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Many gardeners have been convinced from personal experience that winter onions planted in autumn grow larger and ripen faster than spring onions. A special cultivation technology allows you to get a decent harvest of winter vegetables even in difficult climatic conditions. So, for example, a cold winter is not terrible for plants, if the planting of onions before winter in Siberia is carried out correctly and in a timely manner. When and how plant onions in autumn in this region, and we will talk further in the section.
Advantages of the method
Over the years, winter sowing of onions has become more and more popular among gardeners, because the technology really demonstrates amazing yield results. Winter onions grow large and juicy, they are resistant to diseases and pests, require less attention and are unpretentious in care. It ripens 2-3 weeks earlier than the onion that was planted in spring.
Sowing seedlings before winter allows you to free up some time for the spring sowing of other crops, which is very important for the farmer. Having covered the seedlings in the ground, you do not have to worry about storing the "capricious" planting material until warm days, and the seedlings in the fall are much cheaper than in the spring. Thus, podzimny sowing of winter onions has a lot of advantages that every gardener can, if desired, appreciate.
Winter varieties
Onions are by nature a perennial plant that can successfully overwinter. But most varieties, after suffering low temperatures, give an arrow and do not grow the bulb. That is why breeders offer a number of special varieties that are resistant to wintering. "Shakespeare", "Radar", "Stuttgarten Riesen" - these are the varieties that are distinguished by the best qualities and are most often used by gardeners for sowing before winter.
Of course, for the conditions of Siberia, it is recommended to choose special varieties of winter onions, but if necessary, each gardener can independently choose a suitable variety, focusing on the following rules:
- Particularly sharp varieties of onions winter best.
- The zoned sevka varieties are genetically adapted to the existing climatic conditions of the region.
- The most resistant to low temperatures are onion varieties with yellow hulls.
- "Colored" and sweet onions after wintering more often give an arrow.
- Early ripe onions have good frost resistance.
When choosing a variety for Siberian conditions, you should give preference to special winter onions, but if this is not possible, then you can choose a suitable winter-hardy seed variety on your own, based on the theses proposed above and personal preferences.
The optimal timing of planting onions in Siberia
Timely planting of winter onions is the most important condition for the successful cultivation of vegetables. At the same time, it is not possible to name the exact dates for planting winter onions in Siberia, since from year to year the weather shows its surprises every now and then. But nevertheless, it is necessary to highlight some guidelines for determining the optimal landing dates:
- Farmers recommend sowing onions in Siberia in late September - early October. But such terms are only a recommendation. In fact, it is necessary to monitor the weather forecast and sow the onions in the ground 30-40 days before the arrival of stable frosts.
- After planting onions, the daytime temperature in the region should not rise above +50C. At the same time, night temperatures should be at the level of -5 ... 00C. This will help the seed to take root and prevent the bulbs from germinating.
Only after evaluating the long-term weather forecast, you can set the optimal planting date for the sevka.
Preparing the bow for planting
For winter sowing, it is important not only to choose a winter-hardy variety, but also to select the best planting material. Before sowing, the seedlings must be calibrated: large heads can be sown only on 
There should be no signs of damage or rot on the surface of the seed. Selected onion specimens must be processed three times:
- Soak the set in salted water for 20-30 minutes, then rinse with clean liquid to destroy pests, possibly hiding in the husk;
- additionally treat the set with a solution of potassium permanganate to reduce the likelihood of developing fungal and putrefactive diseases;
- soak the seedlings in the Epin nutrient solution for several hours to activate the growth of the root system.
The complex of all measures will help the onion to protect itself from the influence of harmful microflora and successfully take root before the onset of a harsh winter.
The sevka processing process is well demonstrated in the video:
The video also describes in detail the planting and care of winter onions.
Site selection and soil preparation
Onions love the sun and warmth; stagnant moisture poses a threat to it. Choose a site for growing crops on a well-lit hill or slope. At the same time, the soil should be light and nutritious. It is preferable to plant seedlings on sandy loam or loam with the addition of organic and mineral fertilizers. In the presence of heavy soil, additional care should be taken to apply sand.
Before planting onions, you should remember what kind of culture has grown in this place from now on. So, in place of carrots, parsley, garlic or onions, it is not recommended to sow seedlings, since such predecessors will negatively affect the seedlings. If you have a choice, then it is preferable to sow onions in a place where tomatoes, legumes or cabbage used to grow.
A plot for seeding should be prepared 2-3 weeks before sowing. Soil preparation consists in digging (loosening) the soil and applying fertilizers. Depending on the initial fertility of the soil, you can add 3-6 kg of humus and 20-25 g of double superphosphate per 1 m as fertilizer2 soil. Potash fertilizer for seedlings can be potash salt in an amount of 10-15 g / m2... You can replace the chemical potash-phosphorus fertilizer with wood ash. For onions, this natural fertilizer can be added in large quantities throughout the growing period.
It is necessary to form ridges from the prepared soil. Their height should be approximately 20 cm. Higher hills can provoke freezing of the seedlings, and on low ridges, with the arrival of spring heat, the seedlings can dry out.
The beds must stand empty for some time so that the soil on them is compacted and saturated with nutrients. That is why it is recommended to prepare them well in advance of planting sets.
How to plant onions before winter
With that when to plant onions before winter, we figured out, determined how to prepare planting material and a plot, which means that now is the time to figure out exactly how to plant onions in autumn in Siberia.
At first glance, there is nothing difficult in seeding the seedlings into the ground, but non-observance of certain rules can lead to a significant decrease in yield, so it will not be superfluous to recall the following nuances:
- On the beds, grooves with a depth of 5 cm need to be made. A larger layer of soil will not allow seedlings to emerge in spring, a soil layer thinner than 4-5 cm will contribute to the freezing of the planting material.
- The distance between the grooves should not be less than 15-20 cm.
- The distance between the bulbs in one row should be 5-7 cm.
It is the proposed dimensions of the placement of planting material that make it possible to obtain the maximum yield of the crop, occupying the minimum area of land.
After planting, the seedlings need to be dug in with soil. If during the last few days there has been no rain and the soil is dry, then the crops must be watered. It is the sufficient level of moisture in the soil that is the guarantor of the successful rooting of the seedlings.
To prevent freezing of the ridge with sevka, you need to mulch. Peat, straw, dry leaves can be used as mulch. Sealed polyethylene cannot be used to cover the ridges. It does not allow moisture to pass through and promotes drying out of the planting material. Only with the onset of severe frosts can black geotextiles be put on top of the ridge, which will also prevent the sevka from freezing. An artificial snow cap on the garden bed can provide additional protection from the harsh Siberian frosts.
With the arrival of spring heat, the shelter and mulch must be removed. As soon as the soil warms up, the green feathers of the seed will break through the soil. At this time, you need to loosen the crops, sprinkle the soil with ash. You can speed up the process of growing green feathers by spraying the onion with a biological product, for example, "Shining-1", "Epin".
Sometimes, for various reasons, some specimens of winter onions may suffer in winter and not emerge. In this case, in the spring, empty soil areas must be sown with fresh sowing.
Winter onion care is quite simple: after the snow melts, the soil is saturated with moisture and does not require additional watering. Thanks to this, the onion develops rapidly and grows a turnip from the first warm days. In the summer, you should not use a large amount of organic matter or nitrogen mineral fertilizers; for successful growth, seeding, as a rule, is enough of those substances that were introduced into the soil in the fall.
Planting onions in the fall, as a rule, does not cause any difficulties for the farmer. A lot of free time allows you to properly and timely prepare the soil, select and process planting material. Having sown seedlings, and reliably covering the ridges from frost, you can not think about its safety, since winter and frost-resistant varieties are able to successfully withstand temperatures down to -180C. Such conditions are unlikely to be observed under thick mulch, even under severe frost conditions. Already with the arrival of the first spring warmth, one can expect the appearance of greenery and feast on healthy, natural salad. By the end of summer, the harvest of winter onions will ripen well, which means that the heads will be successfully stored. Thus, sowing onions before winter has many advantages that farmers, including in Siberia, must take advantage of.
