Growing and caring for shallots, harvest photos and secrets of agricultural technology

Shallots are called differently: shrike, Ashkelon, family. The culture has become widespread in Europe, it came to us from Asia Minor. For food use small elongated bulbs with white, white-pink, white-purple and greenish flesh, thin green feathers with a delicate aroma and semi-sharp taste.

You will find detailed information about planting, growing and caring for shallots with a photo in the article.

Description and characteristics

Shallots are a herbaceous perennial plant that forms a kind of "nest" from a large number of bulbs. For this, the culture received a second name - family bow. Shallots are early maturing plants; when planted in regions with a temperate climate, they ripen in 65-80 days.

The root system is weakly branched. The feather is light or dark green in color, sometimes with a waxy coating, hollow inside, tubular, does not coarse for a long time, has a delicate taste.

The bulbs are elongated, with thin scales. Average weight 20-50 g. Hybrids reach 90-100 g. The color of inner scales is white, purple, pink, green. The outer scales are white or purple. Shallots are perfectly stored in an apartment or cellar until spring.

The inflorescences are collected in an umbrella located on the meter arrow. The seeds remain viable for 2-3 years, have an external resemblance to onion seeds.

Shallots propagate vegetatively, but over time, the sevok loses its characteristics, the plant is often sick and reduces productivity. In such cases, it is recommended to replace the seed with fresh one or to grow the seed from the seed.

In the photo - shallots.

Features of growing in the open field

Delicacy shallots have better productivity when grown on old, fertile and heavy soils. The best predecessors of the culture are peas, beans, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage. These plants saturate the soil with oxygen and nutrients necessary for onion growth.

It is undesirable to plant family onions in an area where beets, corn, garlic or sunflowers previously grew. The soil after these crops is deprived of nutrients and needs additional feeding with mullein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium.

Carrots are planted next to the shallots - to scare off onion midges. Strawberries, radishes, and cucumbers have similar properties.

Close proximity to spinach, parsnips, broccoli, turnips is undesirable due to the inhibitory effect on the growth of onions.

Shallots are planted with sevka and seeds.

It is advisable to plant family onions in open ground in the spring - in April-early May. At this time, the plant is saturated with a large amount of melt water, is not afraid of night frosts, and gains strength faster.

Shallots are also planted in autumn - in October. Planting is performed about a month before the first frost. In such conditions, the bulbs can endure the winter with a successful rooting. The bulbs can withstand temperatures down to –20 ° C.

But in the regions of the middle zone, in Siberia and the Urals, almost 50% of the planting material freezes out, despite the stratification and increased resistance to diseases and insects. In this regard, farmers recommend planting shallots in autumn only in the southern regions.

In the greenhouse

Shallots are grown mainly in the open field, but to obtain green feathers in large quantities, they are planted in greenhouses, greenhouses and on the windowsill.

To get early greens, planting is performed in February: the bottom of the bulbs is cut off with roots and planted in damp ground. The first crop is harvested in March.

To re-forcing the greens, the onions are dug up and cut to the middle. Then they are re-planted in the ground.

In the photo - green shallot feathers.

The best shallots

The table contains the best varieties of shallots.

Correct fit

Shallots are grown with seeds for renewal of planting material and with sets for bulbs and greens. The second method is more preferable due to the low germination rate of nigella. Planting is carried out in spring throughout Russia and in autumn, before winter - in the south.

Landing dates

The timing of disembarking shallots depends on the way it is used:

1. The culture is planted on a feather and turnip in open ground in March-April, provided that the soil is sufficiently warmed up. In this case, a green feather will appear in May, and a turnip in June.
2. In April or May, sowing is planted to obtain a full-fledged bulb.
3. Planting before winter is performed in October - November. An autumn planting allows for green feathers in April and a turnip in early summer.

Preparation of planting material and soil

Shallots are grown from small bulbs 1-3 cm in size and weighing 10-20 g. Fewer, but larger bulbs are formed in the nest from them. Large specimens are cut into pieces, from which a larger number of small turnips grow.

Planting material is selected from healthy plants with a large nest and dense greenery.

How to process the bulbs before planting:

• soaking in water at a temperature of + 40 ... + 42 ° С for 9-10 hours;
• warming up on the battery for eight hours to prevent early shooting;
• soaking in water at a temperature of + 20 ... + 28 ° С for 15 days;
• half an hour treatment with a strong solution of potassium permanganate;
• 12-hour treatment with saline solution (200 g per 10 L of water).

When growing shallots from seeds, nigella is placed in a tissue bag, soaked in water at room temperature for 24-30 hours. The water is changed periodically. Then the seeds are placed in a pink solution of potassium permanganate and dried.

The beds are located on the south side of the garden. The plant prefers fertile soil with neutral acidity (pH = 6-7). When planted in acidic soil, shallots will grow small and tough.

In places with a close occurrence of groundwater, the beds are raised by 20-25 cm.

The soil is prepared in the fall: they plow deeply, remove weeds, loosen and fertilize with a mixture of 6 kg of compost, 50 g of superphosphate, 200 g of ash per m².

In the spring, 5 g of nitrogen fertilizers per m² are applied to the soil to ensure a set of green mass.

Landing

Rules for planting shallots in spring:

• the bulbs are placed in the furrows with an interval of 10 cm;
• row spacing for large specimens - 20-30 cm, for medium - 15-18 cm, for small - 8-10 cm;
• the optimum depth of the bookmark is 2-3 cm, the tops should look out from the ground by 0.5 cm (with deep planting, growth is delayed and yield decreases, with shallow ones, the bulbs protrude from the ground and dry);
• after planting, the beds are mulched with peat or humus.

To speed up the forcing of a green feather, cut the set to the shoulders.

The rules for planting shallots before winter are the same as for spring planting, but at the end the site is covered with peat with a layer of 3-4 cm.The depth of laying the bulbs is 3.5-4 cm.

Sowing of shallots with nigella is carried out in order to renew the planting material - once every 10-12 years. Seeds are sown in spring and onion sets are harvested in September. These are small nests of small bulbs suitable for planting the next season. Sowing depth - 1-2 cm.

Further care

Shallots are watered at least three times per season. At the beginning of the growing season, the beds are watered frequently and abundantly. A month before harvesting, watering is stopped so that the feathers have time to turn yellow and dry. In a rainy summer, watering is carried out less often than in a drought. In the absence of precipitation in cloudy weather, the shallots are watered once every 7 days.

After each watering, the earth crust is loosened for better air flow to the root system. Weeds are removed as they grow.

Family onions are fertilized twice:

• I feeding - in the spring, after the appearance of the third leaf: 1 tbsp. l. urea per 10 liters of water;
• II feeding - after the appearance of five leaves: 1 tsp. potassium monophosphate per 10 liters of water.

Disease and pest control

Shallots are susceptible to diseases of a fungal nature: powdery mildew, peronosporosis, fusarium, neck rot. Sick plants are completely removed from the site, and healthy plants are irrigated with the preparations "Quadris", "Mikosan", "Pentafag".

Disease prevention includes:

• disinfection of planting material in the preparation "Maxim", "Fitosporin", a solution of potassium permanganate;
• compliance with crop rotation;
• timely weed removal.

Planting onions is most often striking onion fly. The pest appears during the cherry and dandelion flowering period. Affected plants are lagging behind and rot.

To combat insects, onion planting:

• dust with wood ash;
• treated with brine (200 g of salt per 10 l of water).

Onion nematode - a dangerous pest that bends the bottom of the bulb. When contaminated planting material enters the garden bed, healthy plants are infected. To prevent infection, the bulbs are disinfected in a 4% formalin solution.

The green feathers of the shallot are attacked by aphids. Acaricide "Verticillin" helps to fight it.

Harvesting and storage

The timing of the harvest depends on the variety. Early varieties are harvested at the end of July, late ones - in August.

Experienced gardeners recommend focusing on the appearance of the plant: when ¾ of the feathers are dry and wet, you can start harvesting the onions.

Digging is performed with a shovel in dry, sunny weather. The dry feather is left, the onion is kept under a ventilated canopy for 15 days to dry. Dry feathers are cut, leaving 2-3 cm or braided.

Council. Harvesting should not be delayed due to the possibility of repeated root growth and deterioration of the taste of the onion.

The bow is kept in a dry and cool room at temperatures up to –1 ° С or in an apartment at temperatures up to + 19 ° С, away from heating appliances. The crop is laid out in boxes, nets, breathable fabric bags, baskets. In such conditions, it does not dry out and does not germinate for 6-8 months.

Conclusion

Growing and caring for shallots is practically no different from the cultivation of onions. Planting is done with seeds and sevk. The second method is more preferable due to the low percentage of seed germination in the open field. Seed renewal is carried out through sowing seeds. The collected bulbs are used for planting next season.

To obtain a rich harvest, onions are provided with abundant watering at the beginning of the growing season, loosening the beds for better oxygen supply to the root system, weeding and feeding with organic and mineral compounds. For storage use ventilated containers. The optimum storage temperature for shallots is from –1 ° C to + 19 ° C.