After onion planting-sowing and during the initial formation of heads, rain pleases gardeners. The amount of work required to care for bulb beds is reduced because they need to be watered less often. But harvesting onions in a rainy summer requires more effort and time; it must be completed before the first days of August.
Why is a rainy summer dangerous?
Long rains rarely make gardeners happy when it’s time to harvest onions. If there are frequent rainfalls in July, it is difficult to grow and maintain crops.It is difficult to choose a day for cleaning if it has been raining heavily for a whole week.
Due to wet weather, there is a strong growth of the above-ground part of the onion (feather), and the formation of heads is delayed. By the end of July, the neck of the bulbs should dry out, but due to excess moisture it remains thick and juicy. Often such plants do not have a clearly defined transition between the stem and the bulb. Such heads are not ready for cleaning, they are not suitable for long-term storage, they must be used immediately.
Wet weather creates ideal conditions for the spread of fungal diseases. Onions are affected by downy mildew and root rot. Urgent measures need to be taken if grayish spots spread across the onion leaves. They are the main symptom of the disease. Due to excess moisture, the roots, bottoms and stems rot, this causes irreparable damage to the crop.
Harvesting onions in a rainy summer, recommendations for gardeners
Experienced gardeners have their own secrets on how to grow onions in rainy weather. Most of them believe that in order for it to grow well in any weather, you need:
- choose a reliable variety;
- properly prepare the bed;
- grow and plant seedlings according to the rules;
- Don’t forget about disease prevention.
The right choice of varieties
In each region, its own weather conditions and the beginning of the rainy season can be predicted based on long-term statistics and long-term forecasts of weather forecasters. If, according to forecasts, the summer will be rainy, then you need to choose early ripening onion varieties. It is worth paying attention to the varieties popular among gardeners:
- Candy.
- Centurion.
- Red Baron.
- Stuttgarten Riesen.
Caring for onions of proven varieties is simplified in rainy summers because, due to the short growing season, they rarely suffer from diseases of bulbous crops. The same cannot be said about varieties with late ripening periods.Early ripening onions are less susceptible to pests and less likely to suffer from onion flies. To get a good harvest, it is important not only to choose the right variety, but also to know how to plant this crop correctly and at the right time.
Preparation of beds
To grow any vegetable, you need to choose the right place for it in the garden. This applies to any type of onion. For it, the soil is prepared in the fall in an area well lit by the sun throughout the day. A low-lying bed for onions is not suitable, especially if rainy weather is forecast for summer.
In anticipation of the rainy summer, the onion beds are raised and placed in a well-ventilated area of the garden. Near the onion ridge there should not be:
- tall buildings;
- trees;
- bushes.
The soil in the garden bed should be light and loose. It is worth adding sand or lowland peat to loamy and clayey soil to improve its structure. It should be noted the advantages of high ridges: the roots of the plant receive enough moisture, and the heads are relatively dry and well ventilated.
Compliance with landing rules
Many gardeners prefer to determine the timing of planting turnips using the gardener's lunar calendar. When compiling it, the average temperatures for a specific region are taken into account, this greatly facilitates the planning of sowing work. For example, for central Russia, favorable days suitable for planting onions in 2018 are April 8–11 and May 7–8.
For any type of onion, the manufacturer gives planting recommendations, which must be followed. How to plant onion sets correctlyif a rainy summer is forecast. There is no need to bury the heads during planting.The top of the set should be level with the surface of the ground.
The head, increasing in size, will gradually protrude from the ground and go through all stages of development. At the end of July, to speed up the ripening of the heads, if the feather does not turn yellow for a long time, use a pitchfork or shovel. They lightly dig up the heads. The onion continues to grow in the garden, but since the root system is disturbed, the feather and neck of the bulb begin to dry out.
Disease Prevention
Disease prevention is a guarantee of a good harvest. Proper planning of protective measures increases plant immunity and reduces the dependence of the crop on weather conditions. Although the quality of grown turnips largely depends on the weather.
In the rainy cold summer feeding onions is not carried out with liquid fertilizers. Granules of mineral fertilizers need to be scattered on the damp surface of the soil and buried into the soil using shallow loosening.
To protect turnips from fungal infections, there are special chemicals (fungicides) on sale. Most often, gardeners use 1% Bordeaux mixture the old fashioned way. True, after using it, the feather is not cut off for food. Many gardeners prefer to use wood ash against fungus. It is suitable in dry form, sprinkled with onion beds. Infusions are prepared from it and watering the onions landings. Ash protects not only from infection, but also from many pests.
Tip: When heads begin to form, do not apply nitrogen fertilizers.
In damp, rainy weather, the spread of infection can be prevented through regular inspections.. Rotten and onion fly-affected heads must be removed and destroyed. On days when there is no rain, you need to loosen the rows and dust them with ash, red hot pepper or tobacco dust.
When to harvest onions?
The ripening time of onions in rainy summers increases. If additional measures are not taken, the quality of the turnip decreases, it is poorly stored and loses its presentation. Already 3 weeks before harvesting, you need to stop watering the onions, at the same time you finish all types of fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers.
If, according to forecasts, it will take a long time for the rain to end, and it is too early to dig up the onions, then you can install arches and cover the ridge with PVC film, but leave gaps for ventilation. Whether it is possible to dig onions during rain, each gardener decides based on specific conditions:
- the presence of a canopy or ventilated room for drying the crop;
- dried feather;
- shrunken neck;
- the presence of dry integumentary scales on the heads.
You can speed up the ripening of the bulbs. About a week before harvesting, you need to walk along each bed and scrape off the soil from each head with your hands. This accelerates the formation of integumentary scales and the transfer of nutrients from the feather to the bulb.
At the same time or a week later, you can use a pitchfork to undermine the root system of the turnip. At the same time, the feather will turn yellow faster, the neck will dry out, and the bulbs will become covered with scales. There is no need to trim the feathers to mature the heads. There is no benefit from this procedure, but there is harm in the form of an infection that can penetrate the head.
If you are lucky and the weather is not raining, then you need to take advantage of this moment. Dig up the onion with a shovel or pitchfork and pull it out of the ground along with the tops. If there is a shed or shed, move it there and lay it in one layer. If there is no special structure for drying, build a canopy of film directly over the ridge.
Onions for storage must be dried for at least 10 days, and in some cases longer.During this time, the feather should dry completely and the neck should close. Only after this can you send the turnip for storage. Events for preparing onions for storage:
- clean the heads from any remaining soil;
- trim the feather, leaving a neck of at least 4 cm;
- heads with a thick neck should be eaten; they are not suitable for long-term storage;
- Dry the trimmed bulbs for a few more days in a warm room (25–28 °C) or in the sun.
While the onions are drying, prepare storage containers: cardboard boxes, baskets, nets, bags. Before putting the heads into storage, you need to carefully inspect them. Bulbs showing signs of rotting or insect infestation must be rejected and destroyed.
Conclusion
Many gardeners complain about the weather, which prevented them from growing the required amount of onions or because they are poorly stored in winter. But the rain is not always to blame. Often onions rot not because of a damp summer, but because the variety is unsuitable for long-term storage or the seeds have not undergone pre-sowing treatment. And the harvest is poor due to poor care and lack of fertilizing.
