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How, in winter, there is not enough fresh vegetables and herbs. Because of this, many suffer from vitamin deficiency. But there is a way to quickly grow green onions right at home. In addition, it is not just a tasty product, but also a flavorful addition to salads. And you can eat just a bit of a bite with any dish. Let's take a look at how to grow onions at home.
We create the necessary conditions
The process of growing onions in winter is usually called feather forcing. It is very convenient that such a bow is always at hand and you do not need to go to the store every time you need it. It's no secret that purchased onions are very poorly stored, even in the refrigerator. It quickly loses its freshness and withers. Some people freeze chopped onions and use them in various dishes. True, it is not at all suitable for salads, as it loses its color and familiar aroma.
You never know how and in what conditions the purchased onion was grown. Very often, manufacturers use growth accelerators, which means that there can be no talk of any benefits. Yes, and a green onion is not cheap enough in winter. It is much more profitable to grow it yourself.
This does not require special dishes. You can take any container that fits on the windowsill. Of course, it is not necessary to grow onions on the windowsill. But still, probably nowhere else in the house is there so much light as near the window. The more light, the faster the greenery grows. If you need to grow a feather in a short time, the room temperature is increased. To do this, you can use an ordinary lamp or a special phytolamp. It should be installed at a height of about 60 cm from the container. It is best to leave the lamp on at all times.
There are several ways you can grow green bow on the windowsill:
- in water;
- in the ground.
First, let's look at how to grow onions in water on a windowsill.
Growing onions in water
This is the most common and easiest way. growing greenery at home. You just need to put a small jar of water and onions on the windowsill. Conveniently, everything you need is always at hand. The only thing is that only one onion will fit in the jar, so to get enough greens, you will need to prepare many jars. This is not always convenient, because banks take up a lot of space.
For growing in this way, take large bulbs so that they do not fall into the jar itself. One such fruit spawns no more than ten feathers. Closer to spring, these bulbs begin to sprout on their own. They can simply be planted with houseplants.
As you can see, this method is very simple, fast and does not require any extra costs. You also don't have to mess with the soil and look for special containers. But it is worth considering some of the disadvantages mentioned above. Some inconveniences can be easily avoided. For example, special containers are sold on store shelves that do not take up much space and do not spoil the appearance of the premises.
Here are some rules for growing onions in such containers:
- Water is poured into the container. It will need to be refilled from time to time.
- Then a special cover is installed, which has a large number of holes. The bulbs will be placed in these holes.
- For cultivation, you need settled water at room temperature.
- For greens to grow well, you need constant access to air. For this, an aerator is installed, which is used for aquariums. If there is no such device, you can simply change the water in the container more often.
You can build a growing container yourself. To do this, take any wide container and place dense foam rubber in it. You can also make your own lid with holes, for example, from wood.
Growing green onions in the ground
Growing onions in the ground is equally convenient. In this case, the bulbs can be placed closer together. The fact is that in the soil the onion dries out very much, therefore it takes up less space. This allows you to grow more green feathers in a small container.
It is very important to select the correct container for this. The container must have holes so that excess moisture can drain out. It is also necessary to put a pallet under it, where water will be collected. These containers can be purchased at specialized stores. It is very important that the capacity is high enough. Otherwise, the roots can push the bulbs to the surface, and the feather will simply break.
It is noteworthy that the bow is undemanding to the ground. He himself gives nutrients to the soil. So even in ordinary soil, a feather can grow up to 20, or even 30 centimeters. Try to choose loose soil for growing, the acidity of which is no more than 7 pH. You can add sphagnum or sawdust to it.
A drainage layer is placed on the bottom of the container. It is needed to retain moisture in the soil. Then it is lined with a thick layer of soil (about 10 centimeters). Next, prepared onions are planted in the ground. The third part should be above the soil surface.
The ideal temperature for normal growth is + 20 ° C. Small deviations are allowed. If you increase the values to 25-27 ° C, then the greens will grow much faster. It is very important that the container of onions does not overheat in the sun. To protect the bow, you can wrap the container in plain foil. Adequate moisture will allow you to grow tasty and juicy green onions. When properly planted and cared for, you can get an excellent harvest of fresh young feathers.
Preparing the bow for planting
Bulbs of various types and sizes are suitable for growing feathers. But it is most convenient to use a small set for this purpose. A large number of small onions can be placed in one container and a good harvest of greens can be grown.
A feather is used for food, which has grown from 15 to 30 centimeters in height. The bottom of the onion is cut off and discarded. Some housewives are used to pinching off only the upper parts of the feathers, and leaving the lower ones. In this form, onions can remain in the container for up to two months.
Also, multi-nested onions are used for cultivation. It sprouts several shoots at the same time, which allows you to increase the yield. Such a bow is also called kuschevka. The following varieties of multi-nested onions can be found on store shelves:
- "Bessonovsky";
- Pozharsky;
- "Union";
- Danilovsky.
The bulbs are dormant for some time. Then in January they begin to be planted for distillation. Of course, sometimes you want to grow fresh greens earlier. In this case, you will have to remove the bow from this state.
Keep the bulbs in a cool place during the fall. After that, the feathers will germinate faster. First of all, before planting, you need to inspect the fruit and cut it off at the place of maximum expansion. Thanks to this, the number of sprouted feathers can be increased.
Before planting onions should be soaked in a manganese solution. Plain water will also work. In this form, the fruits should stand for at least 10 hours. This procedure will help the onion germinate faster.Then it is kept for some time in a humid environment. After a couple of days, the rudiments of the root system will begin to form, and the upper part will dry out a little.
Important rules
Onions on greens begin to be planted in January. You can try it first. To do this, take one onion and set it in the lower part of the water. If the root system begins to actively grow, then it's time to plant the rest of the onions.
Some plant the whole onion in one go. But in this case, you will have to quickly use it. After a couple of weeks, the feather will grow to the desired length and it's time to harvest. If you do not need such a large amount of greenery, then it will be more convenient to plant the plants in several passes. For example, dozens of bulbs a week. For this, both one large container and several small ones are suitable.
Then the fruits are planted in water or soil. For the first 10 days, the container is placed in a cool place with good lighting to form the root system. In other words, it is necessary to create the onion conditions reminiscent of early spring. Next, you need to increase the air temperature so that the feathers grow.
There is no need to feed the grown bulbs. However, to increase the yield, wood ash can be added to the water. For five liters of water, take five grams of ash. To improve the appearance of the feathers, you can spray the grown onions with warm water. It is important not to wet the fruit itself. At this stage, you can prepare the second batch of onions. Thus, you can alternately lay the entire window with planted plants. As a result, you will have fresh greens until the next harvest.
Conclusion
Not everyone knows how to grow green onions at home. But as you can see from this article, this is very easy to do. And most importantly, in this way you can not only provide your family with fresh herbs, but also save a lot. You don't need any expensive equipment to grow green onions in water. You just need to prepare the container, the water and the bulbs themselves. Now that you know how to plant onions, be sure to put this knowledge into practice.
