Common onion(Allium cepa) is a biennial plant, but usually grown as an annual. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants known to mankind, cultivated and consumed for over 5,000 years. It has valuable healing properties and culinary values. See whatcultivating onions on the plot looks likeand what is most important, if we want to have tasty and he althy onions.
Common onion is a vegetable willingly grown in allotment gardens and widely used in the kitchen. It owes its popularity to its high taste, dietary and healing properties
Common onion - medicinal and culinary properties
Currentlycommon onionis widely known and appreciated all over the world. It owes its popularity to its high taste, dietary and healing properties. In our diet, it is an excellent source of mineral s alts, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc and vitamins B1, B2, PP, B6.
Onionalso contains valuable flavonoids, powerful antioxidants that reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. The greatest amount of nutrients is found in fresh and briefly stored onions. It can also be boiled, fried, frozen, dried and used for preserves.
Healing properties of onionscan be used by preparing onion syrup with the addition of honey and lemon. For this purpose, chop 2 onions finely and pour honey (about 10 tablespoons of honey) with the addition of lemon juice. You have to set it aside for a day and then strain it through a strainer. You can drink this onion syrup when you catch a cold. Usually, you give one tablespoon to half a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. Interestingly, thanks to its high iron content, onion syrup will also help treat anemia.
Growing onions on the plot
Common onion can be grownin sunny positions, on well-drained, fertile and humus-rich soil. The pH of the soil is of great importance for the success of onion cultivation, so be sure to check the pH of the soil with even the simplest pH meter before starting the cultivation.Onions grow bestin soil with a pH between 6.5 to 7.0. Soil with a pH below 6.0 must be limed. The fertilizing requirements of onions are quite high with the exception of nitrogen, which it needs little. That is why it is cultivated in soils fertilized with manure in the fall of the previous year. It is forbidden to fertilize with manure in spring, just before sowing. Onions respond very well to fertilization with compost, which should form the basis of our fertilization on the plot.
Onion varieties differ in color, size and taste. Red varieties are usually quite mild in flavor. They are perfect for cooking and as an addition to salads and salads
In the amateurcultivation of onions on the plot , where we try to avoid the use of chemical pesticides.Problems in the cultivation of onionscan be caused by diseases and pests that attack this vegetable. To reduce the risk of soil diseases, it is recommended togrow onions in a rotation systemCucumbers and green beans are a good forecrop for onions. However, we should not grow it after beets, potatoes, celery and carrots.
Onions can be grown from spring sowing, from autumn sowing to early harvest the next year, from seedlings and green onions. In agricultural crops, the cultivation of spring sowing directly into the ground dominates. However, due to the low competitiveness of onions germinating in the field in relation to weeds, the use of herbicides is required.For this reason, in allotment gardens and on organic farms, it is recommended to grow onions from seedlings or from spring onions. 3 to 4 weeks. We can produce seedlings in a greenhouse, a foil tunnel or an inspection by sowing seeds into boxes filled with a mixture of compost soil and de-acidified peat. The seeds are sown in early spring (usually in March) to a depth of 1 cm. It is recommended to sow in rows 5-10 cm apart, in the amount of 20-30 g seeds / m² of area. We interrupt the seedlings as they grow. We plant them in a bed when the plants have 3 - 4 leaves each. Usually it is late April or early May. You need to start hardening the seedlings about a week before planting.
It is much easier to grow spring onion. Spring onions are small bulbs, ready to be planted, that we can buy in garden stores. The whole process of growing from spring onions consists in the preparation of small spring onions by producers in the first year of cultivation, and then further cultivation, continued in the following year already by us on the plot, in order to obtain large bulbs suitable for consumption.
We blow up the purchased spring onions in early spring, from March. We plant at such a depth that the top is at ground level. Can be planted in rows with a distance of 5 to 8 cm between plants.
Regardless of whether we grow spring onions or seedlings, after planting them into beds, the care is similar. First of all, we loosen the soil between the rows and remove the weeds. If necessary, fertilize with top dressing and water it, remembering that the onion roots shallow and it is quite sensitive to water shortages. Irrigation is especially necessary during periods of drought. Onions grown from spring onions are slightly less sensitive to water shortages.
Store the picked onions in a cool and dry place, placed in boxes, hung in nets or braided in braids
Harvesting and storing onions
We can start harvesting onions when more than half of the chives on the flowerbed are broken.The ideal date is when 70 - 80% of plants in the beds have broken chives, but each plant has 3 - 4 green leaves. Waiting longer with harvesting will significantly shorten the possible storage period.After digging out the onion, dry it. It is best to harvest on sunny days, so that the onions can dry in the fresh air. Onions intended for storage should have completely dry leaves and outer scales. When choosing onions for storage, we discard those with visible damage and a thick neck. Store in a cool and dry room, arranged in boxes, hung in nets or braided in braids.
