How to plant exhibition onions for seedlings. Exhibition onion cultivation

Growing Exhibition onions through seedlings is the best way to get a large and very tasty vegetable on your plot. Among the well-known onion varieties, this mid-late vegetable from Holland has won particular appreciation among summer residents. In addition to its impressive size, it has a sweet taste, which allows it to be consumed by people of different ages. Exhibition onion is a salad variety with high yield.

The bulbs do not have the usual bitterness and pungent odor. Gardeners consider the disadvantage of this variety to be its short shelf life, no more than 3-4 months. You can grow Dutch onions in open ground and in a greenhouse.

Features of growing Exhibition onions

Growing this type of crop has its own characteristics. Exhibition is a very large onion. The weight of one head can reach 500 g. To guarantee a good harvest, vegetable growers grow onions in seedlings. Planting Exhibition onions with seeds is possible only in the south. This is due to the fact that the growing season of the variety is 80 days. In many regions, summer does not last long, so it is impossible to grow a high-quality vegetable crop in any other way. This does not require special knowledge, but there are nuances in the agricultural technology of each crop. Therefore, you should dwell in more detail on the stages of plant development and basic care requirements.

When to sow Exhibition for seedlings

The best time to sow Exhibition onions for seedlings is the end of February or the beginning of March. Before planting in the ground, the seedlings will have time to grow stronger and harden. The vegetable grower will have to calculate the exact date for his region independently. It depends on climatic conditions. To find out the sowing time, you need to know the time of planting the seedlings in the ground. The period of seedling development (about 1.5 months) and the time of seed germination (from 10 to 14 days) are calculated from it. The optimal time for sowing Exhibition seeds for seedlings is obtained.

How to plant Exhibition onions for seedlings

The process is troublesome for beginning gardeners, but for experienced vegetable growers, growing onion seedlings is not at all difficult. The whole process consists of familiar steps. An important condition is to be attentive at every step. Planting Exhibition seedlings consists of:

purchasing seeds and preparing planting material for sowing;
preparing soil and containers for seedlings;
the sowing process itself;
caring for seedlings before planting in a permanent place.

Important! Exhibition onion seeds are easy and simple to grow on your own plot.

Preparing the container and soil

The giant onion variety prefers fertile, loose soil. You can buy it or make it yourself. If you decide to buy soil, then you should take a mixture for seedlings. If you do it yourself, you will need turf soil (10 parts), rotted mullein or sand (1 part) and ready-made humus (9 parts). The mixture is thoroughly mixed and placed in containers.

The optimal containers would be plastic cups, containers or cassettes for seedlings. Gardeners often grow Exhibition onion seedlings in a snail. Technology is no different from other cultures. Containers for seedlings must be disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate and dried.

Seed preparation

This is a very important stage. First, the seeds are sorted, separating damaged and broken ones. Then they are prepared for sowing. Pre-sowing preparation consists of several stages. To ensure good germination of seeds and development of seedlings, vegetable growers:

Dip them in warm water and leave to soak for 2-3 hours.
Wrap the seeds in a damp cloth and leave for 3 days. It is important that there is no access to light.
The seeds are sterilized. First prepare a solution from 1 liter of water and 1 g of potassium permanganate and heat it to 40 °C. Immerse the seeds in the solution for 7-8 hours, constantly maintaining the temperature at the same level. Although this is not an easy task, you will have to provide the planting material with the necessary heating.

After preparation is completed, the seeds are ready for sowing.

How to sow Exhibition onions for seedlings

Proper sowing of Exhibition onion for seedlings consists of fulfilling the requirements of agricultural technology.

The prepared soil is laid out in a sterile container and moistened. Then they take the treated seeds and plant them at small intervals. Experienced gardeners advise you to sow the seeds thicker in order to fill the containers tightly. The planting depth of onion seeds is about 1.5 cm, and the distance between seeds should not exceed 2 cm.

As soon as the planting material is in the ground, the container is covered with glass or film. Now the seedlings need warmth without sunlight. The optimal temperature before the first shoots is + 20-22 °C. It usually takes 10-12 days before the first shoots appear. As soon as the seedlings germinate, immediately reduce the temperature so that the seedlings do not stretch out. Now for seedlings + 17 °C during the day and + 12 °C at night will be enough. The film or glass is removed.

Many summer residents sow Exhibition onion seeds in cups. One seed is placed in each cup. This method of growing Exhibition onions from seeds is very convenient because it greatly facilitates the process of planting seedlings in the ground.

Sowing Exhibition onions into a snail

Gardeners use this method when growing seedlings of various crops. It provides significant space savings on the windowsill, which is very important during the spring “planting” period. To sow an onion variety into a snail, you need to prepare:

underlay for laminate;
fertile soil;
toilet paper.

The process consists of simple steps:

Cut the substrate into strips. The width of each is 15 cm.
Cut the toilet paper into strips of the same width.
Pour water into a bowl.
Fold the two strips together.
Place the Exhibition onion seeds on the tape and cover with a second strip of toilet paper.
Moisten the paper and roll it like a snail.
Place the snail in a bowl of water.
Important! The water and paper levels should be the same.
Leave the snail in this state until the seeds germinate.
As soon as the shoots appear, unwind the snail, add more soil and roll it up again.
Fold one side of the paper so that the soil does not spill out.
Leave the seedlings in the snail until picking or transplanting.

The method allows you to avoid injury to the roots when planting onion seedlings in a permanent place.

How to grow Exhibition onions through seedlings

After sowing the seeds, wait until the sprouts appear and remove the film cover. During this period, reduce the ambient temperature, provide the Exhibition onion with regular watering and good lighting. When the seedlings get stronger, you need to thin out the plantings. Leave a distance of at least 2 cm between two adjacent plants. When growing seedlings, feed the seedlings, and begin hardening them off 2 weeks before planting.

Optimal temperature and humidity

During the period of growing Exhibition onion seedlings, important parameters that you should pay attention to are the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air. The development and growth of seedlings depends on how well the indicators are maintained.

The temperature regime changes depending on the age of the onion seedlings:

Before seedlings emerge, it is necessary to provide + 20-22 °C;
after germination it decreases to + 17 °C;
as soon as young leaves appear, plants need to be maintained at + 17-20 °C during the day, + 10-14 °C at night;
Start hardening the seedlings 2 weeks in advance, gradually increasing the time the temperature decreases.

Optimal humidity is also important for seedlings. If excess moisture is allowed, it will cause great harm to the seedlings. The most comfortable indicator for onion seedlings is 70-75%.

Watering mode

Watering the Exhibition onion seedlings should be done only with warm water. In the first days before the sprouts appear, carefully monitor the soil moisture. At the same time, you should not open the film or glass unless necessary. They create a greenhouse effect that stimulates seed germination. In the future, water the seedlings as the soil dries.

Important! Do not allow the substrate to become waterlogged.

If the soil is constantly wet, this leads to diseases of the seedlings; if it is too dry, the seedlings can easily die from lack of moisture. It is considered optimal to water the seedlings once every 2-3 days in the early stages of development. Then, depending on humidity and air temperature, the schedule becomes less frequent - up to 1 time per week. However, you should constantly monitor soil moisture, because onions are moisture-loving crops.

How to feed Exhibition onion seedlings

The optimal composition for feeding onion seedlings of the Exhibition variety is complex mineral fertilizers. During the growth period, seedlings are provided with at least 2 feedings with an interval of 10-14 days. Composition options:

potassium chloride (5 g), superphosphate (20 g), urea (10 g), water (10 l);
infusion of chicken manure with water (1:10);
solution – saltpeter (1g), water (1 l).

Exhibition seedlings grow slowly. Ash infusion gives a good result for improving growth. It is prepared from 5 liters of warm water and 0.5 cups of wood ash. Mix the composition, leave to infuse overnight, then water the seedlings.

Exhibition bow pick

When the seedlings become crowded, a pick is needed. This event is advisable in the case when Exhibition onions were sown in a common container. The picking time occurs 1.5 months after sowing. Small plants are planted in separate containers to give them the opportunity to develop well. 2 weeks after picking, you need to start hardening.

Hardening

The procedure is very important. It helps onion seedlings adapt to the conditions of their permanent growing location. It consists in the gradual adaptation of seedlings to the temperature of the open space. To do this, boxes or cups with young onions are taken outside, gradually increasing the time. You need to start with 20-30 minutes, and by the time of planting, the seedlings are left without shelter for the whole day.

Planting in open ground

By the time of planting in open ground, the seedlings reach a size of 15-20 cm. Prepare holes on the site, add ash and humus (1 handful each), granulated superphosphate (1-2 g) to each hole.

When planting, experienced gardeners advise lightly trimming onion feathers to a length of 10 cm to stimulate root growth. Lower the seedling into the hole, plant it to a depth of 3 cm, cover it with soil and press it down a little. Pour over a warm solution of potassium permanganate. The planting scheme for Exhibition onions is 30 cm between rows and 20 cm between seedlings.

Conclusion

Even novice gardeners can grow Exhibition onions through seedlings. The efforts spent on forcing seedlings will pay off several times over when the giant onion harvest is harvested.

To help vegetable growers - a video about growing Exhibition onions through seedlings:

Good afternoon, dear readers!

Onions are a popular vegetable in many countries and are used in many dishes. About 80 varieties of onions are known in Russia, one of which is Exhibition. It is a mid-late Dutch variety.

In warm areas, this onion is grown from seeds, in cool and cold areas from seedlings sown in winter or early spring. This variety is popular among gardeners because of its gigantic size and sweet taste.

Executive onion is a large-fruited variety. The weight of the bulbs ranges from 150 to 800 grams. Their size depends on the growing method.

The head is rounded and elongated. The neck is thick. The integumentary scales are thin, straw-yellow. When cut, the head is white, juicy, and tender. The yield per square meter is 2.5-4.3 kilograms.

From the mass germination of seeds to the lodging of the leaves of this onion, 130 days pass.
The shelf life of onions is 4 months. After which it begins to sprout.
The bulbs tolerate transportation well in small containers.

Onions can be grown from seeds or sets. Due to the long growing season, it is mainly grown outdoors through seedlings.

Onions are not picky about soil type. The variety is distinguished by its ability to quickly form heads. The bulbs grow superficially. When grown with seedlings, onions reach 550-800 grams, and without seedlings - 150-250 grams.

You need to sow Exhibition onions for seedlings in late February - early April. Sowing time varies by region. The warmer the climate, the earlier the seeds are sown.

Deadlines in the Moscow region

In the Moscow region, onions are sown for seedlings from late February to early April. When sowing early, seedlings are planted and grown for the first time under cover.

in the Urals, Siberia

In the Urals and Siberia, the sowing time for onions is shifted by half a month and is carried out from early March to mid-April.

In order to grow Exhibition onions in one season, you need to adhere to the growing rules. Onions are demanding to care for and will not produce a good harvest without timely watering and fertilizing.

Onions grown in seedlings with proper care reach 800, and sometimes more, grams. Onions sown in open ground are smaller in size.

Preparing soil and seeds

You can buy soil for seedlings in a store or make it yourself from:

5 kilograms of leaf or turf soil,
briquette of coconut substrate,
3 kilograms of humus,
3 kilograms of peat,
200 grams of vermiculite
2 kilograms of coarse sand.

The coconut briquette is soaked in 3 liters of water, peat, humus, leaf soil and vermiculite (sand) are added.

Instead of this composition, you can take a mixture of 2 parts sand, part humus and part leaf soil.
The mixture is thoroughly mixed and poured with hot water.

To grow seedlings, take suitable containers 12-15 centimeters deep. To do this, you can take cassettes, boxes, containers. They are filled with slightly moistened soil almost to the edge. The earth is slightly compacted.

In addition to the soil, you also need to prepare the seeds.

No preparation is required for seeds purchased from a reliable manufacturer. This nigella is calibrated, treated with fungicides and germinates well. It can be sown without cultivation.

Self-collected and untreated seeds are kept for 8 hours in a purple solution of potassium permanganate (1 gram of product per 1 liter of warm water).

Then the seeds are transferred to a thick gauze bag and placed in warm water for 5 hours. Afterwards they are removed to a dark, warm, dark place for 3 days to swell.

Sowing

After the seeds have swelled, furrows are made in the soil at intervals of 2 centimeters from each other. Seeds are planted in the soil to a depth of 1 centimeter. They are laid out one at a time, 1-2.5 centimeters apart.

Then they are sprinkled with a thin layer of soil and moistened with water heated to 60 degrees from a spray bottle.

The containers are covered with film or glass. This allows you to retain moisture and create an optimal microclimate and are displayed in a warm place.

The first shoots appear after 3-5 days.

After emergence of seedlings, the cover is removed. The sprouts are transferred to a well-lit place, for example, a south-facing window sill or a loggia. When there is a lack of light, a phytolamp is used. The temperature during the day should be 20-25 degrees, at night - 10-15 degrees. The temperature difference will harden the onions, making the seedlings strong. For grown seedlings, the temperature during the day drops to 15-20 degrees.

Watering should be moderate. It is done when the top layer of soil dries, approximately once a week. Drying out is not allowed! You need to water the onions carefully, without eroding the top layer of soil.

During the growing of seedlings, they are fertilized several times. The first feeding is carried out 10 days after germination of the seedlings, then every 15 days. For this purpose, organic and complex mineral fertilizers are used, which alternate.

When planting densely, the grown plants are seated in separate containers.

The plants are hardened off 2 weeks before transplantation. They are taken out onto the balcony or unheated greenhouse.

Onion seedlings are transplanted from April to mid-May (depending on the region and time of sowing). From the moment of sowing to planting the seedlings in the ground, 45-60 days should pass.

Sowing seeds in open ground is carried out during the same period.

Agricultural technology for growing this onion involves high-quality land preparation and intensive care. The beds for planting are prepared in the fall. A well-lit place with cultivated soil is selected. Onions grow best in light sandy loam soils, rich in nutrients, with neutral acidity.

It is best if pumpkin, nightshade, legumes or grain crops previously grew in the garden bed. Onions should not be planted in place of onions, garlic, beets and corn.

Organic matter, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and wood ash are added to the onions in the fall. The earth is dug up to the depth of a shovel.

For planting seedlings, furrows, holes or ridges are made. The ridges are suitable for onion cultivation in cold regions. In the South and in the Middle Zone, this planting option is not used.

Row spacing should be 40 centimeters. To obtain large bulbs, there are 3 plants per linear meter, and no more than 6 plants per square meter.

If the onions were not planted from the container into individual pots, then the container is placed in water. Soaking is required to remove the earthen clod from the roots. The resulting seedlings are trimmed, leaving 10 centimeters of green feathers and 5–6 centimeters of roots. This helps stimulate the growth of the bulbs. The depth of the holes should be equal to the length of the roots. The holes are watered. Seedlings are laid out in them and sprinkled with earth. Arches are installed on the bed and covering material is stretched. The greenhouse can be removed in 2 weeks.

Sowing seeds in open ground is carried out to a depth of 1 centimeter. The grooves are covered with earth and well watered with warm water from a watering can. To obtain large bulbs, sowing is carried out at a width of 6-8 centimeters.

For convenience, the seeds can be glued to toilet paper using paste (1 tablespoon of starch per 100 milliliters of water). The paper is cut into strips 3 centimeters wide and 80 centimeters long.

The distance between the droplets of the paste should be 5 centimeters. Drops are applied with a toothpick. The seeds are immersed in drops of paste.

The dried paper is folded and placed in a plastic bag.

Paper ribbons are carefully placed in the prepared grooves with the seeds facing up and lightly sprinkled with soil.

After the seedlings grow, the plantings are thinned out.

Exhibition onions are demanding in terms of irrigation, nutrition, and growing conditions.

Care consists of watering, fertilizing, loosening row spacing, fighting diseases, pests and weeds. To obtain very large bulbs, plants require regular watering. Watering is especially important at the beginning of growth and during the formation of bulbs.

In hot weather, water onions once a week. The soil should be saturated with moisture to a depth of 20-30 centimeters. After each watering, weeding and loosening of row spacing is carried out.

2-3 weeks before harvesting the onions, irrigation of the onion beds stops. This promotes rapid ripening of the bulbs and increased shelf life.

Also an important factor for a good harvest is the timely application of fertilizing. Fertilizers are applied several times per season. First, nitrogen fertilizers are used, which promote the growth of green mass, then phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are applied.

In the first half of June, feeding is carried out with mullein infusion diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and urea (25 grams per bucket of water). On the 20th of June, the onions are fertilized with mineral fertilizer, after half a month: with Orgavit, vermicompost, Baikal Em or Radiance. All fertilizing is carried out after watering.

During the growing season, seedlings can be affected by onion smut. Mature plants are susceptible to powdery mildew. The harvested crop is affected by gray neck and white bottom rot. In addition, onions are affected by stem nematodes and pests such as onion fly.

Powdery mildew appears in damp weather. The manifestation of the disease can be determined by yellow oval spots on the leaves, which later lead to complete yellowing of the feathers and covering them with a waxy coating. Damaged leaves dry out, bend down and die. At the first signs of disease, plants are treated with a fungicide against downy mildew.

Rot can occur due to excessive moisture or dense plantings. During storage, a gray coating appears on the onion. Rot forms inside the bulb. It softens and rots. A canopy that protects the beds from moisture and allows air to pass freely will help protect the onions during frequent rainfall. Sick plants should be removed from the garden immediately.

Stem nematode is caused by a worm, the size of which does not exceed 0.5 millimeters. Light and curled onion feathers are the first sign of disease. When damaged, the bulbs rot and crack, and the worm multiplies inside. Diseased plants must be removed immediately, as the disease spreads quickly. Crop rotation, liming of the soil and healthy seed help avoid disease.

Most often, onions are affected by the onion fly. She lays her eggs at the bottom of the bulb. The onion fly becomes active during cherry blossoms. Onion plantings during this period should be covered with film or spunbond. You can plant carrots and parsley in the inter-rows next to the onions. Their smell repels insects.

From time to time, the beds are sprinkled with wood ash. It protects against pests and is a good top dressing.

For diseases and pests, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment of plantings with poisons against diseases and pests. For this purpose, the following are used: Bordeaux mixture, copper oxychloride, Arceride and Polycarbacin.

Harvesting onions, sown with seeds or with early planting of seedlings under cover, begins in July - August. In the Urals and Siberia, the harvest is harvested from mid-August to early September. Collection dates may vary depending on weather conditions during the current summer.

You need to remove the onion when it turns yellow, the feathers lie down and the neck softens. The onion is pulled out by hand or dug out with a pitchfork. Cleaning is carried out in dry weather. The bulbs are spread on the floor and dried under a canopy for several days. They are then trimmed, leaving a high neck. For most bulbs, it remains juicy even after full formation and does not dry out for a long time. After cleaning, the neck can be tied with a thin rope to dry quickly.

The cut heads are placed in small boxes or nets and sent to the basement, balcony or veranda. For storage, onions can also be braided into braids, which are then hung in attics and sheds.

Exhibition onions can be stored for no more than 4 months. It is used in both first and second courses. Gardeners, having planted this onion just once, plant it in their garden constantly.

How to grow strong seedlings of Exhibition onions: video

Onion Exhibition, the intricacies of planting seedlings in the ground: video Harvest Garden, Tatyana

One of the most common crops found in domestic gardens is onions. Wide popularity of leeks, onions, multi-tiered, Rocambole, Batyna, etc. dictated by people's love. Some varieties are grown for turnips, others for greens.

At the same time, gardeners are beginning to actively resort to the development of other, more modern and no less productive crop varieties characteristic of the region.

A striking example is the mid-late onion “Exhibition”. This variety, bred by breeders from Holland, is distinguished by its very large size. If you use the right agricultural technology for growing from one meter, you can get a significant yield of this crop.

At the same time, one onion can easily reach approximately 120-500g. However, in addition to the positive dynamics of yield indicators, Exhibition can boast of excellent taste characteristics. Quite sweet to taste.

The absence of bitterness characteristic of most varieties and varieties of onions is an undoubted advantage. At the same time, it should not be stored for a long time, since “Exhibition” is closer to salad varieties.

ATTENTION: The excellent-tasting heads are very difficult to preserve after harvesting, since after about 3-4 months they begin to deteriorate.

The seedling method of growing onions of the "Exhibition" variety is the most troublesome. However, its use can make it possible to obtain the largest heads that reach the maximum mass. March is considered the ideal period for planting seeds for seedlings.

However, during this period, all insemination material needs to be prepared. How to do this?

Soak the seeds in warm water for a couple of hours.
Wrap the seeds in a moistened cloth and leave it there for 3-4 days.
Before planting, it is imperative to carry out disinfection.

Disinfection

It is necessary to prepare a solution of potassium permanganate in advance, for which 1 gram of potassium permanganate is diluted per liter of water. This seed solution is kept for approximately 8 hours. It is extremely important to maintain a constant temperature of 40oC.

The stages of growing seedlings of the Exhibition variety include the preparation of boxes with soil stored in them.

An important point in this case is the soil mixture, which is prepared by mixing the following set of ingredients:

9/1 humus:
10/1 turf land;
1/1 rotted mullein.

All of the above is thoroughly mixed and the mixture is sent to the prepared boxes. Next, you need to sow the pre-disinfected “Exhibition” seeds densely to a depth of 1.5 cm, then cover everything like the box itself with plastic wrap.

After this, the box is placed in a dark place. As soon as the seedlings appear, which happens after a week or a week and a half, the covering is removed while the seedlings are transferred to a well-lit place.

Further care of “Exhibition” onion seedlings in the future can be reduced to maintaining an appropriate temperature regime and moderate watering. When mentioning temperature, it is worth understanding that they are different for different stages of cultural development:

While waiting for germination, the temperature should be approximately 22 degrees.

When young foliage appears:

17-20oC daytime
10-14oC night

After two months, the grown seedlings of the Exhibition variety must be hardened 2 weeks before planting. Planting strong plants begins in the first ten days.

In this regard, a large area of low acidity soil is selected. However, the soil must have sufficient looseness, moisture capacity and air permeability. Having formed these beds, we drill holes in the ground according to a 20x30 cm pattern for sowing the seedlings themselves.

Important! Varietal onion "Exhibition" tolerates cultivation well on soils that have been well fertilized over the previous 2 years. Applying manure before planting will cause significant green growth and form loose bulbs.

Taking into account the fact that the crop is extremely moisture-loving, it is therefore quite important to preserve it in the soil. To do this, you can resort to various methods of mulching the soil. This measure will have an impact on getting rid of a huge number of weeds.

However, we must not forget that the plant also requires regular loosening. An effective measure for killing flies will be alternating rows of carrots with onions.

The triangular stone of a good harvest is weeding, loosening and watering. Alas, this is also the main summer concern of any gardener who wants to get a truly productive Exhibition harvest.

Their formation takes place in such a way that they are almost completely located on the surface of the bed, thereby facilitating harvesting. Digging out the heads can be done with a fork without cutting off the feathers. Drying is carried out by laying them in the attic, where they will have the opportunity to be ventilated.

Growing by seeds

The method of growing onion seeds based on onion seeds is quite simple. There is no need for extensive labor costs than in the previous method. Everything is based on planting seeds by April, so preparation is necessary in advance.

Around the end of February / beginning of March, the seed material is being prepared and glued to strips of toilet paper. However, there is a bit of order here.

The need for gluing Dutch onion seeds is mainly dictated by their incredibly small size. Carrying out this procedure will require you to:

paste;
roll of toilet paper;
seeds;
hard surface.

You should start by preparing the paste. In this case, you cannot do without the following ingredients:

starch;
water;
fertilizer;
an object for cracking seeds, say a board.

Pour half a regular glass of cold water into the pan, stirring constantly while adding a teaspoon (teaspoon) of starch. Next, continue stirring over low heat, trying to bring the resulting consistency to a thickening state.

Having completed the preparation of the paste, you will need to use it to glue the onion seeds onto the paper tape prepared in advance. The width of the tape is directly dependent on the width of the bed, as well as the number of rows. In this case, it turns out that if the bed is within the boundaries of 80 cm, then you can count on 11 rows.

We split the paper strip on a hard surface.
Using toothpicks, apply a little paste to the tape;
We also attach a seed to each drop.

The entire procedure for preparing “Exhibition” seeds for planting in this way will allow you to place the plants on the garden bed more than evenly, eliminating the tedious pulling of thickened plantings. Next, as soon as the seed droplets dry, which will take about a day, the tapes are rolled into small rolls and placed in plastic bags.

This type of “seeding” is as comfortable as possible than spring garden planting in the ground. If we consider the situation at home, then in a comfortable chair at the table, you can take care of absolutely every seed in advance, carefully distributing them so that they end up in a more natural form for them.

Planting in the soil

The entire procedure for caring for onions starts in the fall: in this case, it is necessary to mention preparing the soil and laying out a potential bed for sowing.

In this case, it is worth talking about lengthy procedures of digging up the soil, removing all weeds, roots, larvae and insects from it. In this case, in the spring, you only need to loosen the soil in the garden bed to add a little Fitosporin solution.

A small-strength solution prepared for one tablespoon of the drug in a 12-liter bucket is poured onto the bed, furrows are cut, after which the prepared seed ribbons are laid there. Next, the resulting ribbons are sprinkled with soil.

The selection of “Exhibition” onions is very attractive to gardeners. First of all, this variety grows excellently in a greenhouse; in this case, both heat and humidity are preserved. You can organize a greenhouse using the covering material lutrasil and an arc installed over the ridge.

After this, everything is covered with white non-woven geotextile, capable of transmitting light and moisture. The material is able to protect crops, save them from bird attacks, and also cope with the invasion of harmful insects.

“Exhibition” is currently only gaining popularity among gardeners and gardeners, but the excellent results allow us to once again emphasize that the potential for it exists and is quite good. Anyone can simply try to grow this type of onion in their dacha, using small starting volumes.

In the case of technically correct sowing, mono will actually speak of some results - a large harvest.

For those who have not yet dared to try this type of planting, we advise you to try the “Exhibition” variety at least once in your garden or personal plot. There is no need to worry or be afraid, the planting will go smoothly, and the sweet bulb will delight you after a few months.

Taking into account compliance with all agrotechnical planting requirements, you can get a powerful harvest, the volume of which will allow you to serve fresh onions even for the New Year.

For more information about this giant bow, see here:

Many gardeners often wonder when to plant exhibition onions for seedlings in 2018. This onion was valued many years ago because it has a very original taste.

The main thing is to correctly decide on the question - when to plant exhibition onions for seedlings in 2018. If you choose the right planting time, it grows of excellent quality. The size of the tuber often always exceeds the size of the onion we are used to.

When should you plant onions for seedlings in the coming year?

Gardeners who already have some experience in planting such plants choose the time to plant the crop at the end of February or in early March. In order to improve the quality of onions that gardeners want to obtain, they pre-treat the plant seeds with special solutions or simply soak the planting material in them.

Gardeners who have planted exhibition onions on their territories more than once soak the seeds in water at room temperature. This must be done in advance, before the designated date, since if you soak them almost right up to the time of planting, the seeds will not have time to be saturated with moisture and some useful substances that gardeners add to the water.

After soaking the seeds, you need to wrap them in a damp rag and then leave them in this position for several days. It is best to do this in a ventilated and cool room. After all manipulations, it is necessary to carry out disinfection to prevent the occurrence of diseases or the appearance of pests. For this purpose, as a rule, various solutions are used.

Advice. Gardeners advise using a solution of potassium permanganate.

However, it all depends on what area and region the gardener is thinking of planting his seeds. If the region is warm enough, with relatively low humidity, and does not have scorching sun, then the seeds can be safely planted directly into open ground. However, if a gardener is going to grow this type of onion in the middle zone of our country, then it is necessary to use the seedling method, since it is more suitable for these regions.

Many gardeners, receiving an answer to the question of when to plant exhibition onions for seedlings in 2018, are also interested in why at this particular time period. The point is that during this time, onion seeds will be able to successfully adapt to environmental conditions and will subsequently rapidly begin to germinate.

Some gardeners do not hesitate to resort to the help of the lunar calendar, since for some of them this gives an extremely accurate idea of what time it will be more favorable for onions to grow. According to the lunar calendar, it is best to plant exhibition onions during the period when the moon begins to wax. Gardeners say that crops planted at this time produce the most successful harvests.

How to grow exhibition onions through seedlings

Many novice gardeners, wondering when to plant exhibition onions for seedlings in 2018, are also interested in how this should happen in the first place. That is, they are also interested in the planting methodology itself. In order to get a rich harvest, it is not enough to know the favorable days for planting; you also need to know how to care for the seeds before planting and what needs to be done.

To obtain the most successful harvest, use the following sequence of actions:

Prepare in advance all the equipment necessary for planting - containers in which the seedlings will be stored (you can use boxes), as well as soil. The composition of the soil for planting must include certain components, among which black soil and peat must be included, since they will have the best effect on subsequent seedlings.
Make holes in the ground. After this, plant the bulbs of the future plant there and water them with water at room temperature. Sprinkle some soil on top and press it down a little.
Cover the container with exhibition onions with film or polyethylene and place in a cool, dark room, which must be ventilated.
Systematically water the future plant. In addition to good ventilation of the room in which the plants are stored, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature, since changes, especially sudden ones, can negatively affect the condition of your onions.
After two weeks, it is necessary to enrich the soil in which the plant is planted with special bait. Gardeners recommend mullein infusion because it enriches the soil with minerals and vitamins that are necessary for normal plant growth.
After another two weeks, you can start hardening the culture.
The plant must be planted in open ground in the first weeks of May. It is especially important that the soil into which the onions are transplanted does not contain a high concentration of acids. Therefore, if necessary, appropriate cultivation of the land can be carried out.
Acidic soils do not have the most favorable effect on the condition of onions. The fact is that the acids contained in the soil create certain difficulties for the absorption of useful substances by the roots of the plant. Therefore, soil preparation should not be the last priority when transplanting onions.

To reduce soil acidity, the following actions can be taken:

in the autumn, it is necessary to place the plant at an even greater depth, about 15-20 cm, so that all minerals and vitamins will be better absorbed by the root system of the plant;
it is necessary to add additional fertilizers to the soil, always of organic origin, for example, manure;
To reduce the acidity concentration of the soil, you can also add wood ash or ground limestone to it.

Gardeners advise planting exhibition onions in already relatively warm soil. This is precisely the condition that is met when planting in May, when the last frosts have already passed, and you don’t have to worry that too low temperatures will destroy your future harvest.

According to weather forecasters, winter will not last long this coming year, and spring will come in its due time. Forecasts indicate that the spring period will be long and quite warm, so planting plants, both onions and other crops, can be done even a little earlier than expected.

Also, some gardeners use folk signs to understand when they can plant onions. As a rule, a favorable period begins when the bird cherry blossoms. Some gardeners wait until the time when the coltsfoot begins to bloom. After the coltsfoot blooms, you need to count exactly 23 days and boldly plant the onions in open ground.

What is the difference between exhibition onions and other similar varieties

This onion variety was developed in Holland about a century ago.

Its differences from standard onion varieties that have become familiar to us are as follows:

Exhibition onions have excellent taste. The bitterish taste, which is inherent in many onion varieties, is practically absent; it is replaced by a sweetish taste, which is quite mild and does not cause a slight burning sensation on the tongue.
Exhibition onion has beneficial properties. For example, it is recommended to be used by people who have digestive problems.
Exhibition bulbs can weigh between 500 g and 700 g, which is significantly more than many other varieties of this type. Some bulbs grown at home even reached the 1 kg mark, so sometimes it is enough to plant a few onions to be able to enjoy them in cold times.
The aroma emanating from exhibition onions is not sharp. Its smell is quite mild; when eaten fresh, onions do not cause rejection.
A special property of the exhibition onion is also called the fact that it does not cause tearing or sharpness in the eyeballs when cutting it. Many gardeners have already appreciated this property and continue to grow this particular variety with pleasure.

Growing exhibition onions is not as easy as it seems at first glance. Experienced gardeners carefully select the material for sowing. Onions also require careful care and constant attention.

Therefore, when choosing exhibition onions for planting, a gardener who is not yet familiar with this variety needs to read additional information about it, or consult with an already experienced summer resident who has been planting this type of crop for several seasons. Due to difficulties in growing, novice gardeners prefer to stick to a standard variety of onions, since they do not always have enough money and time.

Let's talk a little about exhibition onions and their cultivation. For several years I have been growing the Dutch onion variety Exhibition on my plot and am very pleased with it. In Holland, a specimen of this variety weighing almost 3 kg was presented at a competition. In Belarus, it is also quite possible to get an onion weighing 700-800 g.

Harvest begins with seeds

You can grow onion seedlings in an apartment on a windowsill. Considering that the optimal age of onion seedlings (from germination to planting in the ground) is 50-60 days, I sow the seeds of the Exhibition variety in the first half of March.

Onion seedlings can be compact up to 7-9 weeks of age and tolerate transplantation into the ground (read about the mechanical elements of soil) even without a clod of earth. Therefore, I grow seedlings without picking - from sowing to planting in open ground in one container. Before sowing, I soak the seeds in a solution of a biogrowth stimulator (Epin-extra, Zircon).

The basis for the soil mixture is peat soil, to which I add well-washed (to clean water) river sand or vermiculite in a ratio of 4:1 and dolomite flour at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon for 1 bucket of mixture. To give the substrate greater moisture capacity, I use a hydrogel swollen in water at a ratio of 4:1. It makes the soil loose, lumpy, retains moisture well and gradually releases it to the plants.

I fill the prepared container with soil mixture, slightly compacting it, especially in the corners. Using a wooden plank, I make two longitudinal grooves about 1 cm wide and 0.5 cm deep, the distance between them is 4-5.1 cm. I water the grooves generously with a solution of Humate or Fitosporin-M and, using a toothpick, evenly place the seeds in a snake pattern, keeping the distance between them not less than 0.5 cm, that is, 2-3 seeds per 1 cm of row. To reduce evaporation and prevent the soil from drying out, I place the container in a plastic bag, having previously installed 3 arms of bent cocktail tubes above the soil surface. I put it in a warm (24°C) place.

Seedlings love the sun...

The onion sprouts slowly and unevenly. When the first loops of seedlings appear, I place the seed container on a bright, cool window. I open the bags periodically for ventilation. When all the seeds have sprouted, I remove the film.

Onion seedlings, like any vegetable, love the sun. Therefore, containers should be placed as close to the window frame as possible.

To provide the plants with the necessary nutritional area, I thin out the crops. First, I remove late-emerging, weak, and deformed ones. Then I break through, leaving a distance of at least 1 cm between neighboring plants. Taking into account the peculiarity of onions, I first rake out the soil and pull out the entire plant by the roots. By the end of cultivation, no more than 30-35 plants should remain in a liter container.

I regularly loosen the seedlings and water them with warm, settled water. I carry out the first fertilizing when the shoots are fully grown, the subsequent ones - once every 10-15 days. I use any water-soluble complex mineral fertilizer with microelements (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water). You can learn more about soil water resistance.

At the stage of three true leaves, I cut the seedlings with scissors to 1/3-1/2 height so that they do not break. The seedlings immediately become stronger.

I harden the plants; for this purpose, when warm weather sets in, I take them out onto the balcony. At the end of April, I place all the seedlings in a film unheated greenhouse.

I plant seedlings in open ground at the end of the first half of May. Onions cannot tolerate close groundwater, so I plant them in raised beds.

Good predecessors: tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beets. The bad ones are onions and garlic. I return the onion to its original place only after 3 years.

Onions do not tolerate shade, so I place the bed so that it is illuminated by the sun from morning to evening. The soil must be fertile and light in texture. For digging, per 1 m2 I add 1 - 1.5 buckets (10 l) of humus or compost, 2 cups of ash and 2 tbsp. spoons of complete complex fertilizer (nitrophoska, Kemira universal, etc.). I dig up the soil onto the bayonet of a shovel, level it with a rake and water it with Fitosporin-M.

The process of planting seedlings is complicated, the plants are very tender, they break easily, and the roots break off. Therefore, I cut off the leaves of the seedlings, which allows me to get strong plants with a false stem up to 3-4 cm in diameter. To remove the seedlings, I cut the box in the corners, take out the earthen ball, place it in a basin and fill it with water. The ground is getting wet, I freely choose seedlings one at a time. I cut the roots and greens of the seedlings in half and immediately dip them in a creamy clay-humus mash, where I keep them until planting them in the ground.

I plant the prepared plants in the garden bed in transverse rows with a distance between them of 25-35 cm, and between plants - 15 cm. Onions do not like deep planting. I make sure that the roots do not bend upward. Then I spray with one of the anti-stress preparations - Epin-extra or Zircon - and water the roots with Humate solution for quick rooting, and mulch the rows with peat (peat-bog soils). Plants usually take root within a week.

...and care

When the onion takes root and the leaves begin to actively grow, I carry out the first fertilizing with ammonium nitrate (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water). Then I feed them in the phase of 4-5 true leaves and at the beginning of the formation of the bulb (when its diameter is twice the diameter of the false stem), I use a soluble complex fertilizer (Kemira combi or Lux - I dilute 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water). In order not to attract the onion fly, I do not use mullein and droppings in fertilizing.

I water the onions 1-2 times a week generously (10 liters per 1 m2) until July 12 (Peter's Day), taking into account the weather. I carry out all watering and fertilizing in the second half of the day along the rows with a watering can without a strainer, trying not to wet the leaves, so as not to provoke powdery mildew on the onion. After each watering, rain or liquid fertilizing, shallow loosening (4-5 cm) is necessary, but you cannot even slightly hill up the plants, this can delay the ripening of the bulbs. At the same time, I weed the plantings so that the weeds do not shade the onion plants.

To obtain a large onion, you should absolutely not pick off the feather. To quickly ripen the bulbs, I stop watering and fertilizing from mid-July.