Perennial onions take pride of place in the plots of many gardeners. This is due to the high yield of the crop, the variety of its varieties, ease of care during cultivation and the absence of the need to plant other plants in this place next year.
Perennial onion characteristics, advantages and disadvantages
Perennial onions have many varieties, which sometimes do not resemble each other at all. Despite all the variety of varieties, perennial onions have a number of common features that can be attributed to the advantages or disadvantages of the plant.
Benefits:
- longevity on one bed - sowing every 3-5 years;
- the content of a large amount of useful trace elements and vitamins;
- good frost tolerance (some species can withstand temperatures down to -40 ° C);
- high productivity;
- simplicity in soil preparation;
- high immunity to many diseases;
- the ability to develop under the snow cover;
- taking the first crop after the snow melts;
- pleasant spice and aroma of many varieties;
- decorativeness of flowering varieties.
Disadvantages:
- using only the green top of the plant, as opposed to annual bulbs;
- obligatory systematic weeding in order to avoid overgrowing of the beds with weeds.
Gardeners are happy to grow perennial onions, not considering its critical shortcomings. It does not require frequent planting and scrupulous care, and the gradual harvesting takes place practically from the melting of snow to the very frost. Thanks to the decorativeness of many species, the planting of this culture becomes not only a source of luscious greenery throughout the year, but also an excellent decor of the site.
Perennial onion varieties
More than 200 varieties of perennial onions have taken root in the Russian climate. Every year, more and more varieties appear due to the domestication of wild-growing species. There is a list of the most popular and well-known varieties. Gardeners prefer them because of their high yield and ease of care.
Onion
The leader in popularity among perennial species is the onion. Outwardly, it is similar to onion - feathers are fistulous, hollow, dark green and long. There is no bulb, and the false bulb that produces leaves is not particularly used for food. The root system is strong and powerful, and begins to push feathers to growth immediately after the snow melts. In one place, it gives a good harvest without problems for 5-6 years in a row. The culture propagates by dividing the bush and seeds.
There are several subspecies of onion-batuna, which differ in their economically valuable properties.
Japanese
Onions of this subspecies are medium-sized, with large leaves up to 60 cm in length. The taste of the Japanese subspecies is sharp and spicy, they are medium winter hardiness. The most common varieties of the Japanese subspecies of onion-batuna:
Russian
This subspecies includes medium-sized, highly branching leaves of a dark green color up to 30-40 cm long. They taste sharp and contain a lot of ascorbic acid. The foliage quickly coarsens, gaining weight, but by the third year it branches to 40-50 shoots from the bush. The Russian subspecies does not freeze even in the most severe cold weather.
Popular varieties of this subspecies of onion-batuna:
Chinese
The foliage of this subspecies grows very tall - up to 130 cm, does not branch, and only by 2-3 years gives about 3-5 branches. The greens are juicy and especially pungent, but with low winter hardiness. The inability to tolerate severe frosts is the main reason that affects the unhurried spread of the Chinese subspecies in most of the country.
Slime
This type of perennial onion differs from its counterparts in flat, wide, succulent feathers. Slime is not picky about the abundance of light, but loves good watering. With adequate nutrition, it yields a crop in one garden bed for 5 years, deepening by the roots by 20-25 cm into the soil. Well tolerates winter.
Juicy and tender slime leaves are often used for making marinades and as a seasoning for various dishes. Due to the abundance of nutrients, the plant is often used for medicinal and prophylactic purposes for stomach ulcers and anemia.
Common varieties:
Multi-tiered
This species is rightfully considered the main early ripening among perennial bows. Already at the beginning of spring, they begin to cut the first green feathers of a multi-tiered onion from the garden. Growing, the onion forms 2-4 tiers of air bulbs instead of inflorescences. It is with their help that the main reproduction of the species occurs, in addition to dividing the uterine bulb.
Multi-tiered onions do not require a dormant period to grow even in high frosts, so they are planted all year round. In one place, it actively bears fruit for 7 years. All parts of the plant are suitable for use - feathers and air bulbs. The foliage is tender and does not coarse on the bush for a long time, therefore it is used with pleasure for preparing salads, hot dishes and marinades.
Popular varieties of tiered onions:
Sweet onion
This type of perennial onion is known for its wide, large leaves, reaching up to 50 cm in length. The belt foliage is delicate in flavor, high in vitamin C and low in fiber. Greens retain their flavor saturation both in spring and autumn, without changing the useful composition. Allspice has a good ability to resume growth after feather cutting, so it can delight with harvest until the end of November.
In the first year of growth, this species forms a pair of shoots, each of which forms 4-6 leaves up to 30-35 cm long. In the second year of life, the sweet onion already forms arrows with white flowers. The inflorescences are collected in a simple umbrella and exude an almond aroma.
One of the most popular varieties of scented perennial onions is the Stargazer. It grows everywhere, regardless of the climatic conditions of the country. The variety is famous for its high leaf growth rate up to 60 cm. Feathers up to 1.5 cm wide have a weak semi-sharp garlic flavor.
Schnitt
The small tubular leaves of Schnitt are distinguished by a mild-pungent taste and good storage and transport performance. The first foliage appears after the snow melts due to the good frost resistance of this crop variety. A full crop is harvested 2-3 times per season or pruned little by little as it grows. It shows itself well up to the 3rd year of life on one bed, after which it loses productivity and requires renewal of planting material and place of residence.
Due to the decorativeness of many varieties, Schnitt is often used as a design decoration for a site. Blooming onions look like a colorful carpet because of the ball-shaped umbrellas on the flowering arrows. The color palette of this culture is from pale pink to deep purple.
Schnitt varieties, which are popular with gardeners and have a good feather yield:
Ornamental varieties of onions that breeders have bred to decorate flower beds and borders of the site:
Shallot
Shallots are popular among perennial crops for their high nutritional and beneficial properties. It is nicknamed "shrike-toothed" because of the multi-budding of the bulbs, which show themselves well when lying down. One uterus bulb is capable of giving about 7 daughters, each of which grows up to 6 cm weighing 50 g. Some varieties are capable of producing shares even during storage.
Shallot greens are small (up to 25 cm), but very tender and juicy, tubular and dark green in color. Feathers grow quickly and luxuriantly, which allows collecting an impressive bunch of feathers from one turnip already after 3 weeks after sowing.
Popular varieties of Shallot onions from summer residents:
Planting and transplanting perennial onions
Despite the ease of care and undemanding culture to the attention of the gardener, there is a system and rules for planting perennial onions. To avoid problems and harvest a good harvest every year from the same place, it is necessary to competently prepare the soil and plant the plants correctly.
Site preparation
Agronomists who grow perennial onions believe that soil preparation should begin in the fall. The optimal parameters of soil readiness for planting a crop are as follows:
- without groundwater;
- light composition of the earth;
- slightly acidic or neutral soil - pH 6-7.
To achieve such a balanced indicator, the following procedures are carried out:
- thorough digging of the site;
- removing weeds, the proximity of which is detrimental to perennial onions;
- the introduction of phosphorus-potash and organic fertilizers.
In the spring, before planting, it is necessary to apply nitrogen fertilizer, weed the beds and deeply loosen the soil by 15-20 cm.
Giving preference to a place for perennial onions, it must be borne in mind that the plot for the beds will be occupied by this crop for 5 years.
Planting perennial onions
There are practically no strict restrictions on the timing of planting onions - they are grown in autumn, summer and spring. Perennials are planted by seeds or by dividing the bush, the choice of method depends directly on the variety of culture.
Seed propagation
Usually, perennial onion seeds are laid in the ground in spring or before winter. This directly affects the germination rate and further development.
Spring sowing
When sown in open ground, sprouts do not emerge until 2 weeks after planting. Further development proceeds slowly, periodically requiring the attention of the gardener.
Experienced agronomists, when planting seeds of perennial onions, in order to avoid a prolonged period of germination in the open field, resort to the home seedling method. This procedure consists of several stages and begins in March:
- Perennial onion seed treatment: rinsing in potassium permanganate, soaking in water at room temperature for 24 hours, drying.
- Surface planting of seeds in seedling boxes.
- Growing seedlings at home for 2 months.
- Transplanting ready-made seedlings into the beds to the site in May.
It is necessary to maintain the correct temperature regime in the room before the emergence of shoots - 20-22 degrees, after - 18-20 degrees.
The soil is loosened, drained and fertilized as needed before the perennial onion seedlings are taken out into the open ground.
Winter sowing for early greens
To get a quick harvest of feathers in early spring, they resort to winter sowing. When in autumn the soil temperature drops to 3-4 degrees, a dense sowing of perennial onion seeds is done. For effective cultivation of early feathers, the usual seed rate is increased by 20-25%.
With such a planting in the spring, seedlings appear 10-15 days earlier. This method is also convenient because low temperatures during feather growth in early spring do not allow the culture to shoot quickly. This allows the gardener to collect high quality juicy feathers for a long time.
Vegetative propagation
Some types of onions are capable of reproduction only in a vegetative way. There are varieties of perennial onions that do not form a seed box or are not suitable for propagation. The vegetative method involves 2 methods of reproduction: dividing the main rhizome and using the airy upper part of the plant.
Root division
Usually gardeners divide the earthen bulbs in the middle of spring or already at the end of summer. To do this, take the rhizomes of only adult representatives of perennial onions. The bulbs are divided so that each planting material has at least one mature root with a well-developed underground system. The planting takes place on the beds according to the scheme of 20x70 cm, in which the perennial onion bush is deepened by 8-10 cm into the ground.
If the root system of the planting bush is weak, it is planted 4-5 cm into the soil.
Using bulbs
For the propagation of many varieties of perennial onions, bulbs, daughter and sighting bulbs are used. With growth, the flower arrow gives birth to an inflorescence, in which the bulbs are formed. This does not end the development of the feather - the arrow from the bulb extends further, forming another floor of air bulbs in 20-30 cm. Each of these airy inflorescences can contain up to 30 bulbs.
Planting such material in open ground immediately after the autumn harvest is considered optimal. To do this, before the onset of frost, the bulbs are planted in the ground to a depth of 5-6 cm at a distance of 15-20 cm.
If it was not possible to land the air bulbs immediately after collecting the arrows, then they need to be stored in a dry room with a negative temperature.
Greenhouse cultivation
Many gardeners, having adopted the method of growing perennial onions in China and Japan, plant perennial onions in greenhouses or on window sills. To do this, when planting onions in the furrows, they are additionally hilled to a height of 8-10 cm. This leads to bleaching of the base of the plant and the delicate taste of the feather. When a multi-tiered bow is planted in such warmed conditions, its feathers grow more juicy and reach a height of 40-45 cm.
Perennial onion care
Caring for the crop is simple and does not take a lot of time from the gardener. There are a number of recommendations, when implemented, a rich harvest and material safety for long-term cultivation are ensured:
- In the spring, around the furrows with plantings, the soil is deeply loosened up to 15 cm in depth for good air exchange and removal of possible weeds.
- In early spring, plantings are fed with mineral fertilizers: 50 g of superphosphate, 40 g of potassium salt, 50 g of urea.
- After each feather cut, the soil is loosened, watered to activate growth for the next cut.
- At the end of autumn, the beds are weeded, loosened and fed with a complex for a comfortable wintering of the material - 40 g of potassium salt per 35 g of superphosphate.
Throughout all stages of growth, the presence of moisture in the soil is monitored: with dry soil there will be poor development of the feather, and an excess of water will provoke rotting of the root system.
If perennial onions do not grow well, then they are fed with urea - a tablespoon of the drug is added to a full bucket of water.
Subject to the basic rules for growing perennials, onions develop well and give a lush harvest.
Prevention and control measures for diseases and pests
Perennial onions rarely get sick, but sometimes they are exposed to rust and powdery mildew. Insects that can harm this crop: tobacco thrips, onion fly and lurker.
Agronomists advise against using chemicals to treat or remove pests of perennial onions. It is believed that prevention and implementation of protective measures are the most effective way to protect a culture from possible misfortunes. For this you need:
- Grow perennials on fertile soil in compliance with all parameters.
- Do not choose a transplant site where onions or perennial onions have grown over the past 4 years.
- Remove weeds periodically. Many harmful insects lay their eggs on weeds that grow in or near garden beds. Matured pests move to perennial onions and cause damage.
- Take exceptionally healthy and high-quality material for sowing and vegetation.
- At all stages of culture growth, check and, if available, remove dead and damaged processes that can become a breeding ground for diseases. This is especially true in late autumn to avoid wintering of pests.
- Separate crops of onions and perennial onions. If the size of the plot does not allow taking such precautions, and onions are a priority, then it is better to refuse perennial onions altogether.
Scaring away pests in different ways shows itself well:
- Watering the beds with a composition based on peat and tobacco: 400 g of dried tobacco is boiled in 10 liters of water and, diluting the broth 40 times and adding 30 g of laundry soap to the watering part of the composition, water the soil.
- Mulching with peat mixed with tobacco dust.
- Spraying perennial onions with 1% Bordeaux liquid. To consolidate the result, you can repeat the treatment with this composition after 10 days.
- Thorough inspection and, if necessary, removal of larvae, eggs, beetles in the beds.
Perennial onion feathers are covered with a waxy coating. When spraying, it is recommended to add a little sour milk or laundry soap to the solutions for effective adhesion of the drug to the plants.
Harvesting and storage
Most varieties of perennial onions are cultivated for the juiciness of the greenery. Harvested gradually as they ripen, plucking several feathers, or 3-4 total cuts are carried out for the entire season. For mass harvesting, scissors are used, grabbing feathers at the very root.
To prolong fruiting, flower arrows are removed from the general green array of perennial onion beds.
The extreme cut is recommended to be carried out no later than a month before frost. The foliage is stored in the refrigerator in a loosely closed bag. Usually, feathers in the refrigerator feel comfortable for 10-12 reaping after cutting from the garden. You can freeze a large amount of feathers for a long time, after thawing, the onion retains most of its useful properties.
Few perennial varieties can boast of bulb harvests. If just this option is grown, when harvesting bulbous species, watering must be stopped 2-3 weeks before digging. After the extraction, the rhizomes are thoroughly dried and carefully discarded before laying. Bulbs are usually stored, without peeling, in a dry room at a temperature not exceeding 1 degree.
Perennial onions are gaining more and more popularity among gardeners due to the cultivation of new varieties and unpretentious culture. Compliance with all the rules of cultivation, prevention of the appearance of pests and prevention of diseases allow you to get a lush harvest of perennial onions from one garden for several years.