IN middle lane In Russia, many grow in their garden beds onions. For maximum benefit, you need to know when to dig your onions. Today we will tell you when to dig up onions so that you get a wonderful harvest.
Before we talk about when to harvest onions, we will outline the main features that every farmer must observe when the harvest time comes. If you do everything correctly, the quality of your harvest will be excellent, and there will be very few spoiled vegetables (or none at all).
- Two weeks before harvesting the onions, stop watering them. This way you will give the vegetable time to dry slightly, which will have an extremely positive effect on the quality of the vegetables themselves and increase their shelf life.
- It is best to harvest vegetables in the morning, when the sun has just come out (or even a little earlier). In this case, it will be much easier for you to dry the onion, since just when you finish cleaning, you can immediately dry the onion in the sun.
- It is not recommended to simply pick up and pull the vegetable out of the ground. The necessary method is not to pull out, but to dig up the onion. You can also dig up the ground slightly first, and then carefully pull out the vegetable. If you dig using a fork (rather than a shovel), this will reduce the risk of possible damage to the vegetable if it were simply pulled out.
- Immediately after the onion has been dug up, it is necessary to lay it out on a cloth and let it dry under the warm rays of the sun. You can dry vegetables in an electric dryer, as well as on the balcony or loggia. Also take into account the fact that if the weather is rainy, you just need to place the onion under a canopy to dry it properly. For convenience, you can tie vegetables in a pigtail.
- It is not at all necessary to harvest the entire crop in one day. Although keep in mind that the harvesting itself should last no more than 10 days so that the crop does not become overripe.
What does it depend on and how to determine the timing
So, you planted onions. When to clean is a natural question. Collection times depend on several factors:
- Variety This factor is the most important, since there are varieties that ripen in record short terms, and there are also those that, once planted, have to wait quite a long time for harvest.
- Weather conditions. It also depends a lot on how hot or cold the summer is in your region and what the humidity level is. For example, if the weather is cold, then you will have to wait longer to pick onions.
You can determine when to harvest onions based on external indicators, using the mathematical method and the lunar calendar. Next we will look at all three methods.
By external signs
You can determine the timing of onion harvesting based on external signs. These include the following:
- The stems, which were green and succulent back in the summer, begin to dry out and turn yellow.
- The neck of the onion becomes thinner and softens. You may also notice how it is slowly drying out.
- Feathers that previously stood upright will fall on the bed. Here it is worth making a reservation and saying that if the summer turned out to be cool, you should not focus on this sign, since it will appear later than the bulb itself has ripened.
- You can also try to determine the degree of maturation of the crop based on the condition of the scales. To do this, you need to dig one onion from the ground and remove several scales from it. If they are completely dry and easily removed, this indicates the ripeness of the onion.
Mathematical method
If you are afraid of making a mistake about when to dig up onions, many farmers advise using the so-called mathematical method. It consists of adding 70 to 80 days to the date when the onions were planted.
It is important to consider the weather in your area during the summer: if the summer was dry and warm, the onions will ripen a little faster, but if the summer was rainy and damp, they will ripen a little longer. It is also necessary to take into account the ripening characteristics of each variety. For example, if you planted a late-ripening variety, you need to wait a little longer than 80 days.
If you purchased onion seeds, where the bag says that harvesting should be done on days 68–83, then you need to choose the average value (about 70–75 days). And with all this, do not forget to focus on the above external signs of maturity.
According to the lunar calendar
If you rely on lunar calendar, harvesting can be carried out in accordance with it. In this case, collection is carried out from mid-July to the first half of August. The moon must be waning at this time, and if there is a sudden deterioration in the weather, it is recommended not to delay and carry out the harvest.
In fact, the timing of onion harvesting in accordance with the lunar calendar is not much different from the usual harvesting timing. The only peculiarity is that harvesting procedures must be carried out on the waning moon. Also take into account the fact that different years The dates will shift slightly, so to get more accurate data, check out the lunar calendar for the current year.
In general, we can conclude that if you focus either on the lunar calendar or on the mathematical method, and at the same time carefully monitor external signs, the training will take place at the right time.
What is the danger of untimely harvesting of onions?
Why is it so important to harvest on time and not miss harvest deadlines? If you rush and harvest too early, it will store very poorly. The shelf life will be noticeably reduced because the vegetables will be unripe.
If you delay harvesting too much, you may encounter such an unpleasant phenomenon as rotting of the bulbs. When you dig the bulbs out of the ground and place them in the cellar, there is a very high probability that the rotting process will continue and the entire crop will deteriorate.
Therefore, do not rush to harvest in advance, but do not wait until the last minute. Collect onions on time, and they will be stored in your cellar for a long time.
When to trim onions for storage
Where to put the onions after harvesting? After the vegetables have been collected, they are sent for storage, but before that it is necessary to trim the onions to protect the crop from diseases and sprouting. This also makes storing onions much more convenient.
Usually this procedure is carried out after the onion is completely dry. On average, complete drying takes about two weeks, during which all pathogens are destroyed. You can periodically check whether the onion is dry using this method: you need to put it in one big pile and stick your hand in there, if it goes through, everything is fine.
The pruning method directly depends on what method you will use when storing vegetables during the winter. However, in any case, you need to trim the roots; everything else is removed if necessary. For example, if you plan to store the crop in a box, you will also need to trim the feather when the bulb has only a small tail, about 5 cm long.
Video “How to determine the ripeness of onions”
From this video you will learn when you can start harvesting onions.
Growing vegetables in the garden is not always easy, but sooner or later they ripen and it's time to harvest. It is important not to make a mistake when harvesting onion sets: I was a little ahead of my time - I collected unripe fruits, decided to wait - the vegetables eventually spoiled. Additional complexity is created by the regional climate: there is no universal deadline at which you can go to the garden and pick vegetables; you have to make simple calculations.
If you bake an onion before the onions are picked from the garden, they will all dry out.
The calculations are based on the onion ripening time: the arithmetic average is 70 days. In months, the average ripening period lasts from August to September. The number is affected by planting time and cultivation characteristics. Gardeners use various tricks to speed up ripening or, conversely, slow it down. The role of climate in calculating the ripening of vegetables is also strong.
In Siberia and the Urals, the weather in summer is unpredictable. The warm season may turn out to be really hot and dry, which will bring food harvesting closer. Another thing is a cool and wet summer, which often happens in the middle zone: in such weather, onions ripen longer. Harvesting time usually occurs shortly after the first night frosts appear at the end of summer.
The main sign by which gardeners choose when to remove onion sets from the garden is yellowing and drying of the leaves.
As soon as the plant almost falls to the ground and its neck becomes thin, gardeners arm themselves with buckets, baskets and spades. If you delay harvesting, the onion set will grow new roots after a week - such bulbs are poorly preserved in winter. If you start harvesting a vegetable before it shows signs of ripening, it will not form scales and the neck will be thick, which will lead to loss of harvested products. When the rainy season arrives, you will also have to remove unripe foods so as not to lose them.
Preparing for cleaning
If harvested correctly, it will retain nutrients and survive the winter in storage. To do this you need:
- First lay the onion sets on the ground if they have not drooped into the beds on their own.
- Stop watering.
- Harvest bulbs on warm and dry days, as dampness has a bad effect on the preservation of vegetables: they begin to rot.
- The harvesting of vegetables itself is not difficult work, but painstaking. Bulbs can easily be damaged by mechanical shocks or sudden movements, so it is advisable to remove them from the beds delicately and patiently, without pulling them out. The bulbs are carefully dug out along with the leaves; they try not to shake off the soil, wiping it off instead.
- Gardeners are in no hurry to put the crop away for storage immediately after harvesting. In good weather, the collected onion sets are laid out on beds so that they ripen and dry. IN last days During the summer, when vegetables are harvested, dew falls, from which the plants are covered with film. If the weather is not pleasant with sunshine and cloudless skies, the crop should be harvested under a canopy or in a ventilated room.
Drying onions in detail
The drying period is from six to ten days: during this time, beneficial nutrients pass from the leaves to the bulbs, after which the dried leaves and what remains of the roots are cut off with scissors. After cutting off excess vegetation, the onion sets are left to dry for a few more days. The neck of the onion should not be cut too short, as this can cause infection to enter the bulb.
During the first week, vegetables are dried at temperatures up to 30°C, then the products are kept for 12 hours at a temperature of 40°C, this disinfects the bulbs and increases their shelf life. If everything was done correctly, the risk of damage to the bulbs is reduced, and vegetables put aside for storage can delight gardeners all winter. There is no need to overdry the bulbs: because of this, the scales deteriorate, exposing the bulbs, and the harvest is not stored for long.
Proper storage of onions
The question of when to remove onion sets from the garden is very important, but the conditions for its storage are no less important. It is advisable to remove the dried crop to a warm and dry place. It would be more correct if sunlight does not fall on the vegetables. Typically, the collected products are kept in wooden boxes and nets. The shelf life is affected by temperature and humidity levels.
Bulbs intended for food are stored at an average temperature of 1–3 °C; onion sets are also kept in the same conditions, but for them you can use a room with a higher temperature - up to 20 °C. The humidity in the room should be at a level of up to 70 or 80%; this point must be carefully monitored, since at high humidity the bulbs “wake up” and germinate. Vegetables sent for storage begin to rot and become sick due to humid air, especially products that are not fully ripe are susceptible to this.
Before sending products to storage, they are checked for the presence of bulbs with damaged necks: these become victims of neck rot and are not stored for long. In the future, from time to time, the bulbs put away for storage will have to be checked and the sprouted and withered ones removed.
It is very important to remove the onions from the garden on time, otherwise they will not store well. If harvested a little too early or a little late, the entire crop may simply rot. Therefore, you should be responsible when choosing the day to collect this vegetable.
The biological maturity of onions is the cessation of growth and readiness for the winter dormant period. A mature one has a fully formed “shirt” consisting of dry, dense scales. This cover protects the bulb from penetration of bacteria and fungal spores, and from evaporation of the moisture contained in it.
Onions are harvested from late July to September. Even for one region there is no common day. The timing of harvesting depends on several factors, primarily on the degree of ripening of the vegetable in each specific bed.
Whether onions are ready for harvest can be determined in several ways.
Onion growing season
Onions are planted in May - June. Accordingly, they are harvested in July–August. You need to have time to harvest before the onset of the rainy season, otherwise excess moisture and cold will lead to fungal diseases and rotting of the bulbs.
Different varieties have different ripening rates. The growing season can range from 65 to 130 days. Most varieties are ready for harvesting 70–80 days after planting. But the weather can affect the timing of ripening: in a hot summer, the crop will ripen earlier, in rainy and cold summers - later.
Northern varieties, especially spicy ones, are stored better than southern ones due to high content sugars, essential oils and dry substances.
Onions planted in the fall are removed from the garden about a month earlier than those planted in the spring.
Average time to harvest onions by region:
Somewhat earlier than the turnips, the family onions are ready for harvesting.
In most cases, sets ripen quickly. It is dug out from the garden when the feather turns yellow and begins to press against the ground.
Shallots are harvested as soon as the feather falls. Otherwise, it will accumulate moisture and germinate.
Leeks are harvested later - at the beginning of October; they can be kept in the garden almost until frost.
Signs of harvest maturity
When determining the timing of onion harvesting, you cannot rely only on its growing season. Visual signs of maturity are much more reliable.
The onion is ripe if:
- new feathers do not grow;
- the false stem has become soft and pliable;
- the feather has dried out and turned yellow;
- the upper scales have dried and acquired the light characteristic of the variety;
- most of the feathers died;
- The neck has dried out and become thinner.
It is necessary to remove onions from the beds before all the leaves fall, because then they will already be overripe. At this time, its roots begin to grow again. This vegetable will not be stored.
What to do if the feather does not turn yellow
It happens that the time for harvesting has long come, but the onions are still green. There is no need to wait too long for the leaves to yellow, since when rainy weather sets in, it will be difficult to preserve the bulbs.
A week before cleaning, you can do the following:
- slightly lift the bulbs: pull with your hands (only if the soil is loose);
- carefully dig with a pitchfork;
- move the soil away from the heads, exposing them;
- Carefully trim the roots with a sharp tool 5 cm from the bottom.
This will disrupt the nutrition of the vegetables and cause them to dry out. Nutrients from the tops will begin to flow into the bulb, which is why it will ripen quickly. The above-ground part should not be disturbed: pick or cut off the leaves, such actions will lead to diseases.
Only the set, since its feather is thinner and softer, can be “slammed” - carefully, without breaking, pressed to the ground, for example, with a wide, flat board.
How to properly dig from the garden
About 2 weeks, or better yet a month before harvesting, stop watering the onions. This will prevent rotting and the formation of new roots and allow the heads to fully ripen.
Harvest onions from the beds in dry, clear, preferably windy, weather. Ideally, no rain is expected in the next 2 weeks.
You can do it this way:
- Pull the bulbs by the neck with your hands. You can do this provided that the soil is soft and the turnips can be easily removed without being damaged.
- Remove with a fork. This is a more gentle method that protects the bulbs from damage.
- Dig with a shovel. To avoid cutting the bulbs, the blade is driven into the ground 10 cm from the rows.
The pen should remain intact. Bulbs whose tops have been torn off are not stored; they are immediately used for cooking. The same is done with heads, the neck of which has not dried out at the time of harvesting and remains juicy and thick.
If soil is stuck to the turnips, you need to clean it off carefully. You cannot knock the bulbs against a shovel or against each other: this will damage them, and then they will quickly begin to rot. If necessary, remove excess soil with your hands without damaging the scales.
Other types of onions are also harvested in this way. But shallots quickly begin to germinate, so the timing of its harvesting must be strictly adhered to. The healthy leaves of the leek are left, the rest are removed.
Harvesting in rainy weather
If the summer is rainy and sunny weather is not expected, and the time for harvesting the onions has approached, you will have to dig on a cloudy day. It is advisable that there is no rain at this time. Collected from wet soil, it will not only take a long time to dry, but will also be poorly stored.
The harvested onions are left under a canopy for several days. The leaves can be cut off as soon as they dry out.
In exceptional cases, when the bulbs are completely wet, the leaves and roots are immediately cut off and the upper scales are cleaned off. The onions are laid out in 1 row. Such a crop is placed in a dry, warm room for about 20 days to dry and form a new husk.
How to cut and dry
After harvesting from the beds, the onions are dried for about two weeks, otherwise they will not be stored. Conditions for good drying: heat and air access.
Drying methods
The simplest and most reliable method is drying in the garden, provided that the weather is sunny. The bulbs are laid out one at a time, feathers facing the furrow. This is done so that they can be easily turned over. At night they are taken under a canopy or covered from dew with film.
In rainy weather, onions are not laid out in beds, but taken under the roof to a dry room. The place should be well ventilated. It is even advisable to create a draft.
The bulbs need to be stirred frequently, turning the other side. For constant air access, it is convenient to lay them out on a grid.
Sometimes the bulbs are dried in the oven. But with this method there is a risk of losing the entire harvest. This is worth doing if it was collected in wet weather, when you need to save the turnip from rotting. Dry at a temperature no higher than +44°C and no longer than 8 hours. A more gentle drying mode is 5 days at +33°C.
After cutting, the testes are left in a dry place to ripen for about 20 days. They are laid out in one layer and constantly turned, since there is a danger of germination, mold and even spontaneous combustion.
Pruning rules
Feathers and roots are trimmed when the onion is slightly dry. This will protect the turnip from diseases, the pathogens of which can penetrate through a fresh cut. But if this is not done in time, the bulbs will not be able to dry properly.
The neck cannot be cut all the way to the bulb, otherwise it will rot during storage. The leaves are cut off, leaving 4–5 cm. They are left only if you plan to store the onions in wreaths or braids. The roots are removed carefully, leaving 0.5–1 cm to the bottom of the bulb.
Leeks are washed before storage.
How to tell if an onion is dry
When determining the readiness of onions for storage, you should not be guided only by the approximate drying times.
There are several signs that the heads are completely dry:
- rustling when turned over;
- the scales begin to fall off;
- the color of the husk becomes golden;
- the neck becomes thinner;
- You can easily put your hand under the layer of onion.
Do not overdry the bulbs, otherwise the protective scales will crack. The inner layers will be exposed, and the crop will not be stored well.
Storing onions at home
Before storing the onions, sort them again. Heads whose keeping quality is in doubt are set aside. They need to be used first.
These are bulbs that:
- they threw off the husks;
- began to sprout;
- the neck is not dry;
- soft to the touch;
- covered with mold;
- have no bottom (removed by careless cutting).
Onions damaged during harvesting should not be stored in the refrigerator. In such conditions it will quickly rot. You can grease the cut or sprinkle it with salt, place it in a container with cold water, wrap cling film. But damaged heads are still not stored for longer than five days.
Storage location
Before the onset of cold weather, the bulbs are kept in an unheated room, for example, in the attic.
In winter, the heads should be kept warm, dry, in the absence sunlight. Mezzanines or storage rooms and cellars are well suited for the house.
Onion storage temperature is from 0°C to +20°C. The turnip does not tolerate high humidity and its fluctuations.
Storage methods
The bulbs are laid in layers up to 30 cm. For storage use:
- baskets are convenient compact containers that allow air to pass through well;
- drawers - there must be cracks or holes for air circulation;
- cardboard boxes - slits are pre-made in the walls;
- nylon stockings - well ventilated, convenient to hang on walls;
- bags - the onions “breathe” in them.
Onions are often braided for storage. With this method, it practically does not rot, even if the onions are not completely dry. Among the advantages of braids is the ability to take the head you like without disturbing the rest.
For weaving, a rope (twine, tourniquet) is used. By wrapping the string around the neck of the onion, a braid is formed. A loop is made at the end for hanging. Place the braids where there is no direct sunlight.
To protect against diseases and rot before storing, you can:
- sprinkle the turnips with chalk - 10 kg of vegetables will require 200 g;
- grease the bottom with lime paste (whitewash);
- burn the roots.
Onions treated this way will not germinate. But it is only good for food, and it will not be possible to plant it.
The sets are stored like onions. But the container with it does not need to be moved from place to place: the onions can rot or dry out.
Heirloom onions can be divided or saved as whole nests.
Shallots are best stored braided. Before this, the green part of the leaves is cut off.
The leeks are not completely dried. The leaves are not trimmed before storage, only the tops are shortened slightly. The leeks are placed in boxes with sand placed in the basement. Wrapped in plastic, can be stored in the refrigerator for a short time.
All varieties are sorted out in winter and the rotten heads are thrown away. They do this at least twice even when the bad bulbs were not noticed. But if you come across a rotten one, the entire container needs to be reconsidered immediately: the disease is instantly transmitted to neighboring heads, and you can quickly lose the entire harvest.
Onions are a necessary and sought-after vegetable in a gardener’s garden, without which it is impossible to imagine a person’s life. This root vegetable is used to prepare every dish, with the exception of dessert.
It is for this reason that gardeners and gardeners grow this vegetable in their summer cottages. Onions are not a demanding crop, but still, some rules for timely cessation of watering, collection, digging and storage must be followed.
In order to prevent the vegetable from not ripening or overripening, the time to harvest onions and how to properly collect and store onions will be discussed in the article.
When to stop watering onions?
Before you start harvesting onions, you need to carefully inspect them. In the twentieth of July, watering onions in the beds should be stopped. During this period of time, excessive moisture will only harm the vegetable and reduce its shelf life. According to gardeners, in July the area sown with onions should be covered with a plastic or fabric covering. Using this method, the plant will be protected for a long time and will not be afraid of heavy rains. When the harvest time comes, the vegetable will be high quality and can be stored for a long time.
When to remove onions from the garden
Collect onions in last days July or early August. However, it is worth taking into account the climate of the area, the type of vegetable and weather conditions. The most optimal definition of onion ripening is considered external factors. The upper scales of the root crop should dry well, and the stems should be completely dry and yellowed.
If you carefully dig up a vegetable with a pitchfork, you can easily determine its ripeness. The bulb should be firm and the neck and root system dry.
How can we determine everything? exact time harvesting onions? This is precisely the question that interests gardeners and gardeners. The most reliable way to calculate the deadline is a mathematical scheme. General period Root ripening is 68–83 days. These numbers should be added to the onion planting date. However, do not forget about the weather conditions in the summer. If the summer was dry and hot, then the cleaning time can be shortened, and if there have been rains and cool air throughout the entire season, then, on the contrary, you can delay cleaning. 
How to properly dig onions
A favorable time for digging onions is the period when there is no rain. At this time, the soil is quite dry and the vegetable does not have to be dried for a long time; literally five days in the sun and the bulbs are put into storage.
Light digging is done on peat and sandy soil. If the soil cover is dense and loamy, then the vegetable should be harvested with special care. There is no need to pull it out, otherwise the bulb will lose its stem and simply rot. Therefore, it is better to use a fork, which should be stuck between the ridges at a small distance from the vegetable, slightly lifting the soil layer. With proper cleaning, the bulb can be dug out with ease.
If there is soil stuck to the root vegetable, clean it with your hands, wearing cloth gloves with rubber grains. Tap the onion on hard surface it is forbidden. Since mechanical damage will lead to rotting of the vegetable and poor storage. 
After harvesting, leave the onions to dry in the sun until the evening, turning the root crop regularly. Then put the vegetables in a shed, attic or greenhouse for another 2-3 days until completely dry. When the bulbs are completely dry, use scissors to trim off the roots and stumps, leaving a neck of about five centimeters.
Damaged bulbs long time They will not be stored, but they are great for salads and various dishes.
Harvesting onions during the rain
What to do if the time has come to harvest onions, but the weather is not good, there are heavy rains, the soil is wet and cold? Option one is to remove the root crop from the wet soil! When the vegetable has been harvested, it must be washed and the tops, roots and husks cleaned. After this, put the culture in one line and let it dry for three to four weeks. The room for storing onions should be well ventilated. If you follow these harvesting rules, then the root crop harvested in rainy weather will be stored no worse than the crop harvested in hot weather. 
There are cases when onions are grown in moist soil with a high nitrogen content. In order for a dug vegetable from such soil to be stored for a long time, it should be dried at least twice. The root crop must be kept at a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius for at least eight hours, then it must be sprinkled with chalk.
If you adhere to the rules, the harvest will not be susceptible to infectious diseases and will be able to last until spring, retaining all its taste.
How to dry onions correctly
Storing onions directly depends on the efficiency and correctness of drying. If the gardener is constantly at his dacha plot, then the vegetable can be dried directly on the beds. The bulbs should be laid out on a flat area, roots in one direction, tops in the other, for one week.
If it rains, you can dry the vegetable under a canopy using the same laying out method. You can also weave the bulbs into braids, drying them in a room where there is ventilation. If a summer resident lives in an apartment and does not have the opportunity to dry the onions on the beds, then the resulting harvest is dried in the oven.
To do this, set the oven to the minimum temperature and make sure that the crop does not dry out and that the scales do not crack. For further storage, sort the root vegetables and select damaged and sprouted bulbs. 
How to store onions at home
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When the vegetables are sorted and dried, the harvest should be placed in a special tank. You can use: bags (made of fabric), boxes (wooden), baskets, or nylon stockings. If the harvest is stored in boxes or boxes, then the height of the winter storage container should not exceed 25 centimeters, they should be equipped with well-ventilated openings.
Watch the video convenient way storing onion sets
Onions that will be stored in bags or nets should be poured no higher than 35 centimeters.
Important: it is forbidden to store the culture in plastic bags. He won't get it required quantity air, which will lead to fogging and rotting of the fruit.
In order for the bulbs to last as long as possible during storage, they should be systematically sorted and damaged roots removed. If the onion becomes raw, it should be dried and transferred to a dried container. Such actions will keep the crop in perfect condition until spring.
Conclusion.
Properly harvesting, drying and storing onions is not a difficult task. If the root crop is ripe and dry, then at a certain temperature it can be stored for a long time. By following the recommendations for harvesting and storing the harvest, you will have a healthy and tasty product on your table throughout the year - onions!
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Onion sets are an important planting material. The onion yield next year depends on its quality. The set is obtained by sowing nigella seeds. Onion sets are sold in stores and on the market, but experienced gardeners grow them themselves, from seeds.
To get a high yield of onion in the future, you need to be able to correctly determine when to remove onion sets from the garden. It ripens 85-95 days after sowing. But this does not mean that after this period you should immediately start digging it out of the ground.
Onion sets are harvested depending on natural conditions region and weather factors during the harvesting period. You shouldn’t start cleaning too early, but you shouldn’t delay it either. The usual harvesting period is from late July to early September. We need to do this before the rainy season.
If dew begins to appear on the grass in the morning, and the nights become cooler, then you should not delay harvesting the onion sets.
There are certain signs that show that the onion set is fully ripe and you can remove it from the garden:
There is no need to wait for the leaves to lie down. When harvested too late, ripe onions begin to sprout new roots. Such bulbs are stored worse, and when planted next year they will begin to bolt.
If the summer is rainy, you should not wait for the bulb to fully ripen. It is better to collect early and dry to avoid rotting and disease. To speed up the ripening of onions, you can trim the roots 10-15 days before harvesting with a knife or hoe 5-6 cm below the bottom.
Onion sets left standing in rainy weather will grow, will not be stored well, and when planted in the spring, mass flowering may begin.
Cleaning and stopping watering
You should start digging in dry weather. It is not advisable to dig up the seedlings with a shovel or pull them out with your hands. It's best to dig it up with a pitchfork. You can leave the onions in the garden until the evening so that the soil dries out. Then free the bulbs from adhering soil.
You cannot hit the bow on the ground. It is better to peel the bulbs with your hands, shaking them lightly. The sevka must be handled very carefully. Even the smallest scratches and damage can lead to disease and rot.
Some people, when it comes time to harvest onion sets, to reduce the time, first cut off all the dry leaves and then dig up a bed. But experts recommend cutting the tops as late as possible in order to prevent pathogens from penetrating inside the bulb.
The closer the onion is to ripening, the more attentive you need to be to its condition. Onions require careful care. During the growing season, it must be weeded several times, fertilized, and watered.
All onion plants require regular but moderate watering. They are watered immediately after planting, then every 7-10 days during May, June and the first ten days of July. Then you should repeat this much less often. 20 days before harvesting, watering stops.
The right moment can be determined by the condition of the bulb. By this time it was completely formed. If you continue to water, the onions will grow further, but the onions need to mature before harvesting, not their further growth.
Another sign that it is no longer worth watering is the yellowing and complete lodging of the leaves - it’s time to start harvesting.
How to dry onion sets
After finishing harvesting the onion sets, you should dry them for a week or two. During this time, the bulbs have time to absorb all the beneficial substances from the leaves and dry out. And the leaves finally dry out. To do this, spread the onion in a thin layer on a dry surface. From time to time you should stir the scattered onions to dry evenly.
Usually dry in a well-ventilated and sunny place: under a canopy, on a veranda or attic. Best in a draft. If weather permits, the first stage of drying can be carried out directly in the garden bed.
Insufficiently dried onions do not store well. It is susceptible to various diseases: downy mildew, neck rot. This initial stage drying After it, you need to cut off all the leaves, leaving a neck of 2-3 cm. You should also cut off the roots right under the heel of the bulb, without touching it.
The second stage of drying requires a room with a temperature of 25-30 C o. At the end of drying, the temperature is raised to 40 C and the seedlings are left for another half a day.
This kills all bacteria, allowing you to better preserve the crop. You cannot over-dry, otherwise the scales will begin to peel off and crack. Properly dried onions have a solid, hard husk, rustle in your hands, and have no foreign odors.
Preparation for storage
The main task of the gardener is not only to harvest the seedlings on time and dry them correctly, but also to preserve them until spring. After drying, the onions should be sorted and sorted. For planting, bulbs 1.5-2 cm in size are selected. Healthy ones are selected, without damage or rot. One rotten spot can ruin the entire harvest.
To sort the sets, use a calibration sieve with different sizes holes. But you can do this manually. Typically, onions are divided into three types:
In order to reap a high harvest next year, some gardeners plant very small seedlings in the ground in the fall. Unlike home storage, such seedlings are preserved very well in the soil. In spring it quickly emerges, does not send out flower stalks, and forms large number large bulbs.
Although the selection produces larger fruits, its overall yield is much lower than that of a standard set. Sometimes a large set yields an arrow. Medium-sized sets are considered the best and most proven. It provides the largest harvest.
How to store onion sets
You can store the collected seedlings in the basement, room or pantry. The room should be dry and cool. In a room with high humidity, onions begin to rot. The first sign of rot is the appearance of midges. In this case, you need to sort out the onions, dry them well and move them to a drier room.
To preserve the harvest, boxes, fabric (preferably gauze) bags or baskets are used. Some gardeners use nylon stockings. You can sprinkle a thin layer on a shelf or basement floor. Place onions in a 6-7 cm layer in boxes, and pour no more than 3-4 kilograms into bags.
Storage temperature from 10 to 25 C, humidity - no more than 65%. There are varieties that require lower temperatures. But temperature fluctuations should not be allowed. As a result, the onions begin to deteriorate and when planted, they begin to sprout flower stalks.
Very good way onion storage - underground:
Onions remain fresh until spring. In the spring, such onions from a bucket cannot be stored for a long time; they must be planted within a week, otherwise they cannot withstand temperature changes and begin to deteriorate.
Conclusion
Onion sets are very unpretentious and produce a good harvest both in open and closed ground. It can also be grown in greenhouses.
To obtain consistently large onion yields, the gardener needs to plant seeds and get a good onion set. And next year, grow large onions from this set. To do this, it is important to be able to grow, collect onion sets according to all the rules and store them until next spring.
The recommended measures give complete confidence in the quality of the seed, that it was stored properly and is not contaminated with diseases. Our own material is grown on our own site and adapted to the composition of the soil.
In addition, even the most experienced gardener will not always be able to select the right seeds on the counter and be confident in their quality.
Therefore, only onion sets grown with your own hands guarantee a high yield of onions.