Batun - Onions Without Bulbs

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

In total, there are about 400 types of onions, of which only 10-15 are grown in vegetable gardens (onions, chives, slugs, batun, rockumbol, shallots, multi-tiered, leek, ukun, etc.). If in onions you prefer tops rather than roots, then try starting a batun onion on the site. Its succulent feathers are richer in vitamin C than onions

Hibernates outside

This perennial plant is most often cultivated in Siberia, but in the middle lane such a crop is not uncommon. They eat fisty (almost like onions) green leaves. They contain a lot of sugars, phytoncides, vitamins (especially C), valuable salts of magnesium, potassium and iron.

Batun winters well in the open field, and he is not afraid of the cold. That is why the northerners love him so much. In early spring, a month ahead of its onion counterpart, the onion “shoots” its edible leaves. After cutting, the plant grows back rather quickly. And in one season it is ready to please with 2-3 (and 3-4 in southern latitudes) harvests of succulent feathers.

Leaves no bulbs

However, unlike onions, the batun does not form bulbs, which brings it closer to garden greenery. Its leaves grow on a shortened stem (or bottom) as soon as the snow comes off the ground. They die off in autumn. In the axils of the leaves, around July, buds are formed and after winter they begin to grow rapidly, endowing with fresh greens in the spring.

Each bud forms up to 5 leaves, and new buds appear in their axils. Therefore, every year the bush becomes larger and wider: in the first year it has up to 5 branches, in the second - up to 10-15, and by the fall of the third year of its life, the onion forms up to 30 separate unconnected sprouts. Together they look like one big green bush.

Arrow mosque

After two years of age, the batun onion begins to throw out arrows and continues to do this annually. Spherical inflorescences develop on the arrows. And in them seeds ripen by autumn, with which the batun most often reproduces. This onion "removes" a large amount of mineral salts from the soil. That is why it is better to sow it on fertile, well-fertilized lands. In autumn, it is advisable to dig up the soil, add compost (1-2 buckets per square meter). In the spring, it will not hurt to add ash (150-200 g per square meter) and 20-30 g of urea to the garden bed.

Sowing of the batun is usually done in early spring with wet and slightly germinated seeds. They are placed in two lines, between which they leave a passage of 50 cm, and between the grooves - 20 cm. 2-3 grams of seeds are consumed per square meter. They are deepened into the grooves by 2-3 cm. Some gardeners, to better see how the seeds are laid, sprinkle them with chalk or tooth powder. During a drought period, before germination, crops are watered from a watering can with a strainer.

Thin out several times

The trampoline care consists in weeding and loosening. With good watering and favorable weather, seedlings hatch in 1, 5-2 weeks. After prolonged rains or too much watering, a crust appears over the seedlings. It must be carefully broken with a rake, for fear of injuring the delicate seedlings of the plant. Over the summer, the beds with a trampoline are weeded and loosened 4-5 more times.

We must not forget about careful thinning. The first of them is carried out with 2-3 sheets at intervals of up to 3 cm. Thinning the plants a second time, leave gaps between plants up to 6 cm. In this case, there will be even more greenery, so the process can be extended for a whole month. If necessary, carry out the third thinning already by 12 cm. And they stretch this operation until the fall. All that remains in the garden is allowed into the winter. For a two-year-old trampoline, the distance between the bushes should be about 24cm. Thin the plant until flower arrows appear.

In early spring, a complete mineral fertilizer is applied to a dried bed with a batun - potassium nitrate, superphosphate, urea. Top dressing is covered with earth. Over the summer, the soil is loosened up to five more times, especially after rain or abundant watering. When the leaves reach 15cm, you can eat them. After the formation of arrows, the plant is cut off at the base, leaving up to 2-3 arrows per seed.

Over time it starts to fade

The garden should be renewed after 3-4 years. It is after this time that the batun begins to delight less and less with greens and more and more to indulge in arrows. With good care, up to 4 kg of leaves can be harvested from one square meter annually. Batun is also known as a "repeated" crop, which, like radishes, lettuce, dill, can be planted after removing vegetables from the beds. But with sowing it is better not to be late. In the middle lane, it is usually June 18-20. If you delay it until early August, the harvest will not be so plentiful. Batun greens go well for soups, main courses, side dishes and salads.