Layered onions are also known as Viviparous, Horned, Egyptian. It is believed that the plant came from China. The peculiarity of this culture is its unusual appearance: not inflorescences are formed on the arrows, but air bulbs that hang above the ground. They form several successive tiers.
Layered onion is a perennial
Tiered Bow
Layered onions tolerate frosts well
Plant characteristics
Layered onions are a hybrid culture. The plant does not form seeds. Propagate it with bulbs formed on the arrows.
Layered onion is a perennial. Its main vegetative organ is the underground bulb. After planting in the soil, a large rosette is built up with dark green leaves up to 40 cm high. In the first summer after planting, a peduncle is formed.
Small bulbs appear right on the flowers, which are located in 2-4 tiers. On the first of them, up to 10 onions appear, on the next - less. If there is a fourth tier, then there are no more than 4 fruits the size of oatmeal.
The underground bulb is divided into several more subsidiaries each year. After 3-4 years, a powerful nest and a bush of greenery is formed, which consists of 20-30 stems.
Distinctive features of the culture:
- onion leaves are tubular, reach 35 cm in height;
- during the growing season gives up to 3 shooters with air bulbs 1 m high;
- bulbs formed on the arrows do not need a rest period, so you can grow them at any time;
- aerial small bulbs painted yellow, purple or brown;
- underground bulb ripens in September;
- the weight of one underground bulb is 40-50 g;
- onions give a lot of juicy greens, which retains its taste until the first frost and does not become hard;
- the culture is frost-resistant and tolerates temperature conditions up to -50 degrees under a small layer of snow (up to 20 cm);
- the root system does not die in winter;
- the culture grows in one place without losing the formation of abundant green mass up to 6-7 years, subject to proper care;
- the plant is resistant to common pests that usually affect onions - thrips and onion flies;
- the culture has a developed root system, which goes to a depth of 50 cm.
Under normal conditions, a multi-tiered onion propagates only in a vegetative way, for which small bulbs formed on the arrows are used.
Common varieties
Popular varieties of culture:
In Russia, not too many varieties of multi-tier onions are cultivated. Here, this plant gained distribution only in the late 20th century.
Growing conditions
Viviparous onions can be grown in the northern and southern regions of the country. This can be done in open and closed ground.
Requirements for the site and soil:
- so that the green shoots do not make you wait long, it is recommended to choose a site open to the sun, which is well warmed by sunlight and protected from drafts;
- the site should be on a hill so that moisture does not stagnate in the ground;
- multi-tiered onions love light soil, the composition of which allows air and moisture to pass freely;
- heavy and acidic soil is not suitable for the culture: in it development will slow down, the green feather will grow weakly;
- if the soil is acidic, limestone, gypsum or wood ash must be added to it;
- too heavy soil with a high clay content can be improved by adding humus or sand;
- Before planting, the soil needs to be dug up, weeds removed and fertilizers applied;
- both organic fertilizers (for example, humus) and mineral fertilizers (superphosphate) are well suited for feeding.
It is better to plant multi-tiered onions in the beds where potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers or beets were previously grown.
The optimal time for planting onions is considered the second half of August and the first half of September. At this time, the culture will take root and will tolerate winter cold well, and in the spring it will grow at a fast pace.
With the onset of spring, it is necessary to remove fallen and decayed leaves from the beds, since they act as a beneficial environment for the development of pathogenic microorganisms that can harm the vegetable culture.
The highest yield can be expected in 2-3 years of onion growth. At 5-6 year of development, the culture requires transplantation or thinning. This is necessary, since the formation of a large number of basal bulbs underground bulbs become too small.
Landing
Material intended for planting must be carefully selected. To avoid fungal diseases, the bulbs must be laid out in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and left for 3 minutes, then dried.
For planting in the ground using air (longline) or underground bulbs. If the first ones are used, then it is better to take those that were located on the first and second tiers.
The culture should be planted in grooves watered with water to a depth of 3-4 cm. The distance between each bulb should be 15-20 cm.
Planting material should be sorted in advance by size and each group should be planted in a separate row.
To obtain seed, the bulbs are planted in 1-2 rows at a distance of 10 cm. In spring, the beds are thinned out, leaving only the strongest plants. Between them you need to leave a distance of 20 cm.
After planting, you need to water the beds in order to accelerate the process of root formation.
If onions are grown in boxes (in an apartment or greenhouse), then the heads need to be planted tightly, one after another, and watered abundantly.
Outdoor crop care
If you follow all the recommendations for growing a plant, you can get a rich harvest.
Watering
The culture needs moderate watering. With excess moisture, delicate bulbs rot.
The beds moisten as the top layer of the earth dries. A lot of liquid is not needed: pouring a large volume under the root, you can degrade the taste of onions.
For watering, it is recommended to use warm water. The recommended frequency is 2-3 times a week.
During the period of active growth, watering the beds should be often and plentifully. To get juicy and fresh greens, the leaves of the culture must be periodically sprayed with water.
Top dressing
In the spring, after the snow melts, mineral fertilizers are introduced into the ground:
- potassium chloride;
- ammonium nitrate;
- superphosphate.
Proportions - 10 g of substance per 1 square. m
If there is a lack of nutrients, repeat the manipulation after 2-3 weeks.
In the second year of growth, the culture needs to be fed with a complex mineral fertilizer, which consists of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen substances (15 g, 40 g and 20 g each).
After each cutting of the green mass (approximately once every 3 weeks), it is recommended to feed the plants, alternating organics with complex mineral compounds.
As an organic fertilizer suitable ash (1.5 cups of wood ash per 10 liters of water), poultry manure (mixed with water in a ratio of 1 to 1).
Weeding and cultivation
Weeding allows you to get rid of weeds that draw nutrients from the soil and become bait for some pests of the crop (for example, onion flies). Performed as grass grows.
Loosening provides the supply of oxygen in the required volume to the underground bulbs. This event is carried out 2-3 times a season.
Garter
This manipulation is necessary because the arrows of a multi-tiered bow are unstable and prone to lodging due to the severity of the air bulbs. To prevent this, on the site you need to install stakes and pull the twine between them - so that it is above the middle of the arrows. The upper tiers of the plant are bundled, secured.
Pest and Disease Control
The culture is susceptible to diseases such as downy mildew and peronosporosis. To prevent their development, you need to spray the plant with a weak solution of Bordeaux fluid. Repeat manipulation after 7 days. Also, as a therapeutic agent, you can use a solution with soda ash, dissolving a tablespoon of the substance in a liter of water.
The main condition for preventing the appearance of insects and other pests of multi-tiered onions is the regular removal of feathers drying out or starting to rot. The greatest danger to this crop is onion fly and onion weevil.
Harvesting and storage
Harvest leaves early: the first feathers can be cut as early as April, when their length reaches 25 cm. They need to be cut at a level of 5-8 cm above the neck of the underground bulb.
Bulbs that have formed in tiers are harvested between late July and mid-August. By this time they acquire a purple hue with a splash of brown. To remove them, you need to carefully cut the arrow with bulbs 5 cm from the ground with a sharp knife.
Part of the harvest can be used for culinary purposes, another part - for storage and subsequent transplantation in boxes in the winter. Also, onions can be planted in the soil in the spring to get young juicy greens.
Gardeners advise folding such onions for storage in pits or cellars. It is also stored in attics, in unheated rooms, in a layer of sand, at a temperature not lower than -2 degrees. Harvested crops can also be folded into a refrigerator or freezer, after drying and packing in paper bags. Not separated onions retain their external and gustatory qualities for much longer.
In warm rooms, the collected bulbs begin to germinate and eventually die.
The multi-tiered onion has an unusual appearance and gives a lot of green aboveground mass - these are the hallmarks of the variety. To get a good harvest, you need to provide the culture with the necessary conditions for planting and growing.