There will always be work in the garden, and spring suffering requires a lot of effort and attention. To save time and labor costs, some crops can be done in the fall before winter. This material will tell about the timing and features of sowing for winter onion-chernushki.

Did you know? The expression “Woe onion” means an ironic appeal to a crying person, when the cause of tears seems trifling and inconsequential. It is these tears that cause onions.

Is it possible to plant black onions in the winter

Nigella is used in everyday life for onion seeds, which form onion arrows after ripening. Many gardeners practice sowing seeds in the winter, using the clear advantages of this method of growing onions. Among onion varieties, chernushka seeds are the most diverse than varieties of onion sets. Choosing chernushka seeds, it is easier to determine the selected variety and not be disappointed when harvesting when the seed does not give the expected varietal result. The black onion never darts, because it does not have time to gain the required leaf sizes to form a peduncle.

Advantages of landing under the winter

• The following factors can be attributed to the advantages of planting black onion in the fall:
• Winter sowing of black onion is a natural way of propagating onions and is closest to the natural growing cycle.
• Sowing seeds in the winter increases plant immunity, resistance to diseases and damage by pests. Onions are obtained with a powerful root system, which manages to form in the first spring days.
• Saving time during spring field work in the garden is also an important factor.
• The meltwater in the spring will provide the beds with sufficient moisture, which will reduce the frequency of watering.
• There is no need to follow the sowing dates - all this will be done by weather conditions and the spring sun.
• Onions in early spring will provide vitamin greens, and the resulting bulbs will be well stored. Compared to spring sowing, this is the preferred option.
• A long growing season can be used to obtain full winter onions by autumn or to obtain a fairly large seed set.

Preparatory work

Before sowing the black onion, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work, which includes the correct selection of seeds, their processing and preparation of the site for planting.

Seed sorting

Seeds for growing can be bought in accordance with the selected variety, or you can grow it yourself, using the variety you like for these purposes. Varietal bulbs for seed are carefully selected. It should be large, without damage and signs of disease. An onion planted in spring will throw an arrow with a peduncle, where the seeds of blackberry ripen.

Important! Nigella seeds retain germination for only 2 years, so it is advisable to use the seed immediately. In the second year, germination is reduced by half.

It is advisable to tie the flower stalk, and tie the inflorescence with seeds with a light cloth so that the seeds do not sprinkle ahead of time. At the first signs of ripening (seeds begin to spill out), flower stalks can be picked and placed in a warm, dry room for ripening.

Both purchased seeds and those harvested independently, it is necessary to calibrate and select the largest ones for sowing, which will give stronger seedlings. For these purposes, you can use the method of screening through a sieve. You can put the seeds in water and mix - the pop-up seeds are considered unripe and are not suitable for further sowing. After such a check, the seeds must be dried immediately.

Preplant seed treatment

Seed quality can be checked by germinating on a damp surface of tissue or paper. The germination rate is considered to be the germination of more than a third of the seeds of chernushka of the total. At lower rates, seed is unsuitable for sowing. Having decided on the quality, you can proceed to further preparation - disinfection.

Disinfection should be indicated on the packaging of purchased seeds, and seeds obtained independently should be disinfected by soaking:

• for half an hour in a pale solution of potassium permanganate (1%), and then in saline (200 g per 10 l of water) for 12 hours;
• for half an hour in aloe juice;
• in a fungicide solution according to the instructions.

This treatment will protect the crops from infection with stem nematode and onion fly. After processing, the seed is thoroughly dried.

Site preparation

Onion crops like loose (not clay), moderately moist, humus-sandy soils, which are well ventilated, excluding stagnation of moisture.

The soil for sowing nigella should be prepared in advance:

1. Before the beginning of October for the northern regions and until November for the southern regions, that is, before the onset of frost, it is necessary to prepare the beds. The site should be located in a sunny place, where there are no trees and bushes nearby that obscure the seedlings.
2. If the site is in a lowland, the beds are raised by 20–25 cm, in order to avoid stagnation of water during irrigation or in case of rainfall. Raised beds will warm up faster in the spring and provide friendly shoots.
3. The precursors in the planted area should be herbs, potatoes, early cabbage, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes or legumes.
4. The site is dug up, cleaned of weeds and roots, loosened. You can use the site under pairs or in place of the lawn. In this case, it is enough to remove the top layer of turf, prepare the beds, and leave the aisles with grass.
5. Nutrient mixture per each square meter is added to the dug up area: compost mixture - 6 kg, superphosphate - 50 g, ash - 200 g, and in early spring it is enough to add 25 g of nitrogen fertilizer per 1 m² of beds. You can add sand or sawdust to heavy soil.

Optimal planting dates for the winter

With the onset of steady cold weather, when the soil freezes or snow falls, you can sow cherries on the beds. It should be remembered that onion seeds can germinate at a temperature of + 2 ... + 4 ° C during the late thaw, which will lead to the death of seedlings in winter, therefore, depending on the weather, sowing is carried out in October-November, depending on the cultivation region.

Important! The soil for sowing can be poured with a solution of sodium chloride (200 g per bucket of water) to avoid damage to the crop with an onion fly, or sprinkled with salt on the sowing grooves.

Landing technology

Having broken the planting technology into stages, it is possible to properly organize the sowing order of the chernushka onions in the winter:

1. Sowing nigella can be carried out on grooves with a depth of 2-3 cm or by scatter. Aisle - 20–25 cm. Seeds are sown quite densely if thinning is to be carried out later. You can sow lighthouse crops (radishes, lettuce, peas) in the grooves, which will indicate the location of the beds with chernushka with early shoots.
2. Before winter sowing, it is impossible to check the germination of seeds by soaking (they should germinate only with the onset of spring), therefore sowing is carried out with dry seeds at a rate of 100 pieces per 1 m². Seed consumption during winter sowing is greater than when sowing in spring.
3. Seeds are densely (medium-sized black onion germination) sprinkled in the garden bed, slightly crushing, and sprinkled with earth (1-2 cm). Watering the beds after sowing is not recommended. In spring, melt water will provide sufficient soil moisture.
4. The beds in regions with cold winters are mulched with leaves, straw or spruce branches. In the spring, the mulch must be removed to allow the seedlings to germinate.

Further care

After spring seedlings, further care consists of timely watering, thinning, weeding, and top dressing as necessary.

Watering and feeding

With the initial formation of the root system, which takes place in the first 2 weeks after emergence, the need for moisture is very high. Taking into account the precipitation during the phase of intensive growth, watering is carried out 2-3 times a week, not allowing either drying out or waterlogging of the soil. For watering, it is advisable to use warm water (+ 14 ... + 17 ° C). Too warm water will cause crops to dry out, and cold water will slow growth and development.

Watering is carried out along the grooves along the crops or in the row-spacing. Watering under pressure, for example, from a hose, can lead to leaching of seeds. After watering, when the topsoil is slightly dry, so as not to stick to the tools, loosening to a depth of 2-4 cm is carried out.

This improves soil aeration and prevents the formation of soil crust. Watering is stopped 3 weeks before the proposed harvesting of seeds. Manure diluted in water (1:10), solutions of wood ash or mineral fertilizers for onion crops can serve as a top dressing.

If the soil has been fertilized since the fall, then fertilizing is carried out twice a season:

• the first - 2 weeks after germination (nitrogen fertilizers);
• the second - 3 weeks after the first (potash and phosphorus).

It is advisable to combine top dressing with the next watering or spend it after rain.

Watching crops, you can determine the lack of certain fertilizers by the condition of the onion feather:

• slow growth, feather of a gray color - lack of nitrogen;
• the feather darkens in the upper part - lack of phosphorus;
• the feather turns yellow and dries before maturity - lack of potassium.

Important! To get a quality crop of bulbs from seedlings, not a single feather is broken off. Each feather is a scale of the future bulb.

Mulching

The winter beds of the black onion are mulched with sawdust, dry leaves, straw or covered with a film. The mulch layer should be 2-3 cm. Mulching will allow the seeds to survive low winter temperatures, protect crops from leaching, and in the spring create the effect of a greenhouse. As the mulch, you can use the fallen snow, throwing it on the onion beds. It is necessary to ensure that the beds are evenly covered with snow, and in spring to cover the bare seedlings with an additional layer.

Thinning

One of the important measures for crop care is thinning. Without this procedure, large heads of onions cannot be obtained.

2 thinning per season:

1. The first shoots are thinned, leaving a distance between plants of 2-3 cm.
2. The second thinning is done when the fourth pen appears, but already at a distance of 6 cm.

Did you know? The onion variety Myachkovsky was bred by folk selection in the village of Myachkovo in the Moscow region. In the village there is a monument to the bow called "Our onion happiness."

This thinning procedure is necessary to obtain medium and large onion heads in annual cultivation. When growing for two years in the first year, onion sets are harvested, and the thinning procedure can be carried out in one step. On each meter of a bed no more than 15 plants should grow. Selected onions can be used as early herbs. Together with thinning, weeding can be carried out. Onion beds should be clean, without weeds, which inhibit plant growth and obscure the crops.

Additional recommendations

The following recommendations can be added to the above rules for sowing black onion in the winter:

1. To obtain the seed material, it is necessary to select full uterine bulbs 5–10 cm in size. Store the selected heads at a temperature of + 2 ... + 8 ° C, lower storage temperatures will not provide a peduncle discharge and seed maturation. Before planting in the garden, the bulb must be warmed up (temperature + 15 ... + 20 ° С) and disinfected with a potassium permanganate solution.
2. Onion crops are subject to cross pollination, therefore, to obtain high-quality seeds, the mother liquor should be planted away from onion beds.
3. In spring, you should not allow the formation of a dry soil crust, through which tender seedlings will not be able to break through.
4. Thick spring shoots of nigella can be used as seedlings. To do this, you need to carefully select the sprouted seedlings and transplant to another place.
5. Onions are harvested as they mature during lodging and partial yellowing of the leaves. To do this, you need to choose a dry and warm day to dry the onions in the beds. In case of rain or dew, the onions are cleaned under a canopy. It is advisable to finish harvesting before the onset of prolonged rains and cold nights.
6. A thorough selection of varieties for cultivation in the corresponding region will help to get a full head or a high-quality seed. Traditional varieties of black onion: Strigunovsky, Exibishen, Bessonovsky, Karatalsky, Rapture, Stuttgart rizen, Centaur, Myachkovsky 300. Red varieties of onions - Red Baron, Danilovsky, Shaman.

Winter sowing of chernushka onions is easier and more economical than sowing in spring. A two-year cycle of ripening of onion crops can be carried out in one season, if sowing seeds in the winter will give friendly and strong seedlings due to the observance of all conditions for proper cultivation.