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Almost all garden crops are annuals and produce crops in the same season. The only exceptions are onions and garlic, which have a long growing season, so they are grown in two stages. As a rule, in the first year, sevok is obtained from onion seeds, and only at the end of the second season, gardeners harvest a full-fledged crop – large heads of onions. But selection does not stand still, and today a new way of growing onions has become possible – seedlings.
How to sow black onions for seedlings, when planting them in the ground, will be described in this article. Here the rules for sowing nigella will be described and alternative options for planting onions will be proposed.
Advantages of the seedling method
Usually, gardeners first sow nigella in order to collect small heads – sets at the end of summer. Next spring, these annual bulbs are already planted, from which by autumn full-fledged heads will grow, suitable for eating and long-term storage.
The disadvantage of the two-year cycle is not only the time spent on the whole process. Very often, most of the sevka deteriorates over the winter: the heads can dry out, dry out or rot due to inappropriate storage conditions.
Some summer residents, trying to minimize the loss of planting material, sow nigella before winter. This method can significantly reduce time and material costs, but also does not guarantee a XNUMX% result. In order for onions to grow without problems, the climate in the region must be very stable. After all, the nigella sown too early will simply fade, and late planting threatens to freeze the seeds.
An alternative way to grow onions from nigella is seedlings. The use of this method became possible only with the development of modern onion varieties with a short growing season.
For these purposes, some foreign hybrids are excellent, the variety One-year-old Siberian, Exhibition, Strigunovsky, Myachkovsky, Danilovsky. It has been noticed that the best annual crop is obtained from sweet and semi-sweet varieties of onions.
You can grow onion seedlings from nigella in the same way as seedlings of garden vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) or garden flowers. This method has its advantages:
- The possibility of growing onions in regions with a harsh and cold climate.
- Obtaining large volumes of crops from a small area of planting.
- Saving planting material, because nigella seeds are spent several times less, and yields are always better.
- Less shooting of the bow, because the feathers of the set often go to arrows due to adverse weather conditions or improper planting time.
- The best keeping quality of annual bulbs, which are stored without problems for 6-9 months.
For many gardeners, the most significant advantages of growing seedlings from black onion seeds are lower labor costs and reduced time spent in the beds.
Growing annual turnips
Not all summer residents know how to sow black onions for seedlings. Practice shows that there is nothing particularly difficult in this matter, you just need to take into account some features of onion seedlings.
The seedling method of growing onions is suitable only for those who have small plots and grow vegetables in limited quantities.
Determination of terms
First of all, you should learn about when to sow onion seeds for seedlings. For an accurate answer to this question, you must carefully read the instructions on the bag of onion seeds – the growing season of a particular variety must be indicated there. Usually, annual varieties of onions ripen within 120-130 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Until the moment of transplanting into the ground, the seedlings should grow and get stronger, all this will take from one and a half to two months.
Onion is an unpretentious culture, capable of withstanding slight frosts and adverse weather conditions. To get an early harvest of turnips, you can plant seedlings in the ground as early as late April or early May.
Considering all of the above, we can calculate the ideal time for sowing black onions is the beginning or middle of March. Earlier sowing is undesirable due to too short daylight hours and lack of sun – this will lead to seedlings stretching.
Nigella should be sown already in the middle or end of February, the seedlings should be artificially illuminated, and after being transferred to the ground, the beds should be covered with lutrasil or other non-woven material.
Preparatory work
Onion seeds are small black grains, which are popularly called “chernushka”. Before sowing, nigella must be prepared in order to increase the germination of seeds and speed up their germination.
The preparation of the nigella consists in its preliminary soaking. For these purposes, some use a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1 gram of potassium permanganate per liter of water), in which the nigella is placed in a linen bag for no more than 45 minutes.
In most cases, it is enough to soak the nigella in plain water, the temperature of which is 30-35 degrees. To maintain the temperature, you can use a thermos or put a container of seeds on the battery. Black onion can be kept in warm water for a day.
After the preparatory measures, the nigella is dried by spreading the seeds in an even layer on a paper or cotton towel. This is necessary in order for small seeds to become crumbly and easier to separate from each other.
Planting black onion
It is convenient to sow black onion seeds in common plastic containers with airtight transparent lids, but, in principle, any container will do (cups, flower pots, plastic bottles cut lengthwise, etc.).
The soil for onion seedlings should be loose and nutritious. A substrate is prepared from soddy land, humus, sand and peat. You can improve the composition of the soil with dolomite flour, quicklime, wood ash – soil acidity should be neutral.
Landing is carried out in several stages:
- The containers are filled with soil so that its layer is 7-8 cm.
- Water the earth with a weak solution of manganese, Bordeaux liquid or a fungicidal preparation to prevent infection of the seeds.
- With a blunt object, shallow grooves are made at a distance of 5 cm from each other.
- The nigella is laid out with tweezers so that the intervals between the seeds are 3 cm (then you don’t have to dive onion seedlings).
- Sprinkle the black onion with a thin layer of dry earth and lightly press it down, as if patting.
- Spray the ground with a spray bottle.
- Cover the container with a lid or film and clean in a warm place for germination.
As soon as loops of onion seedlings appear (after 3-7 days), the container is placed on a window where there is a lot of light, and the temperature is 18-20 degrees. The lid can not be removed immediately, but then it is wiped daily, removing condensate.
It is also convenient to sow small nigella in special cassettes for seedlings or in “snails”.
Growing black onions in “snails”
Onion seedlings are very fragile and delicate, it is necessary to work with them with great care. To facilitate their work, gardeners come up with alternative ways to grow onion seedlings, for example, in “snails”.
Sowing onion nigella in “snails”:
- strips of 15×40 cm in size are cut from the substrate for the laminate (or other similar material);
- lay a layer of toilet paper on top;
- moisten the paper with water, irrigating it from a spray bottle;
- stepping back from the lower edge of the strip 2 cm, evenly lay out the nigella with an interval of 1-1,5 cm;
- now you need to roll the blank with seeds into a roll and fix it with an elastic band;
- place the “snail” in a tight plastic bag and put it in a warm place;
- after two weeks, the “snail” is carefully unfolded and the seeds are sprinkled with a layer of loose earth, sprayed with a spray bottle and placed in a pan.
Landing in the ground
Onion seedlings grown from seeds will get stronger by about the 45-50th day after germination – at this time it can be transferred to a permanent place. The most suitable time for planting black onions in the beds is the beginning of May. By this time, you need to prepare the site.
Holes or shallow grooves are made in fertilized and dug up earth. Onion seedlings look like young grass – thin green feathers. If the seedlings were sown in common containers, the seedlings are carefully separated, trying not to damage the roots.
The distance between seedlings should be at least 5 cm, the depth of rooting in the soil is 1-1,5 cm. After planting, the earth is slightly compacted around the stalk. It remains to water the bed and lightly mulch it with peat or humus.
Conclusion
Growing onion seedlings from chickweed is a painstaking and time-consuming task. This method is suitable for those who grow a limited amount of vegetables, are breeding interesting varieties, and are trying to get early harvests. When sowing nigella, it must be borne in mind that not all varieties of crops are able to develop in one season – there are special annuals for the seedling method.
Details about planting black onions for seedlings are described in this video:
