Bulb vegetables are grown as annual or biennial plants, except for chives and seven-year-olds. They have a characteristic taste and smell, thanks to essential oils. The essential oils contained in onions and garlic have antiseptic and healing properties. Due to their shallow root system, onion vegetables have high soil and fertilization requirements, they are very sensitive to weed infestation. In turn, they are resistant to low temperatures – except onions, they can winter in the ground.
Onion
Onion is a very valuable vegetable; is characterized by high nutritional and biological value, contains a lot of sugar, a lot of vitamin C., certain amounts of B vitamins and mineral salts (calcium and potassium). Its additional advantage is its destructive effect on some pathogenic bacteria. Both its underground part is suitable for consumption, the so-called onion, as well as its green leaves, called chives.
The onion is rooting shallowly, hence it has high fertilization requirements. It reacts favorably to organic fertilization; a year or two after the manure is recommended. It fails on wet and acidic soils. It does not require high temperature in the initial growth period, but sufficient soil moisture. For early-emerging onions, it is necessary to dig the manure in the fall (3-4 kg/m2). In the spring, mineral fertilizers are applied in the amount per 1 m2: 30 g saletrzaku i po 40 g of superphosphate and potassium sulfate (Due to its chlorine content, potassium salt is harmful to onions).
We can grow the onion from sowing, with seedlings and green onions. Sowing directly into the ground is effective only in regions with a long growing season. We sow the seeds, as soon as the earth is dry, but not later than mid-April, in rows what 20-30 cm. The depth of the seed cover 1-1,5 cm. Onions can be sown together with lettuce seeds, which was rising earlier, marks the rows, which enables early weeding between rows. Too dense emergence should be thinned, leaving plants co 4-5 cm.
When grown from seedlings, the seeds are sown in a moderately warm inspection area at the end of February, in rows what 5 cm. To be filled 1 m2 with a spacing of 30X8 cm is needed 40 seedling pieces, a z 1 g of good seeds is obtained approx 125 seedling pieces. Plant the seedlings in rows at the end of April 20-30 cm, and in a row what 5-8 cm. The seedlings should be planted shallow, no deeper than she was in the inspection. On cold and wet soils, onions are grown on rollers wide 60-70 cm, by planting plants in 3 rows what 20 cm and what 6-8 cm in a row.
The earliest harvests of onions are obtained when grown with spring onions.
Small, dried bulbs with a diameter 11-16 mm are planted in early spring with the same spacing as in the case of the seedling. It should be planted like this, so that the top of the bulb is slightly covered or slightly protruding above the ground. To be filled 1 m2 required 100 g dymki.
In order to obtain spring onions, sow the onion seeds densely from mid-April to May in every row 20-25 cm. After partial yellowing and breaking of the chives, dig up the onion and dry it on the bed. So that it does not knock out the seed shoots, let it dry at 28-35 ° C for 2-3 months.
In the case of poor onion growth, it should be fed with nitrate in a dose 10 g/m2, but not later than the end of June.
Earliest, because already in June, and for chives even in May, harvesting spring onions begins. The seedling onion ends its growth around mid-August, and of sowing – at the beginning of September. Harvest onions in dry weather. If the breaking of the chives is delayed, it should not be broken with a hand or a rake, for it does not speed up maturation, while it damages the onion neck, which is conducive to its rotting. It is recommended to air-dry the onion for several days beforehand. Onion yields can be as high as 1,5-5 kg, with 1 m2.
Onion varieties differ in many ways, the most important of which is early, Shape, color, its taste and storage life.
They are moderately early: Dako – large onion (200-500 g), spherical-flattened, about straw yellow, a thin outer scales; white-greenish flesh, juicy, sweet, with a mild flavor; only suitable for summer and autumn use; Rawska – fertile, durable in storage; especially recommended for cultivation in regions with a shorter growing season; average weight 120-220 g, spherical, prone to slightly elongation; the outer husk is straw-yellow with a brown tinge, medium thickness, well-fitting; white flesh, firm, sweet and tender; Zittau – fertile, preserves well through the winter; weight 120 g, spherical flattened, pale straw yellow husk, moderately tight; creamy flesh, sharper flavor; Czerniakowska – it is distinguished by the even drying of the chives, fertility; is distinguished by the highest content of vitamin C.; not suitable for longer storage; spherical shape, weight 90-140 g, straw yellow to straw brown husk.
They are medium late varieties: Warsaw – drying early and evenly, fertile, more durable in storage than Czerniakowska; sensitive to climatic and soil conditions; spherical shape, weight approx 100 g; straw yellow husk with a shade of brown and pink; white flesh, firm, tasty; Wars F, – stores well; it is characterized by the even shape and size of the bulbs, which are spherical., slightly flattened; dark straw yellow husk with a tinge of orange; brittle flesh, juicy, mild to the taste.
They are late varieties; Kutnowska – useful for growing on more compact soils, durable in storage; has the largest onions approx. 120 g, spherical, slightly flattened; dark straw yellow husk with a tinge of orange; Diana F, – very fertile and uniform in size and shape of the onion; durable in storage; spherical, hard, with a strongly adherent straw-yellow husk; Sochaczewska – very fertile, with a small amount of bulbous bulbs, well balanced in terms of the shape and size of the bulbs, perfectly stores until late spring; spherical shape, slightly elongated, weight 90-160 g; dark straw husk, strong, very well fitted; white flesh, firm, mild to the taste; Wolska – very late, very fertile, even, with high storage stability, but requiring good growing conditions; spheristomboidal shape, weight 90-160 g; straw yellow husk, thin; white flesh, firm, quite spicy.