Onion Exhibition: how to grow, whether it is possible to sow before winter, variety description, photo, reviews

Exhibition onion is a Dutch onion variety, listed in the State Register of Our Country in 2000. It has not only good taste, but also unpretentiousness in cultivation, due to which it is popular with gardeners.

Characteristics and description of the onion variety Exhibition

Exhibition, bred by the Dutch company Bejo Zaden, outwardly practically does not differ from other varieties of onions. But upon closer examination, the features of the plant and its unique qualities become noticeable.

Appearance

Onion Exhibition has large, oval-elongated heads. The fruits are covered with a light yellow husk, which is easily separated when peeled. The flesh of the bulbs is white and juicy, has a pleasant sweet and mild taste. Sharpness and bitterness are not present in the Exhibition variety.

When grown in open ground, onion heads reach an average of 170-300 g by weight. When using the seedling method, you can get really huge turnips weighing 800-1200 g. Onion feathers are bright green, erect, suitable for food consumption.

The Giant Bow Exhibition frequently appears at agricultural shows.

Ripening time and yield

Exhibition refers to medium-late varieties of onions. It takes about 120 days from germination to technical ripeness. Yield indicators depend on specific growing conditions, but on average from 1 m² garden, you can collect up to 5 kg of bulbs.

Turnips contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and natural sugars are present in the composition. Eating Exhibition is good for immunity, digestion and the cardiovascular system. Onions are mostly eaten fresh in salads or used in preservation.

Disease and pest resistance

Onion Exhibition F1 has medium immunity. It is resistant to most fungal diseases and parasites, but can suffer from peronosporosis and rot. Of the insects, the onion fly and the stem nematode are dangerous for the variety.

Advantages and disadvantages

Bow Exhibition is popular due to its numerous advantages. But along with this, the variety also has weaknesses.

The exhibition bow has more advantages than disadvantages. The main disadvantage of the variety is considered poor keeping quality. Turnips should not be stored in a cool room for more than 3-4 months – even in good conditions, they begin to rot. Thus, it is necessary to use the entire crop in a limited time.

When to plant Exhibition onions

The time of planting the Exhibition onion depends on the climate and on the chosen method of cultivation. In the middle lane, the culture is transferred to the garden in mid-May. When using the seedling method, seeds can be sown in March.

When growing Exhibition onions in Siberia and the Urals at home, they begin to plant them in February, and in the first days of June they are transferred to the soil. In the south, you can sow a crop in the open air in early or mid-April. Moreover, the seedling method is rarely used, usually the seeds are laid directly into the ground.

How to plant an Exhibition onion

There are several ways to plant a giant exhibition onion. Most often, the culture is grown first for seedlings, and then transferred to the ground. But sometimes they use sevok or lay seeds directly in the garden.

Seedlings

Growing seedlings allows you to get the largest and most juicy bulbs. The algorithm looks like this:

1. Seeds are soaked and disinfected.
2. The material is sown in a nutrient substrate.
3. Water generously with a spray bottle.
4. Put for a week and a half in a shaded place under the film, and then transferred to the light.

Seedlings are grown on average for two months, and in May or early June they are transferred to the garden.

Before transferring to an open garden, seedlings of Exhibition onion must be hardened off.

Onion sets

You can grow Exhibition onions from sets, although the method is not very popular, since planting material cannot be found on sale. But small turnips can really be purchased from some private traders, so the method still deserves consideration.

Sevok is planted in the ground in early May or in home containers at the end of winter. The material is pre-soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or in a fungicidal agent to protect Exhibition from the fungus. Then the bulbs are buried in the nutrient substrate, properly moistened and grown under standard conditions and rules until fully ripe.

To disinfect the sevka, it can be heated in the oven at 40 ° C

Seeds in open ground

When planted in the ground with seeds, the sweet onion Exhibition grows quite small. But direct sowing in the garden allows you not to waste time and effort on caring for seedlings and on its subsequent transfer to the open sky.

The algorithm for planting onions on the site is as follows:

1. Shortly before sowing, Exhibition seeds are placed in a piece of damp cloth, folded in half, and left for 4-5 days, regularly sprayed as they dry. The procedure allows you to evaluate the germination of the material – a high-quality onion should germinate slightly.
2. The seeds of the Exhibition variety are soaked for 15-20 minutes in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Potassium permanganate fights well against microorganisms and fungi and strengthens the immunity of onions.
3. Seeds are applied with a liquid starch paste to narrow long strips cut out of toilet paper at intervals of 5 cm.
4. The soil on the site is dug up and loosened, and 50 g of wood ash is added per meter and the soil is shed with Fitosporin. The solution is prepared at the rate of 15 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water.
5. Grooves about 2 cm deep are made in the garden, and paper strips with seeds are carefully placed in each of them. Top of the planting is covered with earth.
6. The beds are abundantly moistened with a spray gun, and then covered with a film until germination.

If desired, the sowing of the Exhibition onion in the grooves can be carried out without first fixing the seeds on a paper tape. But in the latter case, the landing procedure will take less time, and the material will be distributed as evenly as possible.

The site for planting the Exhibition variety should be chosen sunny and without stagnant water.

Is it possible to plant Exhibition onions before winter

Most often, the variety is planted in the spring. But it is allowed to sow Exhibition onions also before winter. The landing algorithm will be as follows:

1. On the site, choose a well-lit place on a slight hill.
2. Prepare raised beds for onions, fertilize the soil with humus and sand.
3. Make grooves of standard depth, leaving 20 cm between rows.
4. Seeds are densely poured into the soil – there is no need to observe intervals, since not all material, in principle, will sprout.
5. Sprinkle the beds with earth and water with settled warm water.

Immediately after planting before winter, the exhibition giant onion should be mulched with sawdust, peat or straw with a layer of 2 cm. Organic shelter will slow down the evaporation of moisture and protect the plant from winter frosts.

When planted in winter, Exhibition onion becomes more hardy and responds better to temperature changes.

Exhibition onion care in the open field

Agrotechnics of onion Exhibition is quite simple. Culture requires the gardener to comply with the basic growing conditions.

Watering

With a lack of water, the Exhibition onion slows down its development and cannot gain good juiciness. Water the plant so that the soil in the beds is always moist. In hot weather, water can be added daily. Watering is usually carried out in the evenings, using pre-settled liquid at room temperature.

But about a month before harvesting, additional moistening of the beds must be abandoned. Otherwise, the bulbs will become not just juicy, but watery, which will reduce the already short shelf life.

Additional fertilizing

Salad onion Exhibition is fed three times a season. Usually organic fertilizers are used, for example, mullein infusion.

For the first time, top dressing is applied during watering 14 days after planting, and then the procedure is repeated twice more with breaks of three weeks. As in the case of moisturizing, a month before the final ripening, fertilize the onion is stopped.

Weeding and loosening

Exhibition grows well on breathable soils, so the beds are loosened after watering 1-2 times a week. At the same time, weeding is carried out. Weeds that grow in the immediate vicinity of the onion harm the development of the crop and rob it of moisture and valuable substances.

Mulching

For slower evaporation of moisture from the soil, beds with onion Exhibition are recommended to be mulched with straw or sawdust. A layer of protective material not only prevents the soil from drying out, but also slows down the germination of weeds. High-quality mulching allows less frequent weeding and loosening of beds.

Pest and disease control

Exhibition onions are considered relatively vulnerable to diseases and parasites. The danger on the site for him is:

• peronosporosis – the disease leaves a grayish-purple coating on green feathers, leads to lodging of feathers and slows down the development of onions;
  
  

  The first symptoms of peronosporosis appear on onions in early May.

• fusarium – the fungus affects the root system, the bottoms of the turnips are covered with a white or pinkish bloom, the juicy scales soften;
  
  

  Fusarium symptoms usually become noticeable only after harvest.

• onion fly – insect larvae feed on onions from mid-May, the heads of the plant rot, and the feathers turn yellow and dry;
  
  

  From the onion fly, spraying with tobacco infusion helps well.

• stem nematode – the pest eats the bulbs, and as a result, the green leaves quickly discolor and deform.
  
  

  When infected with a nematode, the affected plants are simply burned

Cultural diseases are difficult to treat, so prevention should be given fundamental attention. Fungi overwinter in plant debris and in the soil. To prevent infection, the beds should be regularly loosened and freed from debris. Shortly before planting the crop, it is useful to shed the soil with boiling water, fungicides, or a solution of potassium permanganate.

Pest control is usually carried out with the help of tobacco infusion, a solution of laundry soap and wood ash. Chemicals are not recommended, as they can adversely affect the edibility of the crop.

Collection and storage of onion Exhibition

Exhibition bulbs are usually harvested in the second half of August after the greens of the plant turn yellow and fall. It is necessary to choose a sunny warm day, if it has recently rained, it is better to wait until the soil dries.

The crop turnips are mostly above the ground, so extracting them from the ground is quite easy. To speed up the process, it is allowed to use a pitchfork, but with caution. The fruits must not be damaged, otherwise the onion is likely to quickly rot during storage.

After harvesting, Exhibition needs to be dried from moisture in the sun. Then the turnips are transferred to a shaded, well-ventilated attic. When the necks dry and become thinner, it remains to remove the excess husk and place the fruits in clean wooden boxes.

It is necessary to store the Exhibition onion in a dark room at a stable low humidity and at a temperature of about 5 ° C. Under such conditions, it retains its taste and value for 3-4 months.

Conclusion

Exhibition onions are valued for their good taste and very large turnips in seedling cultivation. The variety is not suitable for long-term storage, but it is convenient to use it for salads and for preservation for the winter.

Reviews of the bow Exhibition