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The quality of the onion sets determines the yield of the onion-turnip next year. Sevok is obtained from nigella seeds. Many gardeners buy it in the store, but you can grow this crop yourself. The yield of turnip onions in the next season depends on how accurately you can determine the harvesting period for the onion sets.
After 85–95 days after sowing, the onion sets ripen. However, this does not mean that after this time it should be excavated. When to remove onion sets from the garden? This will be discussed in the article.
Stopping watering
In the middle lane, it is better to stop watering the onion sets in the last decade of July. During this period, the aboveground part of the vegetable should already be formed, and due to the lack of watering, bulbs will begin to form. The underground part of the onion can stop growing even due to rain. This is due to the fact that in wet soil all the forces of the onion sets are directed to the growth of greens, while the bulb is at rest. In dry soil, the underground part will begin to grow again.
Harvesting onions
How to determine when to dig the onion? For this, the average ripening period of onion sets is taken, which is 70 days. If determined by months, then onion sets ripen in August - September. When the crop will be harvested, two factors affect: the peculiarities of growing the seedlings and the time of planting.
Summer residents contrive to slow down or speed up the ripening process of onion sets. Of course, when calculating the ripening period of a vegetable, it is important to take into account the climatic conditions of the region.
For example, in the Urals and Siberia, it is impossible to predict what the weather will be like in summer. In dry and hot climates, onions ripen faster, while in cool and wet climates, this will take longer. You need to dig out the onions after the first frosts, and they come in different regions at different times. Also, a good sign that you need to harvest is the drying of the green mass of the vegetable.
When the aboveground part of the culture falls to the ground and its neck becomes thinner, the collection of seedlings begins. And here you should not delay as much as missing only a week, the plant will grow new roots, which is why the collected bulbs will be poorly stored in winter. Well, on the other hand, if you start harvesting the onions ahead of time, before signs of ripening appear, then scales will not form on the bulbs and the neck will not have time to dry out. As a result, it will not be possible to save the planting material. Unripe vegetables should only be harvested during the rainy season.
Lunar calendar
Some gardeners believe the lunar calendar is the best way to determine when to harvest. So, the most favorable phases of the moon are determined in order to dig onion sets and other plants.
If you don't have a calendar, you can harvest on a full moon. The fruits are said to have the greatest nutritional value during this time.
Preparation for harvesting work
Subject to all the rules in the process of harvesting onion sets, it will be stored in storage until spring and will save all the nutrients. This requires:
- Lay the aboveground part of the vegetable on the ground, if it does not droop.
- Stop systematic watering.
- Harvest on dry and warm days. The fact is that due to dampness and moisture, rot forms in the bulbs, as a result of which the entire crop may die.
- Harvesting onion sets is painstaking work that requires patience and delicacy.Mechanical shocks and abrupt movements damage the bulbs, so extreme care is required during the harvesting process.
- The harvested crop should be dried. In dry weather, you can leave it to dry right in the beds. If the weather is not good, then the collected onions can be laid out under a canopy or in a well-ventilated area.
Features of digging out sevka
How well the onion sets are dug out will depend on how well they will last until spring. Bulbs damaged by garden tools will deteriorate very quickly. Therefore, this issue should be taken seriously.
There are a number of rules, adhering to which you can carefully harvest the entire crop without damaging it:
- The best time to dig onions is in the morning.
- A tool that minimizes the likelihood of damage to the bulbs - the pitchfork. A shovel can ruin the entire seed crop. Damaged bulbs must be used for cooking on the same day they were removed from the ground.
- After digging up the bulbs, dry them thoroughly.
If you pull it out of dry ground, then there is a high probability of the stem breaking. As a result of such actions, the collected bow will be poorly stored.
Drying of the seed
After harvesting, the onion sets are dried. It usually takes 14 days. This time is enough for the bulbs to absorb nutrients from the green mass of the plant and dry well. To do this, the onion is laid out on a dry surface, while the layer should be thin. In order to dry evenly, it is recommended to stir up the scattered onions from time to time.
Further, it needs to be moved under the roof, to the veranda or attic. The main thing is that the drying place is ventilated. The bulbs dry well in a draft.
Poorly dried bulbs are susceptible to various diseases, including neck rot and downy mildew. After two weeks after the start of drying, you need to cut off the leaves from the bulbs, leaving a neck 2-3 cm. Then you need to cut the roots under the heel of the bulb, but do not touch it.
For further drying, the onion must be transferred to a room with an air temperature of 25-30 ° C. At the final stage of drying, it is desirable to increase the air temperature to 40 ° C. In this case, the crop will be stored better, since all pathogenic bacteria will die in it. But here, too, it is important not to overdo it, the scales of overdried onions will begin to flake off, due to which its shelf life will be reduced. In well-dried bulbs, the husk is whole and rather dense, rustles in the hands and does not have any foreign odors unusual for onions.
Storage features
Once you have determined when to collect onions, it is important to figure out what conditions should be for storing a vegetable so that it lasts until spring. So, the storage location should be dry and fairly warm, with no access to sunlight. As a rule, the crop is laid in nets or wooden boxes. The humidity level and temperature in the room affect the safety of the seedlings.
Bulbs that will be used for food are stored at a temperature of 1-3 ° C. Sevok can be stored in a room where the air temperature reaches 20 ° C. The optimum level of moisture, which does not lead to spoilage of the onion, is 70-80%. At higher humidity levels, the bulbs will begin to germinate.
Check each onion for damage before putting it into storage. Otherwise, the entire crop will rot long before planting. Check the bulbs from time to time to remove sprouted and withered ones in time. By adhering to the recommendations outlined in the article, you can remove the onion sets in time and save it until planting.We invite you to expand your knowledge of growing onion sets by watching the accompanying video material:
