the shelter is removed and the box is moved to a sunny window sill in a room with a temperature of about 18 ° C. Over the next two months, the seedlings are watered as the soil dries up and complex mineral top dressings are applied every two weeks, and in mid-May they are planted in the garden.

Between individual seedlings of Helenas onion, 3 cm of space must be left.

Planting sevka in the spring

Another way suggests propagating Helenas onions in the area with the help of sets. Landing can be carried out after thawing of the soil. Usually suitable dates come in early or mid-May, depending on the region.

The sevka planting scheme is as follows:

1. For culture, a well-lit place with loose and nutritious slightly acidic soil is chosen.
2. The soil is dug up and superphosphate, potassium salt and ammonium nitrate are added to it.
3. Helenas onion sets are heated before planting for eight hours at a temperature of 40 ° C to eliminate possible fungi, and then cut off in the upper part by 1/3.
4. Holes up to 4 cm deep are prepared at the site at intervals of 8 cm.
5. The sowing is placed in each of the pits, placing it with the cut up, and sprinkled with soil.
6. Lightly compact the soil and water abundantly.

It is recommended to plant Helenas onions in rows, leaving a space of 20-25 cm between them.

Planting onion Helenas before winter

In the southern regions, Helenas onion is planted not only in spring, but also in autumn – in late October or early November. The procedure as a whole is no different from the standard:

1. The sevok is processed at 40 ° C in the oven and cut in the neck area.
2. The soil on the site is dug up and fertilized with complex minerals and organic matter.
3. Planting material is sown in holes no more than 4 cm deep with small intervals.
4. Sprinkle with soil and lightly tamp.

The main feature of winter planting is that Helenas onions are not watered, but immediately mulched with a dense layer of humus or compost. Otherwise, the culture may start to grow, which should not be allowed before the onset of cold weather.

In autumn, Helenas onions are planted at an air temperature of no higher than 5 ° C.

Helenas onion care

When growing Helenas onions in the garden, you need to pay attention to several standard procedures:

1. Watering. At the stage of active growth, the culture is moistened twice a week, then as needed. A month before the turnips are harvested, watering is completely stopped so that the onion stops growing feathers.
2. Top dressing. For the first time, the culture is fertilized with a solution of bird droppings two weeks after germination. The second top dressing is applied during the formation of the bulbs, potassium chloride and superphosphate are added to the soil.
3. Loosening. After each watering, it is necessary to break the dense crust that forms on the surface of the soil in the beds. In this case, the Helenas onion roots will be able to receive enough oxygen.

Conclusion

Onion Helenas makes low demands on external conditions and brings abundant harvests. You can grow a variety to obtain turnips and green feathers – the plant is universal, all its parts have a pleasant taste and benefits.

Reviews of gardeners about onion Helenas