To collect a successful crop of leeks, it is necessary to properly plant it. Is it possible to sow this vegetable plant in the winter, how to choose and prepare a site for planting it, and what should be the care measures - the answers to these and other questions are contained in the article.
Is it possible to plant leeks in the winter
Leek can be planted in several periods. Most often resort to spring planting. During it, seeds for seedlings are sown in February, and sprouts are moved to open beds in May. Harvest of onions harvested from August to October.
Summer landing is also possible. In this case, the plant brings a crop for next year. Often, gardeners plant leeks in the winter - late fall. Such plants germinate in spring, and earlier than when planting through seedlings.
Which bow is suitable for planting in the winter
For winter planting, late varieties are best suited, the ripening period of which lasts about 190 days. Among the most popular among them are: Karantansky, Good fellow, Elephant MS.
Did you know? The largest bulb in the world weighing 8.9 kg was managed to grow 68-year-old resident of the UK, Peter Glazbruk. Note that the mass of ordinary large bulbs is about 200–250 g.
When to plant onions in the fall
The success of planting a vegetable plant depends on observing optimal timing and favorable weather conditions.
Calendar dates
Autumn planting should be done in November. In regions with a warm climate, landing in December is possible. Timing will depend on weather conditions.
Weather
The air temperature at which it is worth placing the seeds in the soil should not be lower than -1 ° C. It is important to wait for the right moment and cold temperatures so that the seeds can not germinate before the onset of frost. Otherwise, the sprouts will not be able to withstand low temperature and die.
Did you know? On the walls of the Cheops pyramid there were inscriptions indicating the amount of onion and garlic, which was allocated for the builders who erected it. These vegetables were introduced into the diet of workers to prevent epidemics.
Choosing a site for landing
For sowing leeks, you should choose the best place according to the preferences of the plant and the rules of crop rotation.
Bed placement
Landing should be planned in an open area, well-lit by sunlight and protected from winds from the north. The best yield of onions gives when grown on loose, fertile, loamy or loamy soil with a normal level of acidity.
Crop rotation
In order to get high yields, to prevent the development of diseases and the attack of harmful insects, when choosing a place, it is important to consider what crops grew on it before. The best precursors for the described vegetable plant are different types of cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin, legumes, greens.
It is worth abandoning the planting of onions in the area where carrots, corn, cucumbers, sunflowers, garlic, and various types of onions were previously cultivated. In the neighborhood with leek, you can plant tomatoes, celery, cabbage. On the same beds leeks can be grown no more than 2 years in a row. Subsequently, returning the vegetable plant to the same place is acceptable after 4–5 years.
Preplanting soil preparation
A couple of months before planting, fertilize the soil on the site. For this, humus, compost or peat (5–10 kg / 1 m²), superphosphate (30–40 g / 1 m²), wood ash (1–2 l / 1 m²) are best suited. Fertilizers are made under digging.
Preparing planting material
Seeds before planting must be specially prepared:
- Calibrate: place them in a container with water, after 15–20 minutes remove those that have surfaced.
- To carry out disinfection: wrap in gauze and put in a solution of potassium permanganate for 15–20 minutes, and then dip in a thermos with water heated to + 45 ° C for several hours.
- Rinse, dry and harden: send to the top shelf of the refrigerator for 12 hours.
If purchased seeds are used, pay attention to the packaging. If the seed does not need preplanting, then the manufacturer will indicate this. Standing the seeds in water for swelling is not worth it. When winter planting, on the contrary, it is necessary to prevent the early emergence of seedlings, so dry seeds are placed in the ground.
Outdoor Landing Technology
Step-by-step sowing technology is as follows:
- Make grooves on the beds.
- Lay the seeds in them, leaving a gap of 8-12 cm between them. The recommended row spacing is 20 cm.
- Sprinkle with a centimeter layer of peat.
- To water.
- Cover with a film.
After lowering the temperature below -1 ° C, it is necessary to equip the shelter with straw, dry leaves or snow. The insulation layer must be periodically poured. Shelter should be removed in the spring, when the frost disappears. The film will need to be replaced with agrofibre - spanbond or lutrasil.Plant care
Care for a vegetable plant that is planted in the winter does not differ from that which is carried out during normal planting. It consists of regular watering, fertilizing, loosening, mulching, weeding, hilling, preventive measures against diseases and harmful insects.
Important! Fertilizers should be applied only to well-moistened soil. Top dressing, carried out in dry soil, leads to a burn of the root system.
Top dressing
In order for the plant to grow strong, have good immunity and excellent fruiting, it should be fed 4 times per season. When drawing up a feeding schedule, you can use the recommendations given in the table:
| Application Period | Fertilizer |
| 20 days after emergence | Urea (20 g) + potassium monophosphate (sulfate) (10 g) + water (10 l). Working fluid flow: 1 l / 1 m² |
| In the future, 3-4 weeks after the next feeding | Mullein aqueous solution (1:10) or bird droppings aqueous solution (1: 10) + wood ash |
Watering
Leek loves moisture, so watering should be mandatory and regular. Do not allow breaks in moisture and drying out of the soil. The recommended irrigation regimen is 1-2 times a week. The amount of humidification must be adjusted with weather conditions - increase if there is a dry period, and decrease in the rainy season.
To preserve the required amount of moisture, when the plant has already formed a strong stalk, mulching the beds should be done. As mulch use straw, peat, humus, hay. The day after watering, you need to loosen the soil to avoid the appearance of a dense crust on the surface and improve the permeability of moisture and oxygen to the roots.
Disease control
Leek, as a rule, is characterized by strong immunity and good resistance to diseases and pests. However, with errors made during planting and care, pathogens of peronosporosis, rust can affect it. For the prevention of these diseases, Phytosporin treatments are used, which are performed 2-3 times in 2-3 weeks. Of the pests for onions, the onion fly is the most dangerous. For the purpose of prevention, it is necessary to cover the beds in April-May (during the flight of the insect) with agrofibre, spraying with Iskra, Fitoverm.
Important! In order for the onion leg to grow well, as well as for the purpose of bleaching it, 2-3 hills should be performed per season.
Harvesting and storage
Vegetable, which is planned to be consumed immediately, is gradually harvested starting in August. Digging out the fruits to be stored should begin in October. In regions with a warm climate, cleaning is extended until December. Frosts up to -5 ° C are not terrible for the leek crop. Digging is done carefully so as not to damage the stems. As an auxiliary tool, use a pitchfork. Harvest is left in the beds so that it dries out.
The leaves are cut into 2/3, the roots are shortened by ½. If you create optimal conditions, then leek can be stored without loss of useful elements, taste and presentation for 2-6 months. In the refrigerator, it should be stored in a vegetable tray. The shelf life of the vegetable is up to 3 months.
In the cellar, at a temperature in the range of 0 ... + 3 ° C and humidity up to 85%, it can lie 2 times longer. It is placed in wooden boxes, which are covered with a 5-cm layer of sand, in which the stems are set in an upright position. It is possible to store a vegetable plant on the balcony. It will be suitable for use if the temperature does not drop below -5 ° C.
So, leeks can withstand low temperatures and are ideal for winter planting. The main thing is to successfully guess the moment so that the seeds do not have time to germinate before the onset of frost. Care for vegetable plants that survived the winter is required the same as for planted in another way.
