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Increasingly, gardeners are sowing onions before winter. Autumn sowing allows you to accelerate the ripening process of the crop, increases the yield and improves the quality of the vegetables obtained. Onions sown in autumn are highly resistant to diseases and pests. By completing the necessary work in the fall, the farmer saves valuable time during the spring sowing season. To appreciate all these benefits and get a good harvest, you need to know which onion to plant before winter. Not all varieties of this culture are able to successfully endure wintering, therefore, winter types of crops should be chosen. The best winter onion varieties we will try to describe it further in the article.
Advantages and disadvantages of winter onions
We have already listed some of the advantages of winter onions above, and we will not repeat ourselves. But in addition to the above arguments, there are also significant advantages of the autumn planting of winter onions:
- Planting material in the fall is much cheaper than in the spring.
- If the set was collected independently, then the autumn planting allows you not to worry about its storage in winter.
- Winter onion heads are larger and juicier. This is due to the fact that sowing in the spring during the snow melt has the ability to collect the required amount of moisture.
- It is not necessary to water the crops until mid-May.
- The green feathers of winter onions appear in early spring and are the very first source of vitamins.
- Winter onions ripen 2-4 weeks earlier than the spring onion.
Merits winter landing a lot, but the proposed technology for growing vegetables has some disadvantages:
- Winter onions are stored worse than spring onions.
- For autumn sowing, you need to choose the right time, since successful wintering of plants will be ensured only in case of good rooting.
- In winter, some bulbs die due to poor quality. In the spring, on empty areas of the ridge, you will need to sow fresh seedlings.
- As a result of natural selection of planting material in winter, the crop yield decreases slightly.
To eliminate some of the shortcomings, planting material in the fall must be carefully selected and prepared. For planting before winter, only healthy small bulbs are suitable. Large seedlings can be sown on greens. Before planting, you need to process the seedlings with a saline and manganese solution. Garden soil in the fall can also hide in itself some pests that can be eaten by sevok even before the onset of frost. You can destroy them with a solution of copper sulfate.
The right approach to choosing a variety
Having decided to sow onions before winter, you need to choose a variety that is suitable for this. Of course, it is best to give preference to special winter varieties and hybrids, but if this is not possible, then from the general variety of varieties, you can choose the most suitable onion, taking into account the following nuances:
- For autumn sowing, varieties with a high level of frost resistance and hybrids of short daylight hours are suitable.
- The sharper the taste of a vegetable, the higher its resistance to freezing.
- It is impossible to plant "outlandish" varieties zoned for the southern regions before winter.
- Experience shows that before winter it is better to sow onions with yellow husks.
Thus, for sub-winter planting, it is better to choose onions that are regionalized for a specific area, characterized by high resistance to freezing. Winter varieties obviously possess all the necessary qualities for a successful wintering.
Description of the best winter varieties
Agrarians recommend sowing domestic, regionalized onion varieties. They are genetically adapted to specific climatic conditions. But as practice shows, high resistance to shooting and freezing is typical for some Dutch winter varieties. We will try to give a description of the best types of winter onions from domestic and foreign sectioners further in the section. Based on the proposed characteristics, photos and descriptions, each farmer will be able to decide which type of onion to sow in his area.
"Shakespeare"
This excellent onion is in the TOP 5 of the best crop varieties. A bright representative of the Dutch selection perfectly tolerates the winter and is able to give an excellent yield of an average ripening period. Its important advantage is its resistance to freezing and shooting. "Shakespeare" can be safely called the best winter onion for all regions of the country.
The fruits of this variety are distinguished by excellent marketability and taste. Round bulbs are densely shrouded in brownish-yellow husks, in the context of the vegetable is snow-white, juicy. The level of crop yield is high: 3.5 kg / m2... The Shakespeare variety is sown only before winter. The recommended sowing period is October-November. The bulbs of this variety ripen in just 70 days. In winter, vegetables are at rest, and begin to grow at temperatures above +50C and the duration of the light period equal to 10 hours or more.
"Radar f1"
Winter onion of the "Radar f1" variety is a hybrid of the Dutch selection. Its basic qualities are similar to the description of the Shakespeare variety. A distinctive advantage is the size of the grown bulbs (up to 300 g). A comparative disadvantage is the likelihood of shooting after suffering winter frosts with temperatures below -150FROM.
"Centurion f1"
A very productive hybrid, capable of giving up to 8 kg of vegetables from 1 m2 land area. "Centurion f1" is not a winter crop, but it is highly resistant to freezing and shooting. It can be safely sown before winter and in spring you can enjoy juicy greenery. Onions need only 70-77 warm days to ripen.
The weight of each "Centurion" onion is approximately 110 g. The surface of the vegetable is tightly wrapped in yellow-brown husks. In the context, the vegetable is yellowish.
"Stuttgarten Riesen"
The main advantage of this variety is its excellent keeping quality. Large bulbs, weighing up to 300 g, can be stored in a dry, well-ventilated room until the next harvest. Onions "Stuttgarten Riesen" are mid-season with high taste and marketability, disease-resistant and able to endure wintering in the presence of a shelter of mulch.
In open areas of soil, under favorable weather conditions, the variety yields a yield of 4 kg / m2... Its bulbs are large, flattened in diameter, reaching 12 cm. The taste of Stuttgarten Riesen onions is medium-sharp, the purpose of vegetables is universal.
"Sturon"
A very high yielding onion variety that can be sown before winter. It is resistant to shooting and freezing. The variety is mid-season, grows and ripens during 100-110 warm days. Unilocular bulbs have a dense, yellow-brown hull. The shape of the vegetables is round, the flesh is white.
It is recommended to sow Sturon onions before winter. In this case, the crop yield can reach 8 kg / m2... This high is exponentially achieved due to the abundance of moisture in the spring.
"Arzamassky"
This variety of winter onion is the pride of the domestic selection. Onions are highly resistant to freezing and shooting. It has excellent marketability, taste, and is suitable for long-term storage and transportation.
Bulbs of the "Arzamasskiy" variety are small, weighing no more than 100 grams. Sevok planted in autumn will ripen by mid-summer. The yield of the variety is average, is 3.5 kg / m2.
"Strigunovsky"
Another variety of domestic selection that can be planted before winter. Small fruits weigh about 80 g, ripen in 90-100 days. The taste and marketability of vegetables are good. The yellowish flesh of the vegetable has a pungent taste.
Subject to all the basic rules of growing crops, a farmer will be able to get about 3 kg of vegetables of the "Strigunovsky" variety from 1 m2 area of the site.
"Kip-Vel"
This type of onion is not inferior to Shakespeare. It is also the brainchild of Dutch breeding and is excellent for winter sowing. Mid-early onion has a consistently high yield at the level of 6-7 kg / m2 and high resistance to shooting.
The vegetables are quite large, covered with a yellow-brown dense husk. The weight of each fruit can vary from 150 to 250 g. The crop has a moderately spicy taste and is well stored.
It is believed that the most winter-hardy is the onion with yellow husk, but there are exceptions. If you want to see a red or white vegetable on your table, then you should pay attention to the following varieties that can be sown before winter, subject to mulching the ridges:
"Red Baron"
The onion is distinguished by its excellent appearance: its husk is deep red, in the cut you can also see the alternation of red and white rings. The vegetable is quite spicy and aromatic, it can complement fresh salad or canned pickles.
Medium-sized bulbs weighing less than 150 g. The yield of the variety is 3.2-3.8 kg / m2... Producers recommend sowing Red Baron onions in early spring, but as practice shows, sowing onions before winter is preferable, since it allows you to increase the yield and prevent the development of certain diseases.
Snowball
Dutch white onions are highly resistant to shooting and freezing, so they can be safely sown before winter. In addition to rare external qualities, the variety is characterized by a semi-sharp taste, an average fruit weight (140 g) and a fairly high yield, at the level of 6 kg / m2... When planted in spring, the cultivar cannot withstand powdery mildew and neck rot. Sowing Snowball seeding before winter avoids these problems.
Conclusion
To decide which onion is better to plant before winter, you can be guided not only by the above description, but also by the recommendations suggested in the video:
The video shows the names and some characteristics of the best varieties of Dutch selection. Some of the varieties offered in the video are "colored", including the farmer demonstrates and offers "Snowball" and "Red Baron" for winter sowing.
It is quite easy to grow winter onion varieties if you choose a good variety of this crop. Onion varieties for planting before winter should be characterized by a high level of resistance to shooting and severe frosts. The best variety for sowing in the fall can be called "Shakespeare". It is this onion that can withstand the coldest temperatures. Even without snow cover, it is able to maintain its quality at a temperature of -180C. For the rest of the proposed varieties, this indicator is at the level of -150C. The difference in indicators is small, and the creation of a shelter from mulch will not make any special work for an experienced farmer, but it will help to preserve the crops.That is why some gardeners plant "colored" onions of foreign selection, which are not winter. Under a reliable peat shelter, even some whimsical varieties demonstrate their best qualities for the next year.
