Recommendations from experienced gardeners: is it possible to sow nigella onions before winter and when to do it?

There are two ways to sow onions. It is grown from sets or seeds called nigella. While markets sell mainly bulbs for sowing, seeds of different varieties are available in specialized stores. To get healthy planting material for the desired plant, it is better to use nigella.

Growing the crop from seeds is complicated by the fact that turnips take two seasons to develop. Pre-winter sowing will help speed up the process. In this case, large vegetables will be ready for harvest in the fall. Is it possible to sow chives before winter, how and when to do it, read on.

Advantages and disadvantages of winter sowing

Growing nigella in this way has a number of advantages:

1. If you plant seeds in the spring, then by autumn you will be able to collect only the sets. In this case, you will have to wait another year until a full harvest is obtained. With pre-winter sowing, large bulbs will appear next autumn.
2. The onion turns out to be stronger and more resilient, and suffers less from diseases. It manages to adapt to the composition of the soil and climatic conditions of a particular region.
3. The seeds, unlike sets, are small. Therefore, you don’t have to clear and prepare space for them in the basement or attic.
4. In spring, the soil will be moistened with melting snow and precipitation. The gardener will not have to waste time watering.
5. Nigella germinates after the first warming. Sown before winter, it will grow much faster than crops planted at the usual time.
6. In the spring, the gardener will not have to look for time to sow onions - it will be freed up for growing other crops.
7. Most varieties of the crop are suitable for sowing before winter.

The only drawback of this method is that the seeds are planted in frozen soil, so you will have to work with cold soil, which is not always pleasant.

Is it possible to plant black onions before winter?

Planting chives before winter is not only possible, but also necessary. Compared to spring planting, this is the most preferable option.

There are many advantages to autumn sowing:

• crops germinate earlier;
• the endurance of bulbs and sets is higher when planted before winter;
• a large selection of varieties (the choice of varieties of seedlings for sowing cannot boast of much variety);
• with this method of planting, the seedlings are hardened and adapted to the weather conditions of the growing area;
• in spring, the time that is usually spent on sowing onions can be devoted to planting and caring for other crops;
• less hassle with watering - groundwater will do most of the work, providing the plantings with a sufficient amount of moisture.

Attention! There is a widespread misconception that black onion is a separate variety of onion. This is wrong. Black onions are the black seeds of onions of different varieties.

Obtaining planting material

You don't have to buy Chernushka. Onion seeds are easy to obtain yourself. For this purpose, the largest and healthiest turnips are selected from last year's harvest.

Selected material is planted in autumn or spring. In mid-summer, the plants will shoot arrows. The inflorescences contain many dark brown or black seeds.

They ripen unharmoniously. Therefore, after the first black seeds appear, the umbrellas are wrapped in gauze or stocking so as not to lose part of the planting material. When the seeds are ripe, they are collected, laid out on paper and allowed to dry for several days.

Some vegetable growers use another method: they cut off the umbrellas with still green seeds and leave them in the sun for 10–14 days. During this time, the material will fully ripen.

Attention! To obtain planting material, the largest and healthiest turnips are used, which were not sick during cultivation. Their seeds are characterized by increased germination, high resistance to diseases and negative environmental factors.

Variety selection

Most crop varieties are suitable for planting in late autumn and early winter. However, for the northern and central regions of Russia it is better to choose winter-hardy plants.

The varieties described are resistant to cold snaps and can withstand even the coldest winters.

Preparing for sowing

To grow strong and healthy onions, it is important to properly prepare the planting material. First, make sure of its germination:

1. The seeds are sorted and divided into groups according to size. Large specimens germinate a week earlier than small ones.
2. Several seeds from each batch are laid out on gauze, which is used to cover a saucer. It is moistened with water, the material is covered with another layer of fabric and put in a warm place. Moisten with warm liquid as it dries.
3. When the seeds germinate, count the number of sprouted specimens. If more than 30% germinated, the batch is suitable for cultivation.

The remaining seeds that were not germinated are prepared for winter planting . For this:

1. The seeds are immersed in water. After an hour, the specimens remaining on the surface are collected and soaked for another hour, and those that float are thrown away. Nigella that sank to the bottom during the first and second soaking is suitable for planting.
2. Planting material is disinfected by soaking for 2 hours in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Nigella is immersed in water at a temperature of +50°C for half an hour. After this, soak for another 2 hours in aloe juice, diluted with an equal amount of water.
4. The prepared seeds are dried, spread out in 1 layer in a warm place.

You cannot dry nigella on a radiator. Extreme heat will cause the seeds to overheat and not germinate.

Landing dates

Deadlines vary by region. Seeds are planted when the soil has already begun to freeze. This eliminates the risk of their germination ahead of time.

When to plant seeds depending on the region:

• northern regions (Ural, Siberia) - late October - early November;
• central regions (Moscow region, Moscow) - mid-end of November;
• cities with a southern climate (Belgorod, Sochi) - December.

When choosing the time for winter sowing, they are not guided by generally accepted deadlines. It's important to look at the actual weather this year. It is better to sow nigella later than earlier.

Attention! Some vegetable growers prefer to plant seeds under the snow.

Sowing rules

Growing nigella is not difficult. It is important to follow the basic rules of planting and soil preparation. This determines how high-quality and abundant the harvest will be and how many seeds will germinate.

Soil preparation

First of all, choose a landing site. Garden plots on a small hill are best suited. This will help avoid moisture stagnation and reduce the risk of crop disease. It is important that the beds are well lit by the sun: the feathers of a plant in the shade will be yellow.

The beds on which onions previously grew are not used for planting the same crop for 2 years. Suitable predecessors are nightshade or legumes, cabbage, carrots.

Pre-prepare the soil. This is done in early October, when the soil is still quite soft:

1. The ground is dug up and the remains of weeds and cultivated plants are removed.
2. Fertilizers are applied: per 1 m2 take 0.5 buckets of humus or rotted manure and 1 tbsp. ash.
3. The soil is leveled with a rake and mixed with fertilizer.
4. Form beds 15–20 cm high, make grooves 2 cm deep. A small amount of coarse table salt is poured onto the bottom to prevent the onion fly from infecting the plants.

If the soil is sufficiently nutritious but heavy, river sand is used instead of humus. Pour 1/3 of a 10 liter bucket onto 1 m2.

Landing

It is not difficult to sow nigella. The main thing is to follow the rules:

1. Make grooves at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Their depth should reach 2–2.5 cm.
2. Seeds are poured into the grooves. Since the germination rate of nigella is low, thickened planting is used. Up to 100 seeds are consumed per 1 m2.
3. The seeds are sprinkled with a 2 cm layer of sand, then watered with warm, settled water.

The beds are mulched with humus, peat, hay or sawdust to protect against cold weather. This is especially true for regions where little snow falls in winter.

Important! Seeds no older than 2 years are suitable for planting.

Further care

In autumn and winter, nigella is not watered, but care is taken to ensure that the beds are evenly covered with snow.

The main care occurs in spring and summer. It includes the following steps:

1. Thinning. Since nigella is sown quite densely, in the spring the seedlings appear close to each other. To get large bulbs and a lot of greens, thinning is carried out in 2 stages. When the seeds germinate, leave 3 cm free between the plants. When 3-4 true leaves appear (this happens 2-3 weeks after the appearance of the first shoots), re-thinning is carried out, leaving 6-8 cm between the plants.
2. Watering. Onions are watered twice a week in dry weather. In case of heavy precipitation, humidification is stopped. Per 1 m2, use up to 1 bucket of settled water at room temperature. Watering is stopped 2 weeks before harvest.
3. Loosening and weeding. After each moistening, the soil is loosened. This destroys the earthen crust, which prevents root air exchange. At the same time, the beds are cleared of weeds: they spread diseases and cause the bulbs to shred.
4. Mulching. Mulch (sawdust, peat, hay or straw) protects plants from cold weather, diseases, slows down the growth of weeds, prevents stagnation and evaporation of moisture, and the formation of an earthen crust. Such beds are not loosened.

Fertilizing is applied three times per season, every 2-3 weeks:

1. After the second thinning, organic nitrogen fertilizers are used. For example, a solution of mullein (1:5) or chicken manure (1:10).
2. The second time, mineral compositions containing phosphorus and potassium are used.
3. The third feeding is made mineral-organic. Add 20 g of superphosphate and 1 tbsp to a bucket with a solution of chicken manure (1:10). ash.

Reproduction: how to properly collect seeds to get sets

You can get black onions in the following way: select several large onions you like. The process of planting selected bulbs directly on the beds is best done in early spring, as soon as the last snow has melted. Or you can plant them before winter, treating the soil well to protect them with organic minerals. You can read more about planting onions in open ground before winter here.

It is better to choose a sunny and dry place for planting. The bed needs to be dug well, gradually adding humus mixed with wood ash. It must be remembered that onions love to be next to carrots - this crop repels onion flies. You can also plant seedlings of dill and calendula seeds on the onion bed - dill also prevents the invasion of insects harmful to onions, and calendula prevents round earthworms from developing. If very long arrows have grown from the bulbs, they must be tied up to prevent them from breaking.

It is recommended to maintain a moderate watering regime for bulb beds.

In the summer, you need to wait for the appearance of onion umbrellas, which, after flowering, accompanied by the opening of the seed pods, scatter the desired seeds near them.

There is a risk that the bulb may be damaged by insects - wasps or onion flies - during flowering. Gardeners protect themselves from this danger by covering the flowers with a gauze cap. This method will prevent the seeds from scattering on the ground and protect the flower from harmful insects.

You can also get nigella in a faster way - simply collect the bulbous umbrellas, spread them on newspapers in a dry, warm room and wait for about 2-3 weeks to ripen.

The resulting seeds quickly lose their viability, so it is recommended to use only fresh seeds for planting.

Advice from experienced gardeners

For a larger harvest and easier cultivation, follow the advice of experienced gardeners:

1. To make it easier to sow nigella and control the number of seeds per 1 m2, planting material is mixed with chalk powder or light sand.
2. Watering and fertilizing are carried out early in the morning or at sunset with low solar activity. This reduces the risk of burns on plants.
3. The day before fertilizing, the beds are watered abundantly so that the fertilizers do not harm the root system.
4. Purchased planting material is disinfected and calibrated in the factory. This is evidenced by the inscriptions on the packaging. Such seeds are not disinfected at home, but they are still checked for germination.
5. The readiness of the crop for harvesting is indicated by yellowing and wilting of the feathers.
6. If nigella is planted on greenery, then spring thinning is done only once.

For onions planted before winter, extreme warming followed by the onset of frost is dangerous. If the seeds manage to germinate during the thaw, they will die if the temperature drops sharply.

For the middle band

Many varieties of sweet onions have been developed for central Russia and the Moscow region. All of them are divided into early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening.

You can understand how to grow onions for greens on a windowsill by watching the video in this article.
But how to grow onions at home is indicated here.

It will also be interesting to learn about how onions are grown from seeds to pero Aeroponics: //gidfermer.com/sadovodstvo/ovoshhevodstvo/vyrashhivanie-luka-na-pero.html

This video will help you understand how to grow leeks from seeds.

Arzamas

This variety is classified as mid-season. Harvesting can be done 100 days after planting. The weight of one fruit is 30-70 g. It can be used for growing through seeding.

Arzamas

The shape of the bulb is round-cuboidal, and its size is medium. From 1 m2 you can get 1.4 -3.2 kg of yield. Arzamas is characterized by excellent keeping quality and resistance to major ailments. But how onions are grown in a greenhouse is described in great detail in this article.

Comet F1

This variety is also mid-season. Harvesting can occur 115 days after planting the onions. The shape of the fruit is round, weight is 50-70 g. The scales are white. The variety allows you to grow large, even bulbs that have a sweet taste.

Comet F1

In addition, the variety is in great demand among summer residents due to its high yield. From 1 m2 you can get 2 kg of fruit. Culture resists various ailments. For those who want to understand whether it is possible to plant onions next to garlic, and how to do it correctly, this information will help to understand.

Spanish 313

This variety produces late harvests. It is necessary to collect it only on the 140th day from the moment of planting. The fruits have a round shape and medium density. The taste can be sweet or semi-spicy. From 1 m2 you can collect 2.4-3 kg.

Spanish 313

Its shelf life is weak and it is not recommended to be used for long-term storage. But is it possible to plant tomatoes after onions, and what varieties can be planted, is described in detail in this article.

Ecstasy

This variety of sweet onion has been in demand among gardeners for a long time. Its cultivation can be carried out either from seeds or from sets. The color of the bulb is yellow and its shape is round. The weight of one fruit is 100 g. From 1 m2 you can collect 1.1-1.3 kg.

Onion Ecstasy

Sima

This variety allows you to grow onions from seeds. The bulbs have a light brown color and an ellipsoidal shape. The weight of one fruit is 110 g. The variety is single-germinate. From 1 m2 you can collect 3.2 kg.

Sima

Candy F1

This is a hybrid variety that allows you to grow onions from seeds. The color of the bulbs is dark brown. The shape is ovoid. The weight of one fruit was 80 g. From 1 m2 you can get 1.8-3.6 kg. But how to grow Yalta onions, and what are the features of its cultivation, is described in great detail in this video.

Candy F1

Capricorn F1

This is a hybrid variety that is grown from seeds. It is an early ripening plant, but it cannot be grown in harsh climates. The bulbs are ovoid and brown in color. The weight of one fruit is 100-130 g. From 1 m2 you can collect 2.4-3.6 kg. It will also be interesting to learn about how to prepare nigella onion seeds for sowing.

Capricorn F1 Sources used:

• https://agrognom.ru/vegetables/bow/luk-chernushka-posadka-pod-zimu.html
• https://svoimi-rykami.ru/ychastok/rassada/sorta-luka-iz-semyan-za-odin-sezon.html
• https://fikus.guru/ovoschi/luk/vyraschivanie-luka-chernushki-vybiraem-luchshee-vremya-dlya-poseva-na-rassadu.html
• https://poferme.com/ogorod/ovoshhi/luk/chernushka.html
• https://proposadki.ru/ovoshhi/luk/luk-chernushka-pod-zimu
• https://mr-ogorodnik.ru/luk/posadka-pod-zimu/
• https://proroslo.ru/lukovye/kak-pravilno-posadit-luk-chernushku-pod-zimu.html
• https://agrognom.ru/vegetables/bow/kak-poseyat-luk-chernushku.html
• https://gidfermer.com/sadovodstvo/ovoshhevodstvo/sladkie-sorta-luka-repchatogo.html