How to Grow Green Onions on a Windowsill: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Residents of city apartments, who were not lucky enough to acquire their own land plot, have to buy fresh vegetables and fruits. However, it is quite possible to grow greens even in your apartment. All you need is a window sill.

Onion is considered the simplest plant in terms of agricultural technology. It is possible to get a harvest of this crop with minimal time and financial costs. Knowing some rules, you will have a lot of greenery all year round. How to properly grow green onions on a windowsill in order to get a harvest no worse than from a vegetable garden, read on.

Features of growing onions on a windowsill

Any schoolchild knows that onions can be grown on a windowsill without much effort. Even if you stick the bulb into the ground without preparation, it will most likely produce a green feather from it.

However if grown improperly, greens germinate for a long time, and its quality and yield leave much to be desired... Many have noticed that with errors in the cultivation of this plant, green onions turn out to be bitter, dry, tasteless and unscented.

The cultivation of juicy and aromatic greens, moderately spicy and sweet, is possible only if the rules of care are followed.

Onions are grown in two ways... The first is planting a bulb. In this case, the harvest appears faster and is abundant. Feathers grown from bulbs are juicier.

In the second case, sow seeds for greens... They take longer to germinate, each seed produces less greenery. Its taste is richer, but not so juicy.

Note! You can plant onions on greens at home at any time of the year.

Suitable varieties

To grow green onions on a windowsill, just select a few suitable onion bulbs. When planting a large amount, it is more profitable to buy seeds or special small onion sets.

What varieties best planted on greens at home:

1. Batun... There are perennial and annual varieties. Differs in high productivity with an average density of the bush.
2. Shallot... Onions with a sweetish aftertaste. Differs in juiciness and density of feathers. An unpretentious option for experienced and novice housewives.
3. Leek... It has large long feathers of a dark green color, which outwardly resemble garlic arrows. The taste is sweet and spicy. The aroma is intense.
4. Schnitt... It has thin long feathers and a high yield. Suitable for growing at home, demanding care.

Onion grown from seed and sevka. The most popular varieties for home cultivation: Arzamassky, Danilovsky, Yantarny, Bessonovsky, Soyuz, Pozharsky, Rostovsky.

Preparation for growing

Contrary to the opinion of many housewives, planting onions requires preliminary preparation... This will speed up feather growth, improve disease resistance, increase yields and improve the flavor of the greens.

Seat selection

In the apartment, green onions are grown on a windowsill or loggia. The plant needs a lot of light, but it doesn't like too high temperatures..

In winter, onions are placed on the south, southeast or southwest side.... In summer, it is better to choose the northern, southeastern or southwestern part of the apartment. So the plantings will receive enough light, but not overheat.

Council. It is not necessary to place containers with onions on the windowsill. Many housewives build special stands that are placed near the window.

Tanks and soil

Soil for onions should be light and nutritious.... The universal seedling mix is ​​ideal. Prepare the soil yourself. To do this, mix in a 1: 1: 1 ratio:

• garden soil;
• humus, peat or humus;
• sand.

Purchased and home-made soil mixtures need preventive treatment... To do this, the soil is scalded with boiling water, ignited in an oven or microwave, and poured with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Grow onions in different containers... Most popular options:

1. Egg trays. 1 medium-sized onion is planted in each cell.
2. Cropped 1.5-2 L bottle... Such a container will fit 3-4 onions.
3. Boxes. Commonly used for sowing seed greens.
4. Plastic cups. 1 onion is planted in each container.
5. Plastic pots.
6. Plastic bags are the cheapest option.

The container is disinfected: soaked for half an hour in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate or doused with boiling water, if the material allows.

Reference. Peat pots are not suitable for growing greenery on the window. Their use in this case is unprofitable and useless.

Planting material

Planting material needs preventive treatment... It is usually disinfected and stimulated to grow.

Preparing the bulbs:

1. Selection of the best planting material. The bulbs should be firm, with a shiny husk, no cracks, damage, traces of disease on the root bottom.
2. Selected bulbs are kept warm for a week.
3. Large bulbs are cut in a wide area. This is not done if the greens had time to hatch. Onion sets are not pruned.
4. The bulbs are soaked in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes, and then wiped with a dry napkin.

Some housewives additionally soak the bulbs in water at room temperature for 1-2 hours... A growth stimulant can be added to the water. Folk remedies that accelerate the appearance of greenery are honey and aloe juice.

Preparing onion seeds for sowing:

1. Selection of viable specimens. The planting material is poured with a solution prepared from 1 tsp of salt and 1 glass of water at room temperature. After half an hour, the floating seeds are removed, and for planting, those that have sunk to the bottom are used.
2. Disinfection. The seeds are soaked in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide or Fitosporin for 15-20 minutes.
3. Growth stimulation. The seeds are soaked in aloe juice (diluted in half with water), soda solution (1 tsp is added to 1 glass of water), honey water (1 tsp of honey per 1 glass of water).
4. Many housewives prefer to germinate seeds in advance. To do this, several layers of fabric are laid in a deep container, prepared seeds are laid on it, and they are covered with several more layers of fabric on top. The material is moistened with water at room temperature. In this form, the seeds are left in a warm place until they hatch. Germination usually takes place already in 2-3 days.

Agrotechnics of green onions on the windowsill

Growing onions is not a difficult task. However to get a rich harvest, you will have to take into account several subtleties... This is especially true for compliance with the rules of watering, lighting and temperature indicators.

Landing

Planting whole bulbs and seeds varies. First, we will analyze the sowing of seeds step by step:

1. The selected container is filled with soil so that a few centimeters remain to the edge. A drainage layer (coarse sand, crushed stone, broken ceramics) is poured onto the bottom.
2. The soil is moistened with warm, but not hot water.
3. Seeds are laid out at a distance of 0.5 cm from each other, sprinkled with a 0.5 cm layer of sand or earth. Cover with foil if the seeds have not germinated before.

Planting bulbs:

1. Horizontal containers are covered with soil so that 5 cm remain free to the edge. A drainage layer is poured at the bottom.
2. The soil is watered with warm water.
3. The bulbs are stuck in the ground with their root bottoms and buried so that they gain stability. In this case, an accelerated landing is appropriate.

Do not cover the bow with foil or other material.

Creation of favorable conditions

Despite the fact that onions are an unpretentious plant, its taste and growth rate depend on the growing conditions... This is especially true for light and temperature.

Onions are cold-resistant plants. It is able to grow at temperatures from + 10 ° С... At temperatures from + 10 ° C to + 15 ° C, onion growth slows down, and the harvest will be ready for harvest in a month and a half. To quickly get a lot of greens, the temperature in the room where the onions are grown is set to + 20 ... + 26 ° C.

Important! At a temperature of + 30 ° C and above, the onion stops growing.

Immediately after emergence it is recommended to rearrange the onions in a place with a temperature of + 10 ... + 15 ° С for 3-4 days. After that, the pots are moved to heat. Thanks to this, the greens begin to grow rapidly.

With a lack of light, onions slow down growth... Its daylight hours lasts at least 12 hours. Good results are obtained when plants are illuminated during the day.

In winter, there is often not enough light from the window, so greenery grows slowly... To accelerate the growth of feathers, phytolamps or fluorescent devices are used. They are installed at a distance of 20 cm from the pots.

Care

Onion care does not involve complex steps.

Fundamental rules:

1. Lighting. If there is no phytolamp, the plants are turned to light twice a day.
2. Watering. Onions are a moisture-loving plant. The soil is moistened as it dries. It is important that a dry crust does not appear on it - this will lead to yellowing of the feather.
3. Greens absorb any chemicals. Therefore, it is not recommended to feed onions with chemical preparations.

Subject to these simple care rules, there are no problems with growing onions.... Plants in disinfected soil do not get sick and are not affected by pests.

Special cultivation methods

Onions on the windowsill are grown not only in the ground. There are more unusual options.

In water

Growing onions in water is the most popular method... All that is required is to place the onion in a small glass so that the bottom does not touch the water.

Often the water in the glass gets an unpleasant odor, becomes slippery, and the bulb rot. You have to cut the greens before they reach the optimal size.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to know a few nuances.:

1. Aeration... To prevent root decay, it is necessary that air bubbles are present in the water. This is done in two ways. One option is to put the onions in a plastic container and run an aquarium compressor there. The second option is to plant onions in egg trays. Pour water into the lower part of the structure. Make holes in the upper cells so that the root bottoms fit there. They should touch the water lightly. There remains free air space, which will provide air exchange.
2. Liquid disinfection... To prevent root rotting and additionally feed the plants, two tablets of activated carbon are dissolved in water.

Hydroponics

Growing onions hydroponically considered the most modern, simple and expensive way... With its help, it is easy and quick to grow a large amount of greenery, but you will have to buy planting equipment.

Hydroponics is a plant that includes an aeration system, nutrient solution and a housing with convenient cells for planting bulbs... All that is required from the gardener is to prepare the planting material in the usual way and plant the bulbs in the cells designated for this. The device is placed in a well-lit, warm place. Further, the onion grows almost independently.

Council. If you allocate an entire room for growing onions and equip it with phytolamps, you will be able to organize a business using a hydroponic installation.

In sawdust

Growing onions in sawdust is another interesting option for getting a rich harvest of greens quickly.

Instructions:

1. Sawdust is watered with a boiling light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
2. The upper part of the onion is cut off by 1-2 cm. This is not done if sprouts have appeared on the planting material.
3. Onions are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes.
4. The bulbs are planted tightly in sawdust so that they expend energy only on forcing the feathers. As the substrate dries, they are watered with warm water. Once a week, the sawdust is moistened with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Harvesting and storage

The greens are cut as soon as the feathers reach a height of 30-50 cm... Store them in the refrigerator. You cannot put onions in a glass of water, as this will lead to its rotting.

After trimming, the bow will give new arrows. Bulbs that will no longer grow are thrown away.

Tips & Tricks

To make it easier to grow onions and get a rich harvestuse a few tricks:

1. It is convenient to grow onions in a five-liter bottle. Then a lot of greenery is obtained from a small area. Throughout the entire area of ​​the bottle, holes are made that match the size of the widest part of the onion. Holes are also made in the bottom, but smaller - so that excess water flows out when watering. The bulbs are inserted into the holes so that the part with the "tail" remains outside. All free space is covered with soil. Water the soil through the open neck of the bottle.
2. If you cut off the feathers immediately after the greenery appears, the harvest will be richer.
3. It is better to wrap the pots near the battery with foil to prevent them from overheating. This is also done in hot summer, if the windows face south.
4. If new bulbs are planted one week apart, the whole family will be provided with onions during the winter.

Conclusion

Even a schoolboy can cope with the cultivation of green onions on the windowsill. However, in order to get a really rich and tasty harvest, it is important to know a few nuances of care - to provide plants with light and maintain a temperature regime.