What to soak onions before planting before winter, and whether it is necessary to do it

Planting onions before winter has been appreciated by many gardeners - it ensures an early harvest. In order to protect crops in the winter, and with the onset of spring from damage by fungal infections and insect pests, you should correctly prepare the planting material in the fall.

We will tell you in the article about whether it is necessary to soak the onions before planting before winter and how to process the set.

Which onion is suitable for planting before winter

For subwinter plantings of crops, varieties are chosen:

• having a high frost resistance;
• resistant to arrow formation;
• able to grow in conditions of short daylight hours;
• are immune to disease.

When choosing a bow for winter landing take into account the recommendations for the release of each variety. Heat-loving varieties are not suitable for cultivation in the northern regions.

Council. It is best to use a seed grown in the same area. Such planting material does not require a period of adaptation to climatic conditions.

Preparing onions for planting in the fall

at only healthy bulbs are selected. Sevok should be flabby, clean, undamaged. Soft, sprouted, rotten specimens are discarded.

Sorting

From the selected planting material, the crumbling dry husk is removed, the dried tops are shortened.

Next, the bulbs are calibrated. For planting, heads are selected, the size of which does not exceed 1.5 cm. A high-quality turnip will grow from such a set.

Heads with a diameter of 2-3 cm are planted to obtain a green feather in early spring.

The larger the planting material, the more powerful the greens will turn out and the more likely such onions will form arrows with seeds.

Do I need to soak winter onions before planting in the fall

To obtain a high-quality harvest of onions in due time, gardeners practice soaking. Soaking the onions before planting in the fall is necessary to decontaminate the heads from infections and fungal infections.

Attention! Prolonged exposure to solutions leads to oversaturation of the bulbs with moisture, in cold soil this provokes freezing of the heads.

Soaking does not last long and is carried out on the day the seed is planted in the open ground.

Why Soak Onions Before Planting

Soaking is carried out with the aim of preventing diseases, destroying pest larvae between the layers of the peel of the heads, preventing shooting, increasing the percentage of germination, improving the quality and quantity of the crop.

For good growth

To obtain friendly shoots in early spring, the seed is prepared in the fall. Heat treatment of seedlings is needed in order to "wake up" the vital processes of planting material, for better development of the root system before the onset of frost. A good effect is obtained by immersing the set for 8-9 hours in a container with water, in which the temperature is maintained at + 40 ° C.

You can also apply a quick awakening, alternating immersion in hot and cold water.First, the set is kept for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of + 45 ... + 50 ° C, then immersed in cold water for 10 minutes.

As a prophylaxis against diseases and pests

Since the seedlings planted in the fall will experience oversaturation with moisture during the autumn rains and heavy snowfalls, the bulbs can be susceptible to fungal infections.

For the prevention of fungal diseases and the appearance of insect pests with the onset of spring, planting material is disinfected. This will help get rid of pathogenic bacteria and insect larvae between the scales of the bulbs.

For protection against shooting

The formation of an arrow on which seeds appear after flowering is an undesirable process. Blooming arrows take up the nutrients needed for the formation and growth of onion heads.

To prevent shooting, the bow is heated in hot water before winter planting. To do this, use a slow heating or immerse for 30 seconds in hot water heated to + 60 ° C.

What and how to soak correctly

For soaking the sevka before planting in winter, there are various compositions prepared from biological products and folk remedies. We will tell you how to soak onions and what proportions of solutions to observe.

In a solution of salt and water

The cheapest and most affordable way is treatment with sodium chloride solution. Saline solution inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria, prevents the appearance of onion nematodes, mites, thrips.

To prepare a saline solution, use 10 g of sodium chloride and 1 liter of water heated to + 45 ° C. The sevok is placed in a solution and kept in it for 15-20 minutes.

The warm saline solution has a double effect: it disinfects and prevents arrow formation.

Soaking in a solution of potassium permanganate

Potassium permanganate solution has many properties:

• has an antiseptic effect;
• protects sevok from overwintering pests;
• prevents fungal diseases;
• accelerates the rooting of seedlings.

To prepare a solution, 1 g of the substance is dissolved in 1 liter of warm water. The planting material is kept in this solution for 30-40 minutes.

Attention! Processing in a solution of potassium permanganate is carried out before planting the seedlings. The treated bulbs are not washed with water or dried.

In a solution of copper sulfate

Copper sulfate is used as a pesticide to treat bulbs from parasites and pathogenic fungi overwintering in the soil. A solution of copper sulfate has disinfecting, antiseptic properties, it is used to prevent various rot of onion heads.

To prepare a solution, 25-30 g of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of warm water. The sevok is immersed in a solution for 2.5-3 hours, dried and planted on the beds.

In soda solution

The most popular method is soda solution. Soda has antiseptic properties. This procedure allows you to prevent damage to stem and root rot, downy mildew, bacteriosis. To soak the seedlings, prepare a solution of 25 g of soda and 5 liters of water, heat it to 45 ° C and keep the seeds in it for 20-30 minutes.

With tar

One of the most effective folk remedies for soaking seedlings before planting is a solution of birch tar. It has an antiseptic effect, prevents the appearance of pathogenic microbes, putrefactive bacteria, onion flies and other crop pests, is not addictive and provides long-term protection.

Important! Before processing in solution, the bulbs are heated at a temperature of + 35 ... + 37 ° C.

To prepare a solution of 1 tbsp. l. birch tar is diluted in 1 liter of warm water. The onions, previously peeled from the old husk, are placed in the solution for 2.5-3 hours, stirring occasionally so that each head is evenly saturated.

In hot water for heat treatment

To be sure of the purity of the planting material, to protect the sets from nematodes, insect larvae and putrefactive bacteria, it is required to warm the onion sets before planting in the fall. To do this, the bulbs are immersed in water heated to 80 ° C for 10-15 seconds. During this time, bacteria, eggs and pest larvae between the scales of the onion will die, and the onion itself will not have time to warm up very much.

Soaking the seedlings in hot water increases the germination rate. Heat treatment in hot water will prevent germination of the bulbs before frost.

Preparations for onion disinfection

To disinfect the bulbs, use the drug "Fitosporin".

Reference. "Fitosporin" is a microbiological preparation of systemic action, aimed at the destruction of fungal and bacterial infections. Living bacteria in its composition in the course of their vital activity inhibit and block the reproduction and growth of pathogenic bacteria and pathogenic fungi.

Soaking in Fitosporin solution prevents the development of bacteriosis, downy mildew, various types of rot.

The preparation in the form of a powder or paste is pre-soaked in water for 2 hours in order to awaken live bacteria.

Attention! To prepare the solution, the use of chlorinated tap water is not allowed - it will lead to the death of living bacteria.

The powder is dissolved in water in a proportion of 10 g per 0.5 l of water. To prepare a solution, a concentrate is first prepared from the paste: 100 g of the paste is diluted in 0.2 l of water. Then 30 ml of the concentrate is mixed with 200 ml of water.

Liquid "Fitosporin" is diluted at the rate of 5 drops per 100 ml of water. In the prepared solution, the seedlings are soaked for 2 hours before planting.

The solution with soaked onions is kept in a dark place. When exposed to sunlight, living bacteria die.

Landing features

Planting a culture before winter is carried out immediately after a stable decrease in air temperature to + 5 ° C is established. It is impossible to delay planting, since the planting will not have time to take root before the onset of frost. Sowings planted earlier than the recommended times can germinate before winter.

Soil preparation

For growing crops, areas with fertile, well-drained soil are chosen. Loamy, neutral soils are best suited. The site should be well lit by the sun and not be in a lowland, where there will be constant stagnation of moisture.

The site is cleaned of plant debris and in 10 days after planting, it is deeply dug up with the introduction of humus (5 l / m²), superphosphate (30g / m²).

Winter onion planting technology

For planting onions, choose dry weather. On the site, grooves are made with a depth of 2.5-3 cm.A distance of 25-28 cm is left between the beds.When growing seedlings to obtain green mass, the bulbs are placed at a distance of 5-6 cm.

If it is necessary to grow a turnip, the distance is increased to 8-10 cm. The heads are placed vertically in grooves, sprinkled with soil, tamping a little.

Attention! When planting a crop before winter, the beds are not watered.

Care

Onions planted in autumn do not require watering, as the soil will not dry out during the rainy season. The beds cover a layer of mulch. During the winter, onion plantings will remain dormant. Care for culture is needed with the onset of spring. In early spring, mulch is removed so that the beds begin to warm up with the sun.

When the topsoil dries up, watering is carried out. After them, the soil is loosened to improve aeration of the roots. Simultaneously with loosening, weeds are removed, taking nutrients from the soil. Onion shoots are thinned as needed.

The first feeding with wood ash is carried out after removing the mulch from the beds. During the active growth of green mass, top dressing is used with a solution of chicken manure. During the formation of turnips, urea (20 g / m²), superphosphate (30 g / m²) are added to the soil. The third top dressing is performed by introducing potassium nitrate (20 g / m²) into the soil.

Watering is carried out once a week.When dry weather is established, the culture is watered every 3 days.

Tips and tricks for soaking onions before planting

Experienced gardeners recommend:

1. To reduce the period of growing the root system, the seed is soaked for 20-30 minutes in solutions of stimulants of root formation "Zircon", "Kornevin".
2. After soaking in disinfecting solutions, the seedlings are dried. Placed in soil, wet planting material will start to rot.
3. In order for the disinfectant to penetrate well through all the scales, a small incision is made on the top of the onion neck.
4. For disinfection, the bulbs are kept for 2-3 hours in a solution of wood ash before planting.

Conclusion

Planting onions in winter provides an earlier harvest. But to improve its quality, it is recommended to soak the planting material in various disinfecting compositions. This will prevent the development of diseases and damage by onion pests. Heat treatment will ensure a healthy and high-quality harvest.