Family onions, as one of the varieties of common vegetable crops, are ignored by many vegetable growers due to their small heads. But only proper cultivation of onion crops will help change the attitude towards the multi-germ type of vegetable. The family has many advantages, which will appear if you know the rules of planting and caring for the plant. To prevent the land from becoming empty, you need to pay attention to growing family onions in open ground.
Features of the family bow
The difference between heirloom onions and ordinary onions, which produce one large head, is the formation of a nest with several fruits. It’s not for nothing that such a bow is called a family. In a nest there are from three to ten bulbs weighing 15–50 grams. The shape of onion heads is round, oval, cuboid, oblong. The top of the heads are covered with thin scales of golden, purple, or reddish hue, depending on the variety. And juicy tender pulp with different colors - from white to pinkish. The family's greens are thin, sharp in taste, and do not become coarse for a long time. The height of the leaves of the plant reaches 30–50 centimeters. When you are satisfied with the taste of a vegetable and its advantages over other varieties of crops, you need to learn how to grow large family onions.
The family vegetable also produces seeds similar to the onion variety, but smaller in size.
Features of the family include the fact that the plant:
- gives high yields;
- reaches maturity 50–80 days after planting;
- stored until spring;
- does not shoot even at low air temperatures;
- resistant to diseases;
- undemanding to soil and care.
To harvest large-sized bulbs, select varieties of heirloom onions wisely.
Varieties of heirloom onions
To select a variety, proceed from the area where the vegetable crop is grown. What grows well in the middle zone is not suitable for the climate of Siberia. The description of the variety also plays an important role; you need to know what the family onion looks like in the photo:
- The Old Believer bow is widespread in the northern regions of the European part. The variety has a pungent taste. And Veliky Ustyug produces large bulbs, 6–10 pieces in each nest.
- Albik onions ripen early even in Siberia. This variety has round-flat bulbs covered with yellow husk. The heads weigh up to fifty grams.The plant is valued for its abundant production of green feathers.
- The Grant variety produces a harvest with a mass of greenery of two hundred grams. In the nest there are up to 10–12 heads with yellow scales, juicy flesh with an spicy taste.
- A variety of shallot family onions have varieties with a delicate sweetish taste according to the description and photo. Among them is Pesandor with purple flesh. The vegetable produces a rich harvest of twenty heads per nest.
- Varieties have been bred for Siberia and the middle zone, among which are Kuznechik, Sprint, Krepysh, and Siberian Yellow.
- In the southern regions, family varieties are cultivated - Russian Violet, Rostov, Kuban Yellow.
The family is selected taking into account the taste of the bulbs and the ripening time of the vegetable. Among those that produce large heads is the Kvochka variety. It is worth paying attention to it in order to get multi-colored fruits, suitable for salads and for cooking.
Growing and care
The family is not difficult to cultivate, because growing and caring for the vegetable is the same as for an ordinary onion. The vegetable grows well, it needs to be provided with:
- low air temperature ranging from +2 to 15 degrees;
- wet soil;
- additional watering during dry summers;
- proper preparation for landing.
Caring for family onions in open ground is simple. With proper care of the plant and creation of favorable conditions, you can get a harvest of large heads of vegetable crops in any region.
Preparation of planting material
To get a large family onion, it is necessary that planting in open ground takes place in the optimal time. It is important to prepare seed material:
- clearing the heads of dry scales, leaving the juicy ones;
- soaking the bulbs for twenty minutes in a solution of copper sulfate (a tablespoon per ten liters of water);
- immersing planting material in nutrient solutions of complex fertilizers;
- cutting the heel to white scales;
- placing the onions in containers in a cool room to germinate roots up to five millimeters.
Do not plant the family with whole bulbs, otherwise they will end up with small heads in the nest. The head of the set is cut in half in the center. The beds are planted in halves.
A place for a family is where the soil is loose and has a uniform structure. If the soil is poor in nutrients, then add five kilograms of humus or compost per square meter, then a solution of a teaspoon of superphosphate, urea and 2-3 tablespoons of wood ash. The work is carried out in the fall, and in the spring they only fertilize the bed with nitrogen.
Preparation of soil and planting material is carried out in advance.
Planting scheme
To plant the family, they build a bed by making grooves in it. Many gardeners prefer to plant seed material in a checkerboard pattern. If the variety produces large onion heads, then the sets are planted at a distance of 25–30 centimeters from each other. Small bulbs should be planted at a distance of 15 centimeters.
The planting material should be buried 5–8 centimeters into the ground. A shallow location of the sowing will lead to drying out of the roots.
How to grow large family onions in the middle zone? It is necessary to correctly determine the timing of planting and choose a variety that produces large bulbs. It is important to place the planting material on the bed so that medium-sized heads are formed.
Planting heirloom onions
Onions can be planted in early spring and for the winter, in October.
Areas for family bows are those that are located in the sun and are well ventilated. Vegetables require air- and water-permeable soils. If the soil is clayey, it is diluted with coarse sand to make it loose.
The soil acidity for the onion family is neutral. On acidic soils, work is carried out to add dolomite flour or slaked lime.
The predecessors of planting crops are considered to be zucchini, beans, and peas. It is not recommended to plant vegetables in the same place every year.
Before planting, the bulbs are placed in a solution of potassium permanganate or fungicidal. The beds planted in the spring are covered with special material, removed after germination. In winter, plantings are mulched with peat or humus.
Landing dates
The time for planting family onions is chosen depending on the region and climatic conditions. Don't wait for hot days to plant your family. When the soil warms up to five degrees Celsius and stops “smearing,” planting begins.
The air temperature at this time reaches 10 degrees above zero during the day, and drops to -2 at night. But for family onions, temperature changes are not scary. It will begin to develop slowly. Planting is not carried out too early due to the possibility of sharp morning frosts, and later it is impossible, as shoots may appear. And the onion fly affects young onion shoots.
When a vegetable begins the growth process, it needs long daylight hours and warmth. Then more closed scales will appear on the bulb, and the heads will last longer.
Plant care
Mulched beds retain moisture for a long time, and the bulbs develop without watering or fertilizing. Fertilizers are applied for onions in open ground when the leaves grow ten centimeters. Here the soil will require watering, and feeding the vegetable is required.
It is better to water the family generously once a week. As soon as the bulbs are separated, the excess ones are removed, leaving 3-5 pieces in the nest.
In early July, watering of the beds is stopped. The soil is removed from the bulbs, leaving the vegetable heads in the sun. This way they ripen faster and produce larger yields.
In addition, caring for family onions includes:
- loosening the soil 1–2 times a week;
- weed removal;
- feeding with manure in a ratio of 1:10 or bird droppings - 1:15;
- application of mineral fertilizers.
Fertilizer promotes the growth of green mass, so before harvesting, stop feeding the onion beds a month before harvesting. Then all the energy will go into forming large bulbs.
Harvest
Onions fully ripen in July-August. The fact that it is time to start harvesting family onions will be indicated by wilting of leaves and lodging. The neck of the stem becomes dry, and the onion heads become covered with scales.
When to harvest heirloom onions depends on the region. In Siberia, in temperate latitudes, warm sunny weather is needed to harvest crops. After all, the bulbs need to be given time to dry. In the middle zone and in the south, they begin to dig up bulbs in July, where they ripen faster.
It is best when the dug out heads dry out in the garden bed. But if the weather turns bad, you will have to take the crop under the canopy. There the bulbs will dry for ten days. In this case, the layers are constantly turned over.
Before planting the crop, roots and dry leaves are trimmed. Someone puts the fruits of the vegetable in boxes, lowering them into the basement or cellar. You can braid hair from bulbs by hanging them in a cool, dry room.
Heirloom onions retain their beneficial qualities well until the next harvest.
