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Onions are the main product on the table. It is grown on a large scale by many farmers. Gardeners on their plots are also engaged in this vegetable crop. Onions are a remarkably hardy plant. It is grown not only in regions with a mild climate, but also in Siberia, in the Urals.
About the features of obtaining a valuable and healthy vegetable in the Urals in various ways, the features of planting, caring for onions will be discussed in our article.
Varieties of onions for the Urals
The climatic conditions of the Urals are not distinguished by the mildness of the climate. Spring comes late and autumn comes too early. The vegetative period for the comfortable development of onions is limited. But local residents manage to grow a good crop of healthy vegetables.
What varieties of onions are best planted in the Urals? When choosing, they are guided by seeds and sets of a vegetable adapted to the climate. For a short summer, early and mid-ripening varieties of onions are more suitable. Most often grown in the Urals:
- Arzamas;
- Bessonovsky local;
- Buran;
- Boterus;
- Myachikovsky 300;
- Siberian Annual;
- Strigunovsky local;
- Exhibition;
- Timiryazevsky;
- Karantalskiy;
- Cabo;
- Studtgarden Riesen (Dutch selection).
Of course, this is only a part of the varieties of onions. Each Ural gardener decides for himself which seed to use.
Ways to get a turnip
You can grow onions in different ways, all of them are suitable for the Urals:
- The seedling method involves sowing black seeds in a container in an apartment some time before planting in open ground.
- Sowing seeds directly on the bed in early spring.
- Planting onion sets. With this method, onions are obtained in two years.
Let us consider in more detail each of the methods of growing onions in the Urals, as well as the features of caring for plantings in a region with a harsh climate.
Seedbed method
This method of growing onions is effective in household plots. Gardeners in the Urals receive turnip seeds in one season. Seedlings before planting in the ground should be up to 30-35 days old.
Preparing the soil
The soil for sowing chernushka must be fertile. You can add ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate and wood ash.
The soil is poured with boiling water with the addition of potassium permanganate to kill spores of fungal diseases.
Preparation and sowing of seeds
There are no special secrets when growing onion seedlings in the Urals.
Nigella without stimulation can sit in the ground for a long time. To wake up onion seeds, they are soaked in warm water for several hours.
For the Urals, the right time for planting will be the beginning of March, then in the last days of April, when the earth warms up, it will be possible to plant seedlings in the ground.
The seeds are planted in the soil in rows at a distance of at least 1,5 cm. There should be about 5 cm between the rows. You need to cover the crops with a soil layer of no more than 1 cm.
After careful watering, the container with future onion seedlings is covered with cellophane and put in a warm place. In order for onion seeds to germinate faster, a temperature of at least + 18-+ 20 degrees is needed. When the first shoots appear, the shelter is removed, the temperature is reduced to 15 degrees. At this time, the plant needs good lighting so that the seedlings do not stretch.
Care of seedlings
Picking onion seedlings is not required if the sowing of seeds has not been thickened. When caring for landings, there are no particular difficulties. Seedlings are watered as the soil dries.
Planting seedlings in open ground
As a rule, in the Urals, onion seedlings are planted at the end of April. The bow does not need warm ground, it feels good at a temperature of 7-8 degrees.
Why it is at such a time and at such a temperature that onion seedlings need to be planted is often asked by novice gardeners. The fact is that onions have the most important pest – the onion fly. At this time, she still does not fly, the plant manages to take root well, get stronger. The pest becomes less dangerous.
Cloudy weather is preferred for work. If it is hot, then it is better to do planting in the evening.
Containers with onions are poured with water to make it easier to choose plants. Each sprout undergoes pre-sowing preparation: the roots are cut to 2 cm, and the tops are shortened by a third. Each plant is disinfected in a clay mash or mullein infusion.
Seedlings are laid with a slope, only the roots and bottom are sprinkled with soil. Each plant straightens the roots, directing them down. Onions are planted in grooves every 5-6 cm. There should be at least 20-25 cm between rows.
You can plant plants in the groove and thicker if you want to get early greens and will pull onions from time to time for eating.
When all the seedlings are planted in the garden, it must be shed with clean water and mulched. Watering is carried out regularly until the onion grabs tightly to the soil.
Sowing nigella in the ground
You can grow onions in the Urals from nigella with direct sowing in the ground. Only in this case, you need to take the seeds of early ripening onion varieties. Seed consumption will be much higher than with the seedling method.
Nigella is prepared in the same way as with the seedling method. Seeds are sown on high, even ridges. Grooves are made in increments of 25-40 cm. Seeds are sown thickly, at a distance of 1 cm. In order to better see where the seed has fallen, the ground is dusted with chalk.
The crops are covered with soil no higher than 1-2 cm. After watering, the plantings are mulched to retain moisture and prevent the formation of a dense crust on the surface of the earth.
At this time, night frosts are not uncommon in the Urals. In order for onion seeds to germinate faster, the bed can be covered with any non-woven material.
When sprouts appear, the plants need to be watered, the aisles should be loosened. The grown plants break through several times, so that in the end, by the beginning of tying the head, the distance between the plants was at least 15-20 cm.
Onions on a turnip, sown with seeds in the ground, need special feeding. When two feathers appear, the bed is shed with mullein.
Sowing seeds before winter
For some gardeners in the Urals, planting onion sets before winter is a completely acceptable event. At the end of October, a bed is being prepared in accordance with agrotechnical standards. Onion seeds are sown in the same way as in spring. The difference is that the seeds are not soaked, and the plantings are covered with a thick layer of compost.
What gives such a method? Seeds harden naturally over the winter. As soon as the sun begins to warm, the snow melts, the shelter is removed from the garden. If the soil is wet, you can not water. The seeds germinate quickly. When two feathers appear, the plantings are thinned out.
Getting a turnip from a set
Growing onions from sets is the most common way not only for the Urals, but also for other regions of Our Country.
Preparation of planting material
To make the onion hurt less, the sets need to be prepared. A month before planting in the ground, and this is the end of April in the Urals, the sevok is put in a warm room for warming – staining. This is necessary to prevent shooting. A good place for sevka is a cupboard in the kitchen. Planting material is scattered in one layer in a box.
Before planting, the seedlings are calibrated, that is, they are selected by size, focusing on the diameter:
- Bulbs smaller than a centimeter are suitable for earlier sowing.
- Bulbs of 1-2 cm are considered the best material for obtaining onions.
- A larger set is called a sample. Such planting material will not provide you with onion heads, since, most likely, it will go into the arrow.
After sorting, the seedlings are soaked for two days in an ash solution, adding a little fertilizer so that the onion is saturated with moisture. Pests and pathogens can overwinter on onion sets. So that they do not multiply during the cultivation of onions and do not infect neighboring plants and soil, the seedlings must be disinfected. You can use a dark solution of potassium permanganate. In it, the planting material is kept for two hours, then washed in clean water.
You need 1 tablespoon per liter of water. This is an excellent prevention against onion flies. Sevok can not be washed.
Planting sevka
Seeds are planted in the Urals when the soil warms up to +12 degrees. Higher soil temperatures can cause onions to shoot. The planting material is placed (not pressed!) into the groove in the moist ground at a distance of 15-20 cm, depending on the variety, the distance may be greater. Look at the photo of how a vegetable grower in the Urals does it.
After this, the plantings are sprinkled with earth. It is important that the tail of the onion set sticks out a little. The bed is rolled with a roller so that the onion adheres tightly to the soil. Watering is required. After a few days, the first shoots appear.
Preparing and planting sevka:
Winter onion from sets – a sensation or not
At all times, gardeners are experimenting. As you know, in the southern regions of Our Country, onions and garlic are grown in the winter way. Why not try this technique in the Urals? Some vegetable growers managed to find a middle ground and received commercial onions from sets planted before winter. Work begins in mid-October, until the ground freezes.
Before planting, a small set is selected. It is very difficult to keep it in winter. Planting material is not soaked, it is planted dry. The grooves are made at a distance of 20 cm, the bulbs are laid in moist soil in increments of about 8 cm. The grooves are covered with soil. So that plantings in the Urals do not freeze, a layer of dry compost, humus, sawdust is poured onto the bed, and straw on top.
In the spring, as soon as the soil begins to thaw, the shelter is removed. Onions grow quickly.
Care for onions
Regardless of how onions will be grown in the Urals, planting care is the same.
Preparation of beds
The rules of agricultural technology suggest the use of crop rotation. Onions can be returned to their original place only after two years. The best vegetable precursors are cucumber, potatoes, legumes, cabbage, carrots, dill.
Some gardeners in the Urals plant onions in the same garden as carrots. The aisles are made wider. See how it looks in the photo. What are the advantages of such a neighborhood? The onion fly does not like the smell of carrots, and the carrot fly is repelled by the smell of onions.
Onions give a good harvest on fertile, loose soils with a neutral or slightly acidic environment. Before digging, add humus, compost or peat, wood ash. You can use superphosphate or nitroammofoska (1 tablespoon each). You need to dig the soil to a shallow depth.
The bed needs to be leveled, tamped and poured with a solution of copper sulfate (one large spoon per bucket of water). Two liters of solution are required per square. For two days, the ridge is covered with a film so that the destruction of existing pests and disease spores is more efficient.
Watering, loosening
Onions are demanding for watering in the first half of the growing season. If it rains, then the amount of water is reduced. In the May heat and the first decade of June, up to 10 liters of water are needed per square meter, watered after 7 days. In June, watered every 8-10 days. In July, the number of waterings is reduced. Before harvesting for three weeks, watering is stopped.
After that, surface loosening is carried out. Weeds should not be allowed to grow in the beds, so as not to provoke fungal diseases.
Feeding
During the growing season, onions in the Urals, grown with seeds or sets, are fed 2-3 times. As nutritional compositions, you can use mullein, nettle infusion.
To prevent powdery mildew, plants can be treated with a solution of copper sulfate, adding diluted laundry soap for better adhesion of the solution. Gardeners in the Urals spill onions with salt water: 100 grams of salt per bucket of water. Such watering helps to get rid of the onion fly larvae that live on the bottom.
Conclusion
Growing onions in the Urals in various ways is not only interesting, but also useful. You can get a harvest of a valuable product that is safe. After all, gardeners, unlike industrial cultivation, do not use any chemicals.
Onions can be used until the new harvest, the main thing is to collect them on time, dry them and put them in a dry place for storage.