We Plant Onions Before Winter! When, What Kind And How To Plant Onions Before Winter?

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

You have never eaten such an onion! Excellent onion turnip from set

Yes, yes, this is how the children's riddle about onions begins: "A grandfather is sitting, dressed in a hundred fur coats, who undresses him sheds tears!" Have you ever wondered why we cry when we peel onions. I was surprised when I found out! It turns out everything is very simple. It contains a special volatile sulfur-containing substance. When the bulb is cut, it actively spreads in the air, inevitably getting on the mucous membrane of the eyes and nose.

And since an adult, as is known, consists of 70-80% water, and its content in the eye is much higher, water, combining with such a substance, forms sulfuric acid, H2SO4. The acid, in turn, begins to erode the mucous membrane of the eye in the strongest way. As a result, the body seeks to protect itself, secreting more and more tear fluid in order to reduce the concentration of acid and wash it off completely. This is how we cry!

And that "wonderful" substance that makes us do this is called "lacrimator" (from the Latin word lacrima - tear). For the first time, the American chemist Eric Block was able to isolate the "lacrimator" in the early 1980s. Well, knowing why we cry, it’s logical to know how not to do this when peeling an onion. Or, at the very least, minimize this phenomenon. You will, of course, find out about this. At the end of the article! Any housewife often has to peel onions because they are used in many culinary recipes. For example, in kharcho soup. But in order to cut onions, at least you need to buy it, and as a maximum you have to grow it yourself. What we will do now, of course, together and with our own hands!

Content

• 1 The best varieties for planting onion sets before winter
• 2 Time and conditions for planting onions before winter
• 3 We plant onion sets correctly before winter
• 4 How to water and fertilize onions planted before winter

The best varieties for planting onion sets before winter

Before planting onions before winter, it would be nice to decide on the variety that is most suitable for this. As well as night cream, we apply at night, and during the day during the day. So with onions, it is advisable to plant the variety that is adapted to withstand winter frosts, actively and quickly starts growing in spring, gives maximum germination and a strong healthy bulb. Of course, southern varieties are not suitable for such purposes. The risk of freezing is great.

So what kind of onion do we plant before winter? But this one: Ellan, Strigunovsky, Arzamassky, Myagkovsky-300, Bessonovsky, Odintsovets, Stuttgarten Riesen, Danilovsky-301, Chalcedony, these varieties are suitable. I advise you to pay special attention to Bessonovsky and Strigunovsky. They are more resistant to shooting and belong to early maturing varieties, which means that already at the end of June, July you can count on a full harvest. Stuttgarden also shows itself well in sub-winter landings. And Ellan can be said to have been born specifically for this purpose.

Depending on where you live and the prevalence of a particular variety, choose something for yourself. If it is possible to plant several varieties, especially if this is your first time, be sure to do so. This will allow in the future to determine the optimal variety for you. Optimal for winter hardiness, germination, care during growth and maturation. And of course in terms of taste. Yellow varieties with golden husks are more bitter and harsh. White and purple are softer with sweetish notes. So, we figured out which onion to plant before winter. Now let's move on to the question of when to plant onion sets before winter.

Time and conditions for planting onions before winter

The best temperature regime for planting is the period when the air temperature during the day ranges from 0 ͦ С to + 5 ͦ С, and at night drops to -3 ͦ С. This indicates that the soil temperature is about +3, +4 ͦ С. time.

In Volgograd, this usually happens at the end of October at the beginning of November. But, of course, you need to follow the weather forecast. In principle, everyone knows the peculiarities of the climate in their area. Somewhere such a temperature is already established in September, and in November there is already snow and the thermometer is far beyond -10 ͦ C. Therefore, be careful, do not be late and do not rush. Because if you plant early, it will have time to take root well and start growing in warm weather, and we don't need this at all. Such a bow is unlikely to overwinter. And the labors will be in vain. So the question of when we plant onions before winter is very individual and the period ranges from mid-October to mid-November, and maybe even to the end of November, depending on the region.

Choose a sunny place for planting, without stagnant moisture. Winters, however, as well as springs are different. If there is a puddle constantly at the planting site of your onion, do not expect a good harvest. Otherwise, you will be completely left without it. If there is a risk of getting wet, it is better to arrange a bed on a hill or to make an artificially filled bed with a height of 18-20 cm. It is advisable to plant in the place where the carrots grew before. This is believed to reduce the likelihood of getting onion flies. Good after tomato, potato and cucumber. It is not advisable after the onions and cabbage itself. The most optimal size of the onions (set) is 1 cm, maximum 1.5 cm in diameter.

We plant the onion sets correctly before winter

The technique of planting onion sets is simple. We make a bed 1 meter by 2 meters. For myself, I decided on the size of the garden based on the needs of my family for onions. We use this onion in summer and early autumn for food and salad preservation. For some, it will be a bed of 2 meters by 3 meters or more.

Digging up a plot, you can first sprinkle humus with half a bucket and a third of a bucket of sand. To make the earth lighter and richer in nutrients.

We level with a rake to small lumps. On the resulting plot, we make grooves 5 cm deep at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. I plant at a distance of 15 cm. With a bed width of 1 meter, there are 6 grooves.

The distance between the bulbs in a row is 15 cm.

On a length of 2 meters, 12 bulbs are placed. You can plant it more often with the expectation that if some do not ascend. But if the seedlings produce all the bulbs, I advise you to thin it out. Onions, like any plant, do not like thickening, they prefer freedom and airing. Therefore, I use a checkerboard landing pattern.

In addition, at such a distance, it is convenient to weed the bow and loosen the ground around. With a bed size of 1m x 2m, the number of planted bulbs is 72 pcs. (6 grooves x 12 bulbs in a row). After planting, we slightly compact the earth, this can be done with your hands. After the onset of the first real frosts, it is better to sprinkle the bed with sawdust so that the bulbs are warmer and dry branches. When the snow falls, do not be too lazy to throw it on the garden bed, and the twigs will help to hold it back. The snow creates a kind of blanket with air bubbles, which protects the plants from freezing.

How to water and fertilize onions planted before winter

As soon as our onion has risen, it is advisable to fertilize it. This is done in early spring. For these purposes, we use urea or superphosphate. Superphosphate 30-40 g / m2. Potassium chloride is added during the formation of the bulbs 10 g / m2. Water the onion in hot weather 2 times a week, 5-10 liters each. per 1 square meter. In rainy days, do not water at all.

A sign of onion ripening is the yellowing of the feather and its lodging. As soon as the onion has signaled to us that it is ready, we stop watering it. After 10-14 days, we dig the onion with a pitchfork, carefully manually free it from the ground and in this state we leave it in the garden for another 2 weeks until it dries completely. Then you can either tie the onion into braids or cut off the dried feather at a distance of 3-4 cm from the head. Store such onions at room temperature in a dry place.

And now that we have planted our onion, as I promised earlier, I will tell you in what ways you can reduce the number of tears when cleaning it. There are several ways and they are all aimed at reducing the amount of lacrimator released during cleaning and cutting onions.

Method 1. Moisten the knife with cold water while peeling, as well as spray the onion itself while cutting

Method 2. Before peeling, put the onion in the freezer for a few minutes

Method 3. Before cleaning, put the onion in the microwave for a few seconds

I hope these simple tips will help you. I wish you health, good mood and a good harvest!

I suggest you, dear readers, to read the article how to salt cabbage very, very, very tasty.

Yours faithfully,