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Fresh fragrant herbs that grow in the kitchen are the dream of any housewife. And the delicate feathers of the batun onion grown from seeds on the windowsill are suitable for many dishes. A large harvest can hardly be achieved, but greenery is always at hand.
Plant features
The onion-batun from its ancestral home - East Asia, spread throughout the world. The plant is popular for its mild flavor, which is not as pungent or pungent as that of onions. Cultivated for greenery, options are possible planting onions on the window.
This plant is extremely bushy. One small bulb, which never develops into a large one, grows from 15 to 30-40 fistulous leaves. The feathers of the onion grow gradually, forming a lush bush over time. The leaves do not overexpose for a long time, especially when the onion grows at home on the windowsill. They must be cut off if they reach 15 cm or more. The bulb will produce new leaves and thus provide fresh greens, albeit in a small portion.
The leaves of the plant are rich in vitamin C, as well as A, B1, IN2 and PP. Green onion-batuna will provide phytoncides, essential oils. The composition contains mineral salts of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron.
In Southeast Asia, the natural area of onion-batuna, it is recommended for use as an antiseptic. They use the fortifying properties of the plant during the treatment of diseases on the skin, gastrointestinal disorders, and fever.
When asking yourself how to grow a batun onion on a windowsill, you can find two ways.
- In the fall, a bush of onions is transplanted from the garden;
- You can grow onions from seeds on a sunny windowsill.
For growing onions on the window, bushes are chosen that have been growing for two or three years. Take separate roomy pots for one plant or containers for three to four onion bushes. The containers are selected taking into account that they contain an unbroken earthen lump with onion roots.
Winter greens from an old onion bush
Having planted a bush of onion-batuna from the garden in a pot in the kitchen, after a month you can try the greens. When growing onions on the windowsill, having created the necessary conditions for it, you must ensure that the bulb does not throw out the stem of the peduncle. This is possible if an old bush from the garden was taken for greenery.
- A layer of drainage materials made of ceramics, packaging foam, perlite with a height of 0.5-1 cm is placed on the bottom;
- In September or October, before frost, they dig up a bush of onion-batuna, which grew in the garden;
- If necessary, add earth to the container, compacting well so that the lump with roots retains its integrity;
- The distance between the bushes in a large container must be kept up to 10-15 cm, so that the roots have their own territory for feeding;
- The container with onions is placed in a warm place - not less than 18-22 degrees, air humidity is provided up to 80%;
- An important condition for the problem of how to plant a batun onion on a windowsill is a long daylight hours. In November and December, the plants must be supplemented for at least 4 hours.
When these conditions are met, they answer in the affirmative the question of whether it is possible to grow a batun onion on a windowsill.
Growing onions from seeds
If it is not possible to take an onion bush for planting in an apartment, everyone can solve the simple problem of how to plant a batun onion with seeds on a windowsill. Onions are sown in March, April, and taken care of in summer. If there is a balcony, this is a great option for a convenient place for sprouting onions. The sprouts will get stronger over time, and by the fall the greens are already cut off. The bulbs are left in containers, fertilizers are applied to the soil. The growth cycle is repeated. One bulb can grow in a pot for two years. But in the spring, it is better to change the soil to fresh.
It is easier to grow a batun onion on a windowsill if the window faces east, south or west. In the conditions of the northern windows, the experiment, most likely, will not succeed, because the onion is photophilous.
Soil preparation
For growing onions at home on the windowsill, you can take any substrate: from coconut fiber enriched with vermicompost to ordinary garden soil. There are several conditions for the selection of soil:
- High nutritional value;
- Weak or neutral acidity;
- Only one part of sand or peat can be allowed in the soil;
- The best soils are loamy and sandy loam.
Garden soil is steamed for half an hour in a water bath or watered with a solution of pink potassium permanganate. Humus is added to it or enriched with humate fertilizers according to the instructions. You can mix garden soil with store-bought soil. The soil should not be cold, at room temperature.
Seed treatment
A bunch of onions on the windowsill will be strong if their cultivation begins by soaking the seeds. Presowing treatment involves more than one action.
Seeds are disinfected for 30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
Then onion seeds are soaked in warm water for 8-10 hours, changing the water twice. This procedure is done to accelerate seed germination in the soil;
Now the seeds must be carefully dried, they are sown dry.
Sprout care
Onion seeds are deepened into the soil by 1.5-2 cm, the container is covered with a film and kept in a warm place until germination. When sprouts appear, the container is placed where the temperature will not rise above 18 degrees. In such conditions, it is kept for a month. Fortified onion plants can be placed in a warmer place - up to 23 degrees. Young onions are not placed in warmth so that they do not stretch out.
- Daylight hours for a batun onion should last at least 12 hours. In March, the sprouts must be supplemented with phytolamps. Conventional incandescent lamps are not suitable for this purpose. Their spectrum is of no benefit to plants.
- Pour onion sprouts with warm water, in moderate mode. In the spring, when the sun quickly dries the soil in the pots, you need to water more.
- High humidity - up to 70-80% is maintained if 2-3 open bowls of water are placed next to the onion container;
- The soil is mulched with coarse sand or crushed bark.
If there is a balcony, it is worth transplanting the onion into separate pots and taking it out into the air. On the balcony, the plants will be stronger and juicier, as well as the richer color of the leaves.
Top dressing of homemade greens
Both in the garden and on the windowsills for high-quality greenery, the onion needs to be fed.
- Complex mineral fertilizers help. They are used by carefully studying the instructions;
- Top dressing in the form of solutions is carried out twice for each summer month;
- They also buy vermicompost, which is sprinkled on soil in containers once a month.
You can prepare an infusion of herbs. This is a good organic fertilizer. 120 g of any herb is soaked in 3 liters of water. The container is tightly closed. Three days later, water the onion with infusion.
Collecting greens
They begin to harvest a small crop of green onion-batuna in the summer, when the leaves grow to 15-20 cm. Take one or two feathers from each bush. In the fall, the greens are completely cut off.If there is a lot of it, put it in plastic bags in the refrigerator.
The onion will continue to grow on the windowsill in winter. During this period, he is provided with a temperature of 18 degrees and moderate watering without top dressing. Since February, the greenery will begin to actively develop, so the plants will need fertilization.
Simple worries will give the joy of green sprouts, and then a delicacy for salads.
