How does onion propagate? Onions: from planting to harvest. Family onion care
Chives are grown for the purpose of producing juicy and tender greens that are richer in vitamins and minerals than the common onions. Young chives feathers are eaten, as a rule, fresh, as a component of salads and okroshki. Many gardeners grow some varieties of chives as a flower crop, due to their bright purple inflorescence and the ability to form dense glades (sod), which prevents weeds from germinating. Such varieties of chives are called decorative. The most popular representatives are border and Moscow.
How to plant onions - planting features
Ornamental varieties of chives are popular in landscape design... Since they are unpretentious and frost-resistant, they are used in the design of alpine slides, rockeries, winter gardens, mixborders and other types of landscaping. Caring for decorative chives both in the open field and at home is simple and unassuming. The flower beds decorated with flower cultures of chives look very unusual and spectacular in the photo. It is even difficult to determine what attracts more in this plant - tasty healthy greens or bright flowering turf decorating personal plots.
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You, of course, have seen the perfect lawn in the movies, in the alley, and possibly on the neighbor's lawn. Those who at least once tried to grow a green area on their site will no doubt say that this is a huge work. The lawn requires careful planting, care, fertilization, watering. However, only inexperienced gardeners think so, professionals have long known about an innovative tool - liquid lawn AquaGrazz.
Chives grown outdoors are eaten in early spring, as their greens age quickly enough. Popular vegetable varieties: bohemia and honey plant. Differences between decorative and vegetable varieties can be seen in the photo. The beneficial properties of onions are expressed in the high content of vitamin C, carotene, proteins, carbohydrates and phytoncide in young greens. Fresh seasonal salads are prepared from chives, used as a seasoning for soups, served as a side dish for meat and fish dishes. Chicken onion is very popular in Italian and French cuisines. Both decorative and vegetable varieties of chives have useful properties.
The first pruning of greens is done before the onion chives flowering, since the very first greens are tender and juicy, subsequent pruning is done as needed, usually 3-4 times per season. The later greens of onion chives are also eaten, but they are already denser and tough, so they are cooked before use.
When to plant chives seed?
Chives bow in open ground planted with seeds or bulbs in early spring. Before planting, the bulbs are treated in a solution of potassium permanganate, the seeds do not require additional processing. For planting with seeds, it is necessary to make small beds in the soil at a distance of 5-10 cm from each other, no more than 5 cm deep. The soil should be moistened, then the seeds should be sown and covered with earth, and then moistened again. The sown chives onions do not require special care, since they grow well, while preventing weeds from growing.
Onions in the garden - growing on the windowsill
In a vegetative way, chives are planted twice - in early spring and late summer. For this, adult bushes are dug up, the roots are freed from the ground and treated in a solution of potassium permanganate, after which the roots are carefully divided and planted in prepared holes. With the vegetative method of growing chives, onions quickly take root in a new place and do not require additional maintenance. After removing the hardened leaves, it grows back, but not as easily and quickly as the onion.
Chives are sown in the spring, when the soil has already warmed up slightly (second half of April), the seeds of chives, like all other onions, must be kept in water for about a day before planting, remembering to rinse them with fresh water every 5-6 hours. Onion chives seeds deepen by 1-2 cm, row spacing is at least 20 cm. After sowing, the soil is slightly compacted and mulched. On poor soils, one-time feeding is carried out with complex fertilizer, further care is to remove weeds and water if necessary.
It should be noted that it is not recommended to cut chives greens in the first year of cultivation: a young plant, not rooting enough, may die. Cutting greens for food can be started in the second year of growing.
How to propagate chives onions?
Chives are easily propagated by dividing the bush, this method is often used in early autumn when planting plants in pots or boxes, to obtain vitamin-rich greens on the windowsill in winter. For this, parts of the bushes are planted in prepared containers with moist soil, without deepening the chives more than the initial level. The soil is compacted and watered generously.
In the photo, the flowering period of chives - growing on the windowsill
Growing chives at home is very popular with gardeners as this type of onion does not require much maintenance and is perfect for a windowsill garden. You can grow chives at home all year round: in the summer on the balcony, and in the winter on the windowsill. High yield of onion chives, allows 1 sq. m plant about 10 kg. Decorative varieties of chives look very beautiful in the photo and in the winter garden among other flowering plants.
The container for planting at home is filled with an earthen mixture. A shallow, flat container is best. Drainage must be poured onto the bottom of the container, then a layer of universal soil mixture of about 5 cm. You can grow chives at home both with seeds and bulbs. For bulb planting, small, healthy bulbs must be selected. Professional gardeners recommend pre-freezing the bulb and placing it in a cool, dry place before planting.
When planting chives in the autumn-winter period, low feather growth may be observed. To stimulate abundant growth, the bulb must first be held in warm water at a temperature of 40 degrees C, and the upper part must be cut or cut crosswise. Before planting the bulbs both at home and in the garden, it is necessary to process them in a warm solution of potassium permanganate in order to avoid the occurrence of various diseases and decay of the root system.
How to plant chives in a container?
Before planting onion chives, the prepared soil in the container must first be moistened, then the bulbs must be bridged at a distance of 1 cm from each other. After that, the container with the planted chives must be removed to a dark, cool place for several days, so that the plant takes root in a new place and takes root. Then you can place the hardened chives on a well-lit, warm windowsill.
Onion care in the photo
The optimum temperature for growing chives on a windowsill is 20-25 degrees C. At lower temperatures, the bulbs will fall into a dormant state, and at higher temperatures, the feathers produced will have a yellowish color and a dry appearance. Watering chives at home should be done as the soil dries up with settled water at room temperature. You should feed the grown chives at home once with mineral fertilizer.
As a rule, after 2-4 cuts, it is necessary to change the planting material. In order for the chives feathers to remain juicy and green, they must be cut at a level of 3-4 cm from the bulb, making room for new greenery. Caring for chives at home is simple, just provide the plant with regular watering and adequate lighting.
When growing chives at home on the windowsill, all beneficial features, which allows you to have a vitamin storehouse at hand all year round. From the foregoing, we can conclude that chives can be grown as in the beds personal plotand in containers, it can be grown using seeds or by dividing bushes. The most favorable planting period for this type of onion is spring, when the seedlings or seeds grow quickly. At home, minimal care is needed for it, but weeds and other pests may appear on the beds, which must be constantly dealt with.
Most onion species are capable of propagating both by seed and vegetatively. A few exceptions are sowing garlic, multi-tiered onion, a viviparous variety of blue onions, and some other species that do not form or almost do not form seeds and reproduce only vegetatively.
Fig 8. Formation of a replacement bulb at the base of the peduncle of onions: a, b - general form, in - cross section; 1 - peduncle; 2 - sighting bulb; 3 - general integumentary scales
The main method of vegetative renewal under natural conditions is the formation of a replacement bulb (Fig. 8). It occurs in the leaf axil next to the peduncle. As a result, the young bulb replaces the mother bulb by the fall of next year. This bulb is called a sighting bulb. If the inflorescence on the flower arrow for some reason does not develop or breaks off, the sighting bulb can grow to the size characteristic of the uterine bulb, and you can only distinguish it from an ordinary bulb by a dry strip left on the side of the flattened dried flower arrow. Sometimes large sighting bulbs are formed during the development of inflorescences.
In the case when replacing the bulb is the only way to renew, the coefficient vegetative propagation is equal to one, that is, instead of one dying shoot, one bulb remains. As a result, only renewal occurs, but not reproduction. However, this is rarely seen.
A common method of natural vegetative reproduction is the formation of several axillary buds in the sinuses of the outer juicy scales, capable of developing into independent bulbs. When the leaves dry out, the axillary buds are separated from the mother plant and go on to independent development.
In garlic and multi-tiered onions, instead of flowers, small bulbs, called bulbs, form in inflorescences, which also give rise to new plants. The formation of bulbs in inflorescences is a fairly common phenomenon; it is observed in different species (including onions) with any disturbances in the formation of flowers. You can also cause this phenomenon artificially, carefully cutting the buds on the receptacle.
Baby onions can also develop on rhizomes, stolons, and even on bulbs. They also serve for vegetative propagation. Perennial bows forming clumps reproduce by dividing the clumps. This method is often used in the cultivation of perennial onions so that the breeding process takes less time. In nature, such reproduction is observed in rhizome onions when individual parts of the rhizome die off, as a result of which several independent plants are formed from one overgrown bush, the location of which depends on the length of the internodes of the rhizome.
You can treat it differently, you can love it or not love it. This plant in our everyday life - as good neighbor: always there and always helps. Russian cuisine can no longer be imagined without it. Many include a bow. And in landscape design, he has consolidated his position: the abundance of species and forms allows in flower beds and borders, even in rockery there is a place for him.
And the abundance of varieties of food-grade onions is simply amazing: the same one is juicy and less pungent in one variety, while in the other it is so hard and sharp that it is used exclusively for heat treatment. I confess: I am a fan and connoisseur of onions - both in the garden and on my table. Therefore, I think: no matter how much you talk about onions, every time there will be a lot of new things.
Onion in the classical sense - herbaceous plant, belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family of the Onion subfamily. But regarding the origin of the name of the genus (lat.Allium), 2 versions are considered: one by one - the onion got its name thanks to its brother, which in Ancient Rome also called Allium; according to another version, the name involved the Celtic word all, which in translation means “burning”. However, be that as it may, this does not affect the cultivation.
Onions (allium) have over 400 different types, of which about 130 species are widespread in ornamental gardening. Onion plants are rhizome or bulbous, annual or perennial. The bulbs can be spherical or cylindrical. Greens - basal juicy, aromatic, with a burning taste, tubular or flat "feathers". The flowers are located on the arrows, short or long. They are small, collected in a characteristic spherical inflorescence and covered with a thin film until they bloom.
The first thing that comes to mind when the word "onion" is onion. This species is the most common among vegetable growers in our country, its bulb is valuable for us. But he has numerous "brothers":, and others who are grown for the sake of green "for a feather". They do not form an underground onion and are used as fresh herbs to the table. Perennial onions, which can grow in one place for more than one year, are especially popular for collecting fresh greens. The plants that form the bulb are most often dug out for the winter. For those who are interested in the "onion" topic, I recommend interesting articles about different types of this plant - both decorative and used for food:
Planting onions
The principles of planting onions “for food” and for decorative purposes are the same. The main rule: do not plant onions after related cropsso that the bulbs do not rot and there are no other diseases. And here, cabbage, and - excellent predecessors.Drop off location choose a light, warm one so that the sun warms the soil. For this, it is also an important condition for a beautiful color. And for onions, light and warmth are juicy onions and bright greens. In addition, the looser warm soil reduces the risk of rot.
For onions, light and warmth are juicy onions and bright greens
Onions love soil fertile, well-seasoned with organic and mineral, with a reaction close to neutral. As a rule, the onion bed is prepared in advance. It can be planted both before winter (early autumn) and early spring. Before winter, they usually plant onions "on a feather" in order to delight themselves in spring with fresh herbs, but if you follow simple rules, then you can also on a turnip.
I planted several times (small bulbs grown from seeds) before winter, but in the spring it very quickly began to shoot at the expense of greenery and bulb formation. After reading, I realized: for this, you need to choose a set of no more than 1-1.5 cm in diameter.
In the spring, sevok is planted in the first decade of May in well-warmed soil... The problem in this case is only its preservation in winter: small bulbs can dry out. And yet, if planted in soil, the temperature of which is less than +12 degrees, the onion will quickly begin to shoot. But you shouldn't be late with planting either - this can affect the development and quality of the bow later.
Preparing planting material
We sort out the seeds collected in the fall (those damaged for planting are not suitable). The day before planting, I put them in cheesecloth and soak them in warm water.
I also sort out the sevok and distribute it more carefully by size. I store the sevok at home - at room temperature or a little lower - and the day before planting I put it closer to the battery to warm it up.
If the onion was kept cool, it is also better to warm it up, otherwise the rapid appearance of arrows cannot be avoided. Immediately before planting, the bulbs in gauze are placed in a solution for 10 minutes copper sulfate (for 10 liters of water - 1 teaspoon). This reduces the risk of fungal diseases. Some gardeners also soak in a fertilizer solution, I don't.
So, we make a bed, once again we dig it up well, we clean it. Depending on what kind of planting material we take, we select the following landing pattern:
1. Sevok I close it to a depth of about 4 cm, the distance between the rows is 25 cm, I leave a little more than 10 cm between the bulbs. Usually the soil is humus
2. If I sow seed (they are formed at the end of a ripe arrow in the fall), I embed them no more than 2 cm into the soil (scheme about 13x1.5 cm), water abundantly from a shallow watering can and cover with plastic wrap.
Onion care
Watering
Onions need moisture to develop properly. Many sources say that it makes sense to water the onion once a week.
But in 2013, for example, the summer was fickle: the sun was hot, and the tips onion feathers they dried out in a couple of days, then it rained, when the bulbs were already formed (the process of bulb ripening begins in July), and watering was not particularly required. In this case, you need to watch so that the onion does not dry out, but does not overflow. The greens will be the first to know about the excess moisture - it will become pale green.
Fertilizers
If the onion does not go into greens for a long time, it makes sense to feed it with liquid fertilizers. 1 liter is perfect. urea +1 glass of mullein. After a couple of weeks, you can feed it again.Loosening and weeding
the soil around the onions makes sense several times a week, but I usually limit myself to one time.
Must be weeded beds with onions. Last summer I planted it in different places: one was in the open sun, and the second was in a warm sunny place, but with a fickle sun. I was in no hurry to weed the onions growing on the very "ashes" - I just broke through the most aggressive weeds so that they would not drown out the little feathers, and when the onion gained strength, the weeds can be removed. This helped to protect young feathers from drying out and wilting for a while.
Anti-fungal treatment
Many gardeners, when the feather reaches 15 cm, process the foliage with a solution of copper sulfate in order to prevent fungus. I have not carried out, and while the fungus bypasses my bow. My grandmother liked to add 1 tablespoon of laundry soap, grated and dissolved in water, to the solution of copper sulfate.Reproduction of onions
Onions are propagated by seeds. At the end of summer, arrows form on the plants with "balls" at the end - they contain the seeds.
When the frog is dry and the seeds turn black, carefully dump them for storage.
The seeds are used to produce small bulbs - a set, from which a full-fledged bulb is formed a year after planting.
Harvesting and storage of onions
If new feathers are not formed, it is September in the yard, the foliage has died, and the bulbs delight the eye with golden scales, it's time to start harvesting. The main thing is not to tighten it, otherwise the bow will decide to "wake up" and start growing.
Usually, when digging up onions, I do not wash them - this is historically the case in our family: after good drying and removing the scales, it becomes perfectly clean. But this year there were constant rains, so after the onion was dug up, it had to be washed, roots removed, feathers cut off. After that, the onion is laid out to dry in one layer.
For drying you need a bright, well-ventilated room. After about 3 weeks, even on bare bulbs, scales form, then the crop can be harvested in boxes or storage containers. Our onions are usually laid out on the street under a canopy, and in the first days after dug up, we leave it right on the ridge under the sun.
Onion varieties
- Odintsovets - included in the State Register in many districts, including the Central one. Recommended for growing on a turnip from seeds and seedlings. Mid-season bulb, round, flat or round-flat. The maximum weight is about 80 g. This is one of my mother's favorite varieties; it is juicy and the scales are crunchy. Suitable for fresh consumption in salads - not "nuclear" hot. The upper dry scales of the bulbs are golden yellow. The variety is suitable for storage.
- Bessonovsky - refers to the local varieties of Penza. The shape of the bulb is round-flat with a clear elongation of the neck upwards. The upper scales are yellow. The bulb is dense. Bulb weight - about 45 g. Burning spicy taste. Keeps well
Many do not plant family onions. The reason is that small bulbs grow. But if you know the agricultural technology of family onions, then you can grow bulbs of 150 g or more.
Bulb onionswidespread vegetable crop onion families. Onions are small-germinated (1-2), medium-germinated (2-3) and multi-germinated (4-5 or more).
In the common people, multi-shaped bows are called family bows. Seven I am many.
Largest family onion bulb
This should also include the Shallot. This is a type of onion, but with a smaller bulb and delicate leaves. Immediately I draw your attention, not feathers, but leaves. Feathers are found in birds, and in plants only leaves.
Acquiring the exquisite taste of shallots is considered gourmet onion. These bows are often confused and are called "who in what way." Therefore, for convenience, we will call all these bows family.
Planting dates for family onions
Onions are cold-resistant plants. Its root system grows intensively at a lower temperature than the leaves. This biological feature makes it possible to land at an earlier date.
The root system of onions develops at temperatures from + 2 ° to + 25 ° С, tolerates frosts down to minus 4-6 ° С. The onion leaf grows well at a temperature of + 15-25 ° C, withstands frosts down to minus 7 ° C and tolerates heat at + 35 ° C.
If you delay planting and the temperature of the air and soil is high, leaves will immediately begin to grow. The root system will no longer be as powerful and this will affect the results.
If there is enough moisture in the soil during the period of leaf growth, the plant is in no hurry to form a storage organ. It continues to increase the number of leaves and their size, thereby creating the basis for the formation of an increasingly larger bulb. The more powerful leaves on the plant, the larger the bulb will be (taking into account the varietal characteristics).
With a lack of moisture during the growing season, plant growth stops, and bulbs begin to form at the stage in which they were caught by drought.
For normal onion growth, a water regime is required with reduced air humidity (60-70%) and high soil moisture. This culture makes especially great demands on water in the first period of growth, when the process of swelling and germination of the planting material is underway, the leaf apparatus increases in volume, and a bulb begins to form. During the growth period, additional watering is required.
Family bows are more likely to reproduce vegetatively. Since several bulbs grow in the nest, some are left for planting. The rest are for food. And so every year.
Is it possible to plant family onions before winter?
The family onion is a fully mature and sexually mature plant, despite the size of the bulb. Onions planted before winter shoot out, even small ones. Partially, the bow can shoot at very early planting in cold, prolonged spring. But this is extremely rare.
The Siberian Research Institute of Plant Growing and Breeding (SibNIIRS) has developed varieties that can be planted before winter. From varieties for podzimny planting are recommended: Siberian yellow, SIR-7, Ryzhik, Sophokl, Seryozha, Krepysh, Albik, Garant and a number of new Siberian hybrids. But these are not multi-stemmed onions, but shallots.
Family bow agrotechnics, features
To understand agricultural technology, you need to imagine the structure of the bulb.
On the bottom of the family bows there is a heel - the location of the daughter bulbs to the bottom of the mother's bulb. 
If you cut off the heel, we will see the location of the roots, in the form of a horseshoe. The rudiments are cross-sectional. Usually, for planting, I use an onion weighing about 100g... If a whole bulb is planted, all the buds will sprout and\u003e 8 medium-sized bulbs will grow. The amount depends on the variety. The larger the planting bulb, the more new, but small, bulbs are formed.
How to grow large family onions?
To to grow large family bow, it must be prepared for landing. First of all, it must be cleaned from dry scales to juicy. Various pathogens are often hidden under dry scales. Then the bulbs are pickled in a solution of copper sulfate -1st. spoon for 10 liters of water. Etching time 20 min. The pickled onions are rinsed with clean water.
During storage, the onion dries out slightly and loses its nutritional substances. In order to restore the supply of moisture and nutrients, the onion must be soaked in nutrient solutions of any complex fertilizers.
To do this, you need to trim the heel, to clean white scales. Do not be afraid that you will cut too much. The rudiments themselves are deep. Even if you damage one or two, there are many of them in the bulb. If two of the six buds are damaged, then the other four will give a decent harvest. Damaged buds do not grow. But it's better not to injure much, cut off only the heel to the bottom. Removing dry scales and trimming the heel of the bottom facilitates the access of moisture, primarily to the roots, therefore, first of all, a powerful root system develops, ensuring strong plant growth.
I try to do without chemistry and use Gumistar or Biohumus for soaking onions - 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water. Soaking time 8-10 hours.
Then I put the onion in a bucket, close it with a lid and put it in any unheated room, until the roots grow back (3 - 5mm).
How to cut a family onion before planting?
Now you need to cut it into halves. Onions are not cut to increase the number of planting units, but to obtain larger bulbs in the harvest. In each half, fewer primordia will remain than there was in the whole bulb. 3-4 marketable bulbs will grow from each half. The feeding area will remain the same and fewer bulbs will receive more nutrition.
Cut the onion into halves, trying to leave approximately the same number of roots on them. In other words, after cutting off the heel, turn the onion 90 ° and cut in the center "Horseshoe" of the roots. I do not process the slices. They dry up a little themselves.
We cut the whole onion
The family bow was cut. The bow is ready to plant. Preparing the soil for planting family onions
After harvesting the potatoes, I sow winter rye.
For the next season, it grows to full ripeness, and it leaves before winter. I don't do anything on this site.
This is what the field looks like in spring before planting.
Planting family onions
The first time I come to the dacha is at the very end of April or at the beginning of May. I try to plant the onions faster, at least until May 5th.
According to the popular calendar, this is Luke's day - onions day. So I'm planting onions to Luke. Sometimes April is warm and (if possible) I plant earlier. As the soil ripens.
If you measure the temperature of the soil, then the most suitable is + 5 ° C. You can do without a thermometer, just look, when the soil stops smearing, you can plant.
I have permanent beds with a width of 0.9 m. Passages 0.5m.
In the spring, I shovel straw into the aisles and slightly loosen the top layer of the garden bed with the Strizh cultivator.
Then I make grooves with a furrow with a depth of 3-5cm at a distance of 20cm from each other -15cm-20cm-20cm-20cm-15cm. I spill the grooves with water from a watering can without a strainer. Sprinkle the moistened grooves with a mixture of ash and Zemlin (the same diazinon) from an onion fly, 1 liter of ash + 1 package of Zemlin is enough for 4 grooves 10 m long.
In the grooves I lay out the halves of the onion at a distance of 23 cm in a checkerboard pattern. It turns out a landing in equilateral triangles with a side of 23cm.
I spud the planted onions with a rake on both sides, like potatoes.
It is warm and humid under these "dunes". Luke likes it.
The longer the day and the higher the temperature during growth, the more closed scales, the better bow in the future it will be stored, the deeper and longer it has a rest period.
Family onion care
Until the leaf grows to 10cm, I do nothing. I don't even water. Let the roots go deep in search of moisture. I don’t do any fertilizing. I do not spray with anything. I did not notice any illnesses.
Onions grow very quickly and it is time to mulch the beds. To mulch an onion bed, you need to grind a decent bunch of organic matter. On mulched beds, moisture is better retained, and onions grow well. I mulch to the height of the hilled rows (about 5cm - 10cm) with mown weeds, immediately after crushing it, without drying it out. Drying, the mulch covers the bed with a dense porous layer.
I water the onions once a week. 200 liters of water goes to the garden. From the beginning of July I stop watering.
At the end of June, the bulbs begin to peel off and the number of bulbs in the nest can be counted. The optimal amount is 3-5pcs.
If the quantity exceeds 5 pcs, then you can do normalization - remove excess bulbs.
The remaining bulbs will grow larger.
When to rake the family bow? - in early July. You can simply move the soil around with your finger. The bulb will be all in sight. In the sun, the bulb will ripen faster.
Harvesting family onions
End of July. The onions are ready for harvest. “It should be noted that you should not delay harvesting the onions after the leaves have lodged, as this leads to an increase in losses during winter storage.
This is explained by the fact that the bulbs remaining in the ground absorb moisture from the soil, which activates growth processes and shortens the dormant period. "
I pluck the onion when the dew is dry. All day he lies in the beds. In the evening I clean up the attic. There the harvested onions are ripened and dried. After drying, I scrub the leaves by hand. I don't use scissors.
Even if it is damp and cold during harvesting, family onions ripen and dry well under the roof. Secondary germination does not threaten him. He has a long period of rest, which was confirmed by the past, far from hot summer.
After the onion, I sow the pea-oat mixture throughout the plot. Siderata from this mixture and leave before winter. In the spring I plant potatoes right on top of the straw.
I take the dried onions home, along with the whole harvest.
This is how onions are stored for food. I keep onions for planting, of different fractions, in separate boxes. In the kitchen, the temperature is sometimes quite high, but onions keep well. The storage temperature of the onion for planting is +19 +22 degrees, otherwise the bow will go to the arrow.
Along with onions, garlic and leeks, gardeners also willingly grow perennial onions - batun, chives, slime, fragrant, oblique, or ukun, and some others. They are mainly used for cutting. The range of onions cultivated is expanding thanks to the introduction of wild species into the culture.
The genus of onions includes over 600 species, of which 230 are found in the natural flora of our country. Many of these plants are worthy of being featured prominently in home gardens.
Having picked up certain types, terms and methods of growing, using protected soil and indoor culture, an amateur vegetable grower can provide not only year-round nutrition with onions and herbs, but also decorate garden plot graceful flowering plants. And they will delight him from spring to autumn. Onions are excellent honey plants, they are also cultivated as medicinal plants.
Biological features.
In perennial onions, only underground organs - rhizomes, bulbs and roots remain in the ground for a number of years, while the aboveground part - leaves and peduncles at the end of the growing season annually die off. Bulbs develop in all species, but they differ greatly in the type of growth - single or on rhizomes, the ability to branch (divide and form children), as well as in size, shape, color of juicy and dry scales. Ground leaves are alternate, fistulous or flat - linear, oblong, less often elliptical. The peduncle, it is often called an arrow, ends with an inflorescence - a simple multi-flowered umbrella, covered with a cover of several accreted modified leaves before flowering. The shape, number and color of flowers, as well as the length of the pedicels, vary depending on the species.
The flowers are small with a simple perianth divided into 6 lobes. There are also 6 stamens with large anthers and pistil. The pollen matures earlier than the stigma of the pistil, which makes self-pollination difficult.
In the inflorescences of onions, at the base of the pedicels, small rounded "airy" bulbs are often formed - bulbs, which can be used for reproduction.
The fruit is a triangular, 6-celled capsule. Onion seeds are small, in 1 g there are 300-400 pieces, wrinkled, black, which is why they are called nigella. During storage, the seeds remain viable for 3 years, after which the germination energy drops sharply.
The root system of onions is fibrous, the roots are thin, stringy, branching, but sometimes thickened.
Reproduction of onions.
Onions are easily propagated both by seeds and vegetatively. Seeds are sown before winter or spring.
Usually onion "loops" (shoots) appear on the 7-12th day after sowing. In all species, the cotyledonous leaf is tubular, later true leaves appear, tubular or flat.
The initial phase of development is slow: more than 3 months pass from the emergence of seedlings to the formation of 5-6 true leaves. At this time, plants are very sensitive to environmental conditions, especially to a lack of moisture, are easily drowned out by weeds and require careful maintenance.
I recommend growing onion seedlings. Sow seeds in March in protected ground or on ridges specially prepared since autumn, and as early as possible. The best soil is a soil mixture of neutral reaction from humus, sod land and mullein (9: 10: 1). Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in water for a day, the water is changed several times, then dried to a loose state. If necessary, they are disinfected with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. Sowing is sprinkled through a sieve with a loose soil mixture, then rolled. Temperature regime when growing seedlings: before the emergence of shoots, they support 20-22 °, later - 17-20 ° during the day, 8-14 ° at night. Pour over with heated water. Frequent ventilation does not allow the plants to stretch out unnecessarily. Seedlings are planted in a permanent place after 60-70 days, usually in mid-May. Immediately before planting, the seedlings are hardened for 2 days.
Most onion species have a two-year development cycle from seed to seed: in the first year, a rosette of leaves is formed, in the second year, flowering shoots are formed, giving fruits and seeds. Then the peduncles die off, and the life cycle continues due to renewal buds, which are formed every year on the rhizome or on a shortened modified stem - the bottom. Branching of plants occurs.
Onions are grown in one place for no more than 4-5 years. After the planting productivity decreases, and it is better to renew it.
The methods of vegetative reproduction of perennial onions are judged by their morphological characteristics. Adults, usually 3-4-year-old specimens of rhizome onions in spring or late summer are divided into several independent parts, and each part must have a sufficiently developed root system to. ensure self-development. The planting pattern for perennial bows is ordinary, 20X70 cm. The bushes subsequently grow strongly. In hot weather, newly planted plants are shaded, their leaves are shortened. Water sparingly, otherwise the plants will rot.
For breeding onions they also use sighting bulbs, as well as daughter bulbs and a baby. During the autumn planting period, the bulbs should have time to take root, but significant regrowth of the leaves is undesirable - it worsens overwintering. Optimal onion planting date in the center of autumn - the last decade of September. If the bulbs are stored and planted in the spring, they must first be vernalized, that is, kept for at least 2.5-3 months at a temperature of 3-12 °, only after that large bulbs will bloom in the year of planting.
Agrotechnics.
When growing onions, take them into account biological features and growing conditions in nature. Bows prefer air-permeable, loose, moisture-consuming, productive soils. Lack of moisture usually leads to stunted growth of leaves, but it is easily renewed when watering. Bows are mostly light-requiring, and they should be placed in open, unshaded places.
Planting care is quite simple. In spring, it is necessary to deeply (12-14 cm) loosen the soil around the plants, this will create favorable conditions for the growth of roots and leaves. To activate spring growth, onions are fed mineral fertilizers (40-50 g of urea, 50-60 g of superphosphate, 40-45 g of potassium salt per 1 m2), combining top dressing with watering. Over the summer, the site is weeded and loosened several times. After cutting the leaves, the plants are watered and fed (give a third of the specified dose of fertilizers). In the second half of August, plants are also fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers so that they are better prepared for winter (superphosphate - 30 g, potassium salt - 40 g per 1 m2). Now we will describe the main types of perennial bows.
Batun onion.
This is the most common perennial onion in the culture. It has large fist-like leaves, similar to the leaves of onions. Its bulbs are elongated, they are only slightly in diameter exceeding the false stem, attached to a small rhizome. The peduncle is powerful, hollow, in the ground part it is dressed with stem-embracing leaves, the shape of the inflorescence is spherical or rounded-conical. The flowers are pale green. When it blooms, the calyx does not open, and the stamens and pistil come out, only slightly pushing the perianth petals. The fruit is a capsule, the seeds are angular.
Vatun has 3 subspecies, several varieties and several ecotypes. All these forms of trampoline differ in the degree of branching and leafiness, frost resistance and early maturity. And the varieties? In our country, the following varieties of batun are mainly grown: April 12, Maisky 7, Salad 35, Voskhod (also known as Gribovskiy 21). They differ in varying degrees of branching, foliage (from 3 to 6 leaves per branch), early maturity, but in all varieties, in the spring, leaves start to grow immediately after the snow melts.
Batun is grown in annual and perennial crops. With an annual culture, seeds are sown in May - June. In the spring and summer of next year, the plants are harvested entirely. Changing the timing of sowing allows you to adjust the timing of the receipt of products.
In a perennial culture, the batun is grown for 3-4 years. Starting from the second year of life, cutting of greens is carried out. In the temperate climate zone, the batun tolerates 2 cuts well. The leaves of the batun become coarse in 1.5-2 months after regrowth.
The plants from which the seed is supposed to be collected are not cut, or only individual leaves and from different branches are cut.
To obtain vitamin greens in early spring, gardeners use the simplest tunnel-type film shelters. You can simply put the film on the garden bed and sprinkle the cover with earth around the edges. It is better to take a perforated film. Under shelters, the batun develops 10 days faster than in the open field.
In conditions middle band In Russia, 2 waves of leaf growth are observed in the batun - in spring and at the end of summer, after seed ripening - in the second half of July. In some years, the batun even blooms a second time.
Leaves with bleached bases are taken for food as salad greens or seasonings. In oriental medicine, batun is known as an antiscorbutic, diaphoretic, strengthening agent against fever and stomach diseases.
Multi-tiered bow.
This bow got its name for its peculiar appearance adult plants. On the peduncles, instead of inflorescences, "airy" bulbs are formed, which are laid in several tiers. The height of the peduncle to the first tier is 60-80 cm. The largest bulbs with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm are formed in the first tier, there are usually a few 3-5 of them. Having formed, they immediately grow back, and their leaves reach a length of 10-15 cm. The growth of the peduncle continues, and soon the second tier is laid with air bulbs of a smaller size than in the first tier.
Underground bulbs tiered bow They are very similar to onion bulbs, but they do not ripen, do not form a dried neck. During the growing season, the bulb divides, forming a nest of 2-4 daughter lobes.
The leaves of the multi-tiered onion are tender and juicy. Greens are used for food, but bulbs are edible. Bubbles are good in marinades.
Multi-tiered onions are propagated by daughter bulbs and bulbs. The latter are dried after harvesting, stored in a dry basement or in a refrigerator to avoid drying out the planting material. Air bulbs are planted from late August to early October. For the center of Russia, the August planting dates will be optimal: the bulbs root well, form leaves, winter successfully and grow back early in the spring.
Bulbs of tiered onions are used for forcing in greenhouses or in a room on a windowsill. They grow quickly, forming leaves up to 45 cm high in 20 days.
So far in our country it has been zoned: only one variety of multi-tiered onions - Odessa winter 12, but scientists have already bred a new variety - Likova, which has a number of advantages in yield and biochemical composition.
Onion chives.
It is also called chives, or skoroda. It is a short plant with oblong-ovoid bulbs covered with brown fibrous membranes. The bulbs are attached to the rhizome with a bottom. The leaves are dark green, narrow, fistulous. The inflorescences are oval, the flowers are from 60 to 100, the flowers are purple, and the color intensity varies from pale to very rich - This onion branches strongly, in the third year of life it forms up to 100 shoots, the number of roots also increases from year to year. Therefore, the plants form a powerful sod, drown out weeds and practically do not suffer from them.
Chives used in decorative gardening as a curb plant, they are planted with paths, decorate lawns. During flowering, this onion forms beautiful bright carpets. Exists decorative forms shnitta - Border and Moscow.
Propagated chives by seeds or dividing the bush. On the beds, the leaves are cut in the spring and. at the beginning of summer. Take chives and for distillation in greenhouses. A piece of turf from this onion can be transplanted into a flower pot in the fall and cut off individual green branches several times during the winter, as continuous cutting weakens the plants greatly.
As a salad plant, the Siberian variety of chives is preferred, characterized by a later regrowth of leaves, which are much larger than other forms of this onion. Leaves coarse 1.5-2 months after regrowth.
Slime onion (drooping).
Slime onion is a valuable food plant. Its leaves contain mineral salts of potassium, zinc, manganese, nickel, molybdenum, iron. Slime rich in ascorbic acid, carotene, highly active phytoncides.
A characteristic feature of the slime is the ability to grow young leaves almost all year round, their maximum occurs in spring and early summer. Immediately after the snow melts, the growth of last year's pale (low chlorophyll content) leaves resumes, and then new ones appear. Slime leaves do not coarse and retain high taste throughout the growing season. Cutting can be carried out in the second half of summer, when there is a lack of green onions in the uyase.
The rhizome of the slime is highly developed, and its age-related dissection is clearly expressed. The thickness of the rhizome is 1.5-2 cm, it is located horizontally or slightly ascending in the soil; the bulbs are attached 1-2 pcs. Oobanks are poured with 5% sodium chloride solution, covered with a wooden circle on top and a little oppression is put. In the first days, foam appears on the surface, it must be removed, and the circle and bends are washed several times with a fresh salt solution. After 10-15 days, when fermentation is over, the container is topped up with brine, closed and placed in a cold place.
Pickled onions.
For pickling, small onions should be selected, shallots are good to use. To facilitate the cleaning of the upper integumentary dry scales, you can lower the onion for 2-3 minutes in boiling water before peeling, and then quickly cool it. After that, peel the onion, cut off the necks and bottoms of the onions. Store peeled onions in cold salted water (200 g of salt per 10 liters of water) until pickling. When preparing canned food, the bulbs must be tightly packed in glass jars, layering with spices, pour the prepared marinade. Sterilize and seal jars.
Preparation of marinade pouring: put sifted sugar, salt in a dish of the required capacity, add water, boil for 10 minutes, add spices and vinegar at the end of boiling, after which the pouring temperature is maintained at about 90 °. Boiling the pouring after adding vinegar and spices is not allowed, as acetic acid and aromatic substances of spices quickly evaporate. Then filter the filling through cheesecloth, the spices remaining on the filter - add in even portions to the onion when placing it in jars. The fill must completely cover the product. Therefore, 10 liters of filling are taken for 12 kg of onions.
For 1 liter of filling, 0.5 liters of 6% vinegar and 0.4 liters of water, 80 g of sugar, 35 g of salt and spices are required: 2 g of horseradish roots, 2 g of black currant leaves, 4 g of celery and parsley, 3 g tarragon, 3 g dill (herbs or seeds), 1 g garlic, a few peas of allspice. Such a set of spices is optional, it can be changed, but the specified combination of spices provides high taste qualities of the marinade and canned onions.
Pouring can also be prepared with other spices, for example: put 1 g of cinnamon, 1 g of cloves, 0.5 g of star anise, 0.5 g of allspice, 0.4 g of hot paprika and 1.5 g of bay leaves on 1 liter of marinade ...
Pickled leeks with dill.
10 kg of leeks, 1 liter of boiled water, 125 g of salt, 800 g of 6% vinegar, 20 g of dill greens, 1 teaspoon of dill seeds, allspice and sugar.
Rinse the leeks, dry them, cut them into 3-4 cm long cylinders, add brine and leave in a cool place for about 48 hours. Then drain the brine, put the leeks and blanched dill in jars. Bring the vinegar with dill seeds, pepper and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a boil and immediately pour the marinade over the jars of leek. Sterilize and seal jars. You can add carrots, cut into thin slices or strips, to canned food.
Tinned arrows of garlic.
Young arrows of garlic, cut before the beginning of the rupture of the inflorescence wrapper, washed in water, cut into pieces about 2-3 cm long, placed in clean, washed with boiling water or calcined glass jars, add 10-12 g of salt to 1 liter, 2.5 tablespoon tablespoons of 9% vinegar, 40 g of sugar. Banks are poured over their shoulders with boiling water, covered with boiled tin lids and heated in a water bath at a temperature of about 90 ° for 8-10 minutes. Then the lids are rolled up, the cans are turned upside down and left to cool.
Garlic in brine.
Peel young garlic with small heads, rinse, dip in salted boiling water, remove with a slotted spoon and cool. Place in jars and cover with cold brine, consisting of equal parts of water and 6% vinegar with the addition of 75 g of salt per 1 liter of water. Press down with slight oppression, close the jar tightly and put in a cold place. After a week, the garlic is ready to eat. This product is helpful for bowel disorders.
