How to plant onion sets in Siberia
Growing vegetables on your own plot ensures that you have fresh and safe produce. How to plant onion sets in Siberia? The peculiarities of the climate require different approaches to cultivation and selection of varieties. In the review, we will analyze the most proven and effective points in breeding a popular spice.
Onions in Siberia
Choosing a site
Growing vegetables in harsh weather conditions requires maximum attention from the gardener. One mistake will lead to the complete destruction of the crop, while even the most resistant varieties will not help. To avoid unnecessary hassle, the first step is to find a suitable place for the vegetables.
Before planting onion sets in Siberia, you should know one of its characteristic features: the culture prefers well-lit areas - the beds need to be broken in a sunny and ventilated sector of the garden. The plant does not tolerate acidic soils, so they are alkalized in advance with wood ash or lime.
The place for vegetables is prepared in the fall. Professionals dig up the territory with the subsequent application of organic fertilizers. In the spring, before starting work, minerals are added to the ground (in grams per 1 sq. M):
- potassium sulfate - 30;
- ammonium nitrate - 20;
- superphosphate - 40.
To avoid common diseases, it is worth remembering the rules of crop rotation. Gardeners do not advise planting onions in one place for several years in a row, as well as after carrots and garlic. Recommended predecessors are:
- cabbage;
- legumes;
- zucchini.
Before starting work, be sure to remove the remnants of weeds and cultivated plants. Such attentiveness will protect you from future problems. If the vegetables were sore on the site, then we advise you to pickle the soil in the fall.
Varieties
It will not work to grow very large turnips with seeds in a harsh cold climate. Greenhouse varieties are only suitable for feather cultivation. Professionals recommend using a shallow set.
Onion varieties for Siberia are strong plants that quickly form beautiful heads. The breeders did their best and presented many interesting vegetables. The most popular types:
- Yukont;
- Siberian annual;
- Black Prince;
- Siberia.
We also recommend planting resistant, fruitful hybrids:
- Sterling F1;
- Daytona F1;
- Candy F1.
Before buying, you should pay attention to the shape and size of the heads. Too large ones often give a lot of arrows, therefore it is recommended to purchase small and medium sets. Oblong bulbs will delight you with round turnips, and flat varieties can boast of an ideal oval. It is important to carefully examine the material and read the description, and not choose products solely from the photo.
Sowing preparation
The cultivation of vegetables requires the right preliminary measures. When growing onion sets in Siberia, you need to process the planting material. In this way, plants can be protected from common diseases.
Add 2 tbsp to 5 liters of water. l. rock salt.Turnips are soaked in this liquid for 24 hours, then they are transferred to a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes, after which they are immediately planted.
Fungal infections are the main scourge of onions, so a different method is used. Sevok is heated in water for 10 hours at a temperature not higher than 40 ° C, then disinfected for 15 minutes in a weak solution of copper sulfate. Before sowing, the material is sprayed with growth stimulants.
If there is no desire to warm the bulbs for a long time, they can be lowered for a quarter of an hour in water at a temperature of 55 ° C, then for the same time in cold water. At the end, you need to treat with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Spring work
When to plant onion sets in Siberia? In a harsh climate, several proven schemes are used, but a friendly full-fledged harvest can be obtained only during spring work. Small seeding material does not give arrows, therefore it is most often used for growing turnips.
May is the best month for agricultural work. The timing fluctuates depending on the warming up of the soil. The ground temperature during landing should not be less than 8 ° C.
The seed beds are broken according to the following scheme (in centimeters):
- width - 100;
- distance between rows - 15;
- distance between turnips - 10;
- depth - 2.
Before planting in the spring, the soil is moistened, loosened and cleaned of weeds. For disinfection, it is advised to pour boiling water over the wells, and postpone the work for a day. After the activities are completed, the place is thoroughly mulched.
When grown by seeds, the deepening of the grains should not exceed 2 cm, while the distance is reduced to 1.5. The works take place at the same time. In difficult climatic conditions, it will not be possible to grow full-fledged heads in one year. All seedlings are used on a feather.
Winter onion
When are onions planted in Siberia? Some gardeners are experimenting with frost-resistant varieties and sowing vegetables in the fall. To do this, select a material whose diameter does not exceed 3 cm.
The first decade of October is the best option for work. In these terms, the possibility of late germination is excluded. The bulbs are buried deeper, not forgetting after the events about mulching with sawdust and straw.
The Siberian climate makes it difficult to grow onions in the fall. To save the winter planting from the early cold weather, you can cover the seed beds with a thick layer of coniferous paws. The higher the reinforcement, the more reliably the turnip is hidden. Such caution will protect the future crop from freezing in dry seasons. Perennial varieties adapt perfectly to winter, and in spring they delight gardeners with young greens.
Top dressing
Until the first leaves appear, work on the beds is limited to watering as the soil dries. After three feathers crawl out in place of the seeds, you can proceed to more serious procedures. Often at this stage, inexperienced gardeners make mistakes.
Fertilization is a key element in onion care. Depending on what is planned to be grown, certain drugs are used. Organics are used for growing on a feather, and minerals will become indispensable for obtaining large heads.
The first feeding consists of phosphate and ammonia agents dissolved in warm water. Agrarians recommend using ready-made specialized mixtures that are designed specifically for this culture. The second application is carried out in a month.
An excess of nutrients is just as harmful as a deficiency, so you cannot regularly "feed" onions. Before the procedure, the soil is loosened, irrigated, and only then fertilizers are used. If you apply chemicals on dry ground, then you can burn the delicate roots.
Care
How to water onions? In the conditions of the Siberian climate, in the first month, procedures are carried out once a week, then the moisture period is increased by half. In dry summers, it is allowed to add a little number of events.
Moisture intensity is most closely monitored in spring.During this period, the formation of the root system and the growth of greenery occurs. An excess of fluid will lead to decay and disease, and a lack of fluid will lead to starvation. A negative fluctuation will definitely affect the taste of onions.
Loosening is an important maintenance element. The crop does not tolerate oxygen deficiency, so it is important to plant vegetables on soils that allow air to pass through well. Weeding will get rid of the weeds regularly. The best way to make work easier is to mulch the garden.
Diseases and pests
Ignoring the rules of care causes infections to appear. Excess moisture in the soil and high temperatures provoke the onset of fusarium bottom. It affects annual onions, as a result of which the stored turnips become soft and disappear.
Wet bacterial rot appears towards the end of the growing season. You can only see the signs when the head is cut. For several weeks, vegetables do not show symptoms of the disease, but then they massively lose their presentation.
Rusty "mosaic" spots on feathers are fungal spores. As the infection develops, the formation of ground and underground parts stops. The pathogen hibernates in plant debris and is able to withstand the most squeaky frosts. Regular destruction of weeds and straw will keep your garden beds safe.
At the end of May, the onion fly lays its eggs under dry seed scales or in the soil next to crops. After a week, the hungry larvae penetrate the turnip and gradually eat the vegetable. During the summer, at least 2 generations of pests come out.
To get rid of the insect, spraying with Metaphos is carried out. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to plant carrots nearby. The specific aroma repels the fly.
Whitish spots on the feather are traces of the vital activity of onion thrips. A small pest sucks the nutritious juice from the greenery, causing the leaves to dry out and break. Preparing seeds for planting and observing the rules of crop rotation will help to get rid of parasites.
Harvest
You need to dig out the onions when new greens stop forming. During this period, the feathers dry and lie on the ground. Watering is stopped a few weeks before the final procedures. This trick slows down the accumulation of moisture, which provokes rotting during storage.
The best early ripening variety for Siberia has time to fully mature and form protective scales. Before harvesting, it is recommended to dig one turnip. The presence of a thick neck and light husk indicates that the culture is not yet ready for storage.
Cleaning is carried out in dry windy weather. You need to dig carefully, trying not to damage the bulbs. Injuries and cuts negatively affect the keeping quality of the product. Do not bang your heads on the surface. The entire harvested crop is laid out to dry in the fresh air. To speed up the process, the vegetables are manually turned over within 2 weeks.
Planting onion seeds in Siberia is an important and responsible procedure. Our recommendations will help you decide on the choice of an early ripening variety and teach you how to plant sevok correctly in harsh climatic conditions.