Onion is a vegetable, without which our life is hard to imagine. Practically in every dish, except dessert, we use this useful root crop: seasons, salads, gravies, soups and borsch. It is not surprising that many gardeners prefer to grow onions themselves in cottages and household plots. Although the vegetable can not be called demanding to care, there are still some features. This also applies to the question when cleaning the onion from the garden. By the way, for inexperienced truck farmers this can be a problem. Our article is to help.
When should I remove the onions and why is it important to know?
It's no secret that you only need to collect really mature onions, but it is important not to overgrow the root crop. These two conditions are the guarantee that your harvest will be stored for a long time. Otherwise, the early harvested onion easily infects pathogens. As a result, the bulbs will start to rot. Perezreli onion is also poorly stored, since its scales will begin to fall off early. As a result, roots will soon begin to grow, which does not have the best effect on storage.
So, to guarantee yourself a long-term harvest, you need to know when you can harvest the onions. Usually cleaning of onion beds is carried out at the end of July - August (depending on the climatic zone). But, you see, this is a fairly long time span. There are several ways to determine the time of ripening of the vegetable. Let us consider them in more detail.
When the bow is removed from the bed - a mathematical way
The proposed mathematical method is based on the knowledge of the average period of maturation. To calculate the time when you need to harvest the bow, the date of planting should be added from 68 to 83 days. Counting on the calendar, you get an approximate date of ripening root. However, as you can see, this is not a very accurate way, because it is necessary to take into account the climatic conditions, the characteristics of the variety, weather and much more. Besides, not every summer resident can remember the date of planting.
When is it better to clean a bow: we determine by appearance
This is the most effective way to determine the time of harvest , it is suitable for any climatic zone in your region. First, you just need to pay attention when you notice that the leaves begin to turn yellow, the stems are dry and have fallen to the ground. This is a kind of signal that the onion begins to ripen. And it is important that the tracking took place in most planted plants. At this time, you can dig a few bulbs to assess their maturation. Do this carefully so as not to damage the bulbs. It is best to excavate with pitchforks, then the chances of hitting a vegetable are less. Carefully inspect the onions - it should be firm, with a soft and dry neck, dry scales and the same roots.
It so happens that gardening simply needs to accelerate the ripening of the crop on the onion bed. In this case, experienced summer residents recommend a mowing of the tops a week before the proposed harvest. There is another option -
Practically the same recommendations can be given on the issue when harvesting winter onions. It, the truth, ripens hardly earlier (in the middle - the end of July), after all it put in the late autumn. The main signs of maturation, in addition to lodging and yellowing the tops, is the appearance of a characteristic coloration of the cover scales - red, orange or blue.
The tips and recommendations described above are suitable for replicating onions. If we talk about when to harvest leeks, or less commonly grown in our onion-batun or chives, then the middle-end of August is optimal. This time can be used to cut greenery and prepare it for storage.