Good day, dear readers! Today the hero of my article will be the Crimean bow. I think many have seen neat flattened purple heads on store shelves. Crimean onion is usually called the Yalta variety. Today I will tell you how to grow this unusual onion in my summer cottage.
General description of the variety
Despite the fact that the Crimean species is a southern onion, it can also be successfully grown in the climatic conditions of other regions.
The Crimean bow is gaining more and more popularity. I really love this variety for its excellent taste. Unlike the usual onion, it is not so sharp, devoid of sharpness and bitterness. The Yalta variety is ideal for salads: even without heat treatment, the taste is very delicate.
In appearance, the variety is represented by flat bulbous heads, there is no recess at the top. By slicing such an onion, you will get ideally shaped half rings. The variety has an interesting feature: in each head there are exactly seven juicy scales of a purple-reddish hue. Inside the onion pulp is white, with a slight pinkish tinge.
The variety belongs to the late. You can expect a harvest no earlier than 5 months from the date of planting. With the right agricultural technology, up to two kilograms of vegetables can be harvested from one square of plantings.
How to grow seedlings
You can grow Crimean onions not only through seedlings. In the southern regions with a warm climate, seeds can be sown directly into the ground, in other regions, the seedling method is preferable.
Seedlings can be grown as in a greenhouse, covering the crops with a film; and in cassettes for seedlings at home. Sow seeds favorably closer to spring.
To grow strong and healthy seedlings, follow these steps:
- Prepare seed and substrate. For filling the cassettes, universal soil for vegetable seedlings is suitable. It is already balanced and optimally suited for growing seedlings of the Crimean onion;
- Disinfect seeds. I use a regular manganese solution for this. I keep the seeds in it for half an hour, after which I thoroughly rinse with water and dry the land;
- It is enough to deepen the seeds by a centimeter;
- After sowing is completed, you need to carefully water and cover the seeds with a layer of soil, and preferably peat;
- For seedlings, the correct microclimate is important: before the first shoots appear, the temperature should be at the level of 18-20 degrees. After about a couple of weeks, the seeds will germinate, and then the temperature should be lowered to 16 degrees. Optimum air humidity is within 70%;
- The minimum daylight hours for seedlings is ten hours. If the seedlings experience a lack of light, it will begin to stretch.
Taking care of seedlings
Caring for seedlings will not cause problems even for a novice gardener. It consists of the following:
- The soil under the seedlings should always be moist. At first, it is convenient to use a spray gun for watering: the water will be ideally distributed without washing away the soil;
- After each watering, it is worth loosening the soil to ensure the necessary air exchange;
- Smart supplements. For the entire period of seedling growth, I spend about three top dressings, observing a minimum interval of two weeks between them. As fertilizers, you can use self-prepared formulations, or use ready-made products. I prefer Nitrofoska. To prepare a working solution, I dilute one and a half tablespoons of the product in 10 liters of clean water;
- Seedlings do not need picking;
- About a week before the planned transplant to a permanent place, the seedlings should be hardened: just open the greenhouse daily for several hours.
You can start planting seedlings in open ground in late April-early May, focusing on the climatic features of your region.
Now you know how to grow seedlings of the popular Crimean onion. Good luck to everyone and good harvests!
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