2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-10 08:43
As a rule, by mid-August, the onions are ready to leave the summer cottage garden, so that, after passing the drying stage, go to the bins prepared for it. True, such a period is good for onions growing in favorable conditions for them. But today's weather presents gardeners with many surprises that affect the timing of the ripening of vegetables. How to determine the moment of onion collection so that it can be stored for a long time without losing its quality characteristics?
Three in one
The onion itself will tell you about the harvest date of the onion. To do this, he will give three signals:
* Onion feathers will lose their green color, having given their nutritional reserves to the bulb, and begin to lie down on the surface of the garden out of impotence.
* The neck of the bulb will become thin and graceful. Through such a neck it is more difficult for pathogens of dangerous diseases to penetrate into the bulb than through a thick one, which will be a guarantor for high-quality onion storage.
* A bulb, grateful to onion feathers and soil for nutrition, will completely form the desired shape and size and acquire a color characteristic of this variety.
Early or late harvesting of onions
If you rush to harvest, when the neck is still thick and open for harmful bacteria to penetrate into the bulb, and the bulb itself has not yet formed covering scales, then it will be more problematic to store such an onion for a long time.
Delayed harvesting also reduces the resistance of the bulbs to disease. Firstly, due to cracking and falling off of dry scales, overripe bulbs are exposed, becoming an easy prey for bacteria. Secondly, they begin to grow roots, which also weakens the bulb.
Folk ways to accelerate the ripening of onions
If your neighbors in the country are already starting to harvest onions, and your onion does not yet meet the three above requirements, you can help him. People's observation notes that if the supply of nutrients to the plant is reduced, then it throws all its strength into the ripening of the fruit.
Since nutrition comes from aboveground feathers and underground roots, therefore, it is necessary to reduce the strength of one or the other. Some people mow feathers seven to eight days before harvest, but this method significantly reduces the size of the crop. It is much more effective to weaken the roots of the bulb, for which they should be carefully so as not to injure the bulb itself, cut it, for example, with a Fokin flat cutter or a sharp shovel, or gently lift the bulb with a fork, thereby slightly undermining the roots.
There is another simple natural helper that accelerates the ripening of vegetables and fruits. This is Dandelion, which gardeners do not like so much. Of course, you shouldn't let him into the vegetable beds, but, for example, giving him the opportunity to grow on the paths between the beds is a very real thing. Then the Dandelion will serve a double service: it will cover the ground with its foliage from overheating with the sun's rays, allowing moisture in the soil to remain, and will help the vegetables ripen in a shorter time, since the plant emits gas that accelerates the ripening of fruits.
A few simple tips for harvesting onions
* A dry, windy day is best for harvesting onions.
* Bulbs are a very gentle creation of nature, loving affectionate treatment. To clean the bulb of soil residues, do not knock it on the ground, which can lead to injury to the surface of the bulb, but you need to remove the soil with your hands.
* Sort the onions, leaving specimens with thick necks for the next use, and send the bulbs that meet the three requirements for storage.
* For storage, dry feathers are trimmed, leaving a neck up to five centimeters long. Shorter trimming does not promote good storage You can avoid trimming the feathers by braiding beautiful and appetizing onion head braids.
* It is very important to dry the onion well before storing it. The criterion for good drying is the following experiment: run your hand into a pile of bulbs, dry bulbs will easily part, letting it go, and raw ones will resist.
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