At all times, onions have been one of the most valuable crops grown by novice and experienced vegetable growers. Many gardeners for these purposes acquire ready-made planting material, but in order to achieve a guaranteed successful result, it is better to grow seeds yourself. However, not everyone knows how to grow onion seeds at home. Experienced growers argue that the process of growing planting material does not require special skills.
In this article we will talk about the technology of growing onion seeds, the features of their collection and storage.
Selection of uterine heads
The advantage of seeds grown independently is their high quality. It is due to the fact that the seed is grown in the climatic zone where it will subsequently be used. Onion from its own seeds is more resistant to disease and better stored. But in order to get the best quality planting material, you need to choose healthy uterine bulbs. This is done in several stages:
1. The crop is being sorted. As the uterine bulbs, the most even samples are selected. The size of the head can vary from 5 to 10 centimeters in diameter. It depends on the variety.
2. It is necessary to sift the bulbs with rot, stains and mechanical damage. This will allow you to select higher quality material.
3. When healthy uterine bulbs are selected, they should be placed in a warm, dry place. There they must be at least three months old. Due to this, they will grow more surface flakes.
Before placing them in storage, the bulbs are heated at a temperature of 40 degrees for eight hours. This will protect them from peronosporosis, rot and other diseases.
Storage
After heat treatment, the bulbs should be placed in a room with a temperature of 2 to 7 degrees. It is important at the same time not to allow hypothermia, since because of this the bow may not give the arrow.
A month before the onion is planted in the ground, the room must be heated to 15 degrees. This is necessary in order to start growth processes in the planting material. Before direct landing, sorting is again performed. Unfit bulbs with signs of rot and other diseases are discarded.
How to grow onion seeds
Today, there are several different methods of growing planting material. Before you start planting onions on seeds, you should decide how this will be done. The methods are as follows:
- sowing seeds in early spring;
- late autumn before the start of winter;
- germination of seedlings and their subsequent planting in the spring.
In the first and last version, onions are sown immediately after thawing the soil. Using this technique, you can get a rich harvest in one season. It is noteworthy that it is worth starting seedlings to be prepared already in February. This is necessary in order to land in the ground in mid-April.
If the autumn landing method is chosen, then it is important to know one nuance. Sowing should be done only after the first frost. The soil will freeze in this case, and this will guarantee that the seeds do not germinate in the fall.
Experienced growers argue that the planting method is not of particular importance. It is much more important to properly treat the soil before sowing.
How to prepare the ground
Before starting planting seeds, you need to determine the location. It is recommended to stop the choice in sunny places. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to what was planted in the previous year. The soil will be ideal for onions, if earlier it was grown cucumbers, potatoes or cabbage. These vegetables contribute to the enrichment of the soil with nitrogen.
If last year these cultures did not grow there or a new place was chosen, then it will be enough to enrich it. For this purpose, both mineral and organic fertilizers are suitable.
The next step will be the preparation of the garden. As a rule, for sowing onions they are made no more than 0.8 meters wide and up to 15 centimeters high. When digging the beds, you need to make compost. Its share should not exceed 3 kilograms per 1 square meter. Compost will make the soil more loose, and it will breathe better. If fertilizer is applied to the soil, then it must be thoroughly mixed with the soil. As an additional top dressing, superphosphates can be used. An excellent option would be ordinary wood ash.
When the preparation of the future beds is completed, it must be treated with copper sulfate. This substance produces a disinfecting effect, which helps to prevent a number of onion diseases. A solution of vitriol is made at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water. After processing, the bed must be covered with a film and left for two days.
Planting onions
Before growing onion seeds, the necks of the uterine heads are cut, so they will give quick shoots.
Before starting planting, you should mark the garden bed. This is necessary so that the rows are even, which will facilitate the installation of drip irrigation. Marking can be done using a tape measure and cord tension. When this stage is completed, furrows are made on the bed. Their depth should not exceed two centimeters. It is important to observe the distance between the furrows. It should be at least 5 centimeters. A shorter distance can negatively affect the size of the future crop.
Seeds must be laid so that the seeds do not lie tightly. After that, you need to slightly compact the soil and gently pour.
To accelerate seedlings, the bed can be covered with polyethylene. At the same time, it is important that the distance between it and the surface of the earth is at least 30 centimeters, otherwise crop shoots can get a sunburn. This method helps to maintain the desired humidity and provide the plant with a favorable microclimate.
The first shoots are small loops. These are onion cotyledons. After germination, 85-90% of the seeds need to be thinned out, keeping a distance of up to two centimeters between them.
It is noteworthy that if several different varieties are planted on the bed at once, then they need to be placed away from each other. This will prevent pollination.
Care
In order to get high-quality planting material, you need not only to properly plant the uterine bulbs in the ground. Equally important is the proper regular care for them. Compliance with several rules for the care of onions will provide an excellent final result.
Regular weeding and watering
The garden is recommended to weed weekly. However, this recommendation is not relevant for all regions. Therefore, experienced vegetable growers are advised to pay attention to the intensity of weed growth. It is noteworthy that the most important weeding will be during periods of vegetation, growth and flowering arrows. In addition to weeding, at this time, culture needs a large amount of water. For watering, it is recommended to use drip tapes. Such a water supply system will supply moisture exactly under the roots of the plant and do not wash them out.
Disinfection
To protect the plant from a harmful fungus, it is recommended to treat it with Bordeaux liquid. In this case, the solution should be one percent. This remedy protects onions from peronosporosis and other varieties of rot.
Support
After the bow has launched arrows, it is important not to let them fall. To do this, stakes are driven between onion bushes and several ropes are pulled. They support the arrows and do not let them fall. It is noteworthy that this measure is most relevant for large varieties of onions.
How and when to collect seeds
Black onion can give a large amount of planting material, if you correctly select the right variety. Thanks to this, you can significantly reduce the cost of seeds and get a good harvest.
In order to get a truly high-quality planting material, you need to know exactly the time and timing of collecting onion seeds. Cleaning should begin with the appearance of cracked boxes on umbrellas. They contain nigella seeds. They have a black color. For this feature, they got the name "black onion." It is noteworthy that this procedure consists of several stages. This is due to the uneven maturation of bolls and seeds.
The time for collecting chernushka seeds falls in the middle of summer, but on condition that there was arid weather. However, if the summer was rainy, then the cleaning may be delayed until mid-August. If for some reason the onion seeds are not ripe, and frosts are foreseen, experienced vegetable growers recommend pulling out the bulbs and letting them ripen in the room. This measure will help preserve planting material.
Scissors were usually used to cut umbrellas from the uterine bulb. It is important to understand here that scrapping them by hand will not give a good result. This is due to the fact that with this method of collecting onion seeds, it is possible to spill seeds on the ground. In addition, you can leave a small part of the arrow. This will facilitate storage of onion seeds. Arrows are tied together and hung over sheets of paper.
After the umbrellas have completely dried out, they are peeled off by hand, separating the planting material. You can also use water. Umbrellas are poured with it, while the seeds go to the bottom, and the remains of the husk remain on the surface. But this method has a significant minus - a lot of seeds are thrown out with the waste.
How to store chernushka
Malok grow onion seeds - you still need to save them until the next planting season. To ensure greater safety, it is necessary to properly carry out their drying. It will help prevent the formation of rot and seed diseases. In order to save 85-90% of planting material until the next season, it is necessary to dry the onion in three stages:
- After harvesting, keep the seeds for a week in a warm room with a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius;
- The second stage - increasing the temperature to +30. In such conditions, onions are kept for 7 days.
- The final period involves raising the temperature to 35 degrees Celsius. Seeds under its influence are in the room for another week.
In order to maintain the desired temperature, you can use ordinary household heaters and radiator batteries.
After that, the seeds are sorted and rejected. Seeds with defects and signs of disease are rejected. Good heads fold into wooden boxes or fabric bags. They are placed in a dark room where they should be stored at an average temperature of 15-20 degrees. It is recommended to sort the seeds monthly, since the appearance of rot on the heads is not completely ruled out.