Grows much better: how to plant onions using "lazy" Chinese technology

Among onion growing technologies, there is one that is popularly called "lazy". Bulbs planted using this method grow larger and are better stored.

The essence of the method lies in the planting process: onions are not sown in flat, even soil, but in so-called ridges - earthen ramparts. Read more about the "lazy" Chinese technology in the OBOZ.UA article.

The Chinese method

The ridges are made with a hoe, separating one from the other with a shallow ditch or ditch.

There are several advantages of the Chinese method:

• in earthen ridges, the fruits gain weight faster;
• the bulbs get more sun and light;
• this method improves the immunity of plants and their resistance to diseases and pests;
• the ridges are easier to care for: weeding and loosening them;
• onions are protected from onion flies, because during the period of pest reproduction, the seedling sits deep in the ground, and afterwards, all the clutches, along with the soil, end up in the aisles.

When to plant onions

Planting can begin in the spring when the ground warms up to +5 +10 °C. This is usually the end of April.

Onions need to be sorted beforehand: bulbs with a diameter of about 15 mm are suitable for planting. 14 days before planting, it is better to warm up the seedling, while the temperature should not exceed 40 °C

How to plant onions

1. Dig up the garden bed. You can add fertilizers: superphosphate in the proportion of 1 tablespoon per 1 square meter, dolomite flour: 2 tablespoons per 1 square meter or nitroammophoska - 1 teaspoon per 1 square meter.
2. Peel the bulbs from dry tails and excess husks.
3. On the site, you need to form ridges 15 cm high at a distance of 30 cm from each other.
4. Seedlings should be buried in the ground to a depth of 3 cm and covered with soil. The soil should remain loose. The first watering is carried out immediately after planting.
5. In June, the bulbs should be dug up to two-thirds of their height and the soil should be raked from the top of the ridges into the aisles.
6. Onions should be watered regularly, weeded and loosened. In the first month after planting, two abundant waterings and natural rainfall are enough.

How to fertilize onions

According to the Chinese method of planting, onions need to be fertilized three times.

• Stage 1: in mid-May, add a solution of 5 teaspoons of urea diluted in 10 liters of water.
• Stage 2: in June, you can make potash fertilization: dilute 40 g of potassium salt, 15 g of urea and 15 g of superphosphate in 10 liters of water.
• Stage 3: during the period of head formation, you can water the beds with superphosphate diluted in water.

When to harvest

Stop watering about a month before harvesting. As a rule, onions can be dug up in late summer or early September.

It is better to leave the onions to dry for a few days, and then cut off the roots and shorten the stems.

Do not delay the harvesting time, because onions can take root again, which will significantly reduce the shelf life.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA told you what to do to prevent onions from turning yellow and how to save the harvest.

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