Chalcedony onion: description, cultivation and reviews

Onions are an indispensable vegetable in the kitchen of every mistress. It is not only added to different dishes, it is eaten simply with bread, but it is also used to treat almost all colds. The onion was used by people more than 5 thousand years ago. The homeland of the vegetable is Central Asia. Today, no kitchen in the world can do without this vitamin-rich product. And thanks to agronomists, new varieties are emerging, suitable for growing under different conditions.

Semi-sharp and durable onion Chalcedony

The value of the onion of this variety lies in several properties at once. It has an excellent ripeness - when it's harvest time, good fruits make up at least 92% of the total planting. Chalcedony is resistant to mechanical damage, and can also be stored for a long time. In any case, the harvested crop is abundant enough to a new one, it is said by everyone who grew this variety. Bulbs grow approximately equal, slightly oblong, more than average in size. The most important thing is to provide the planted onions - this is a good drainage of the soil. Another great quality is the variety - its early maturity. The vegetative period of maturation in Chalcedony is only 90 days. Onion Chalcedony is frost-resistant - its seeds can germinate even at a temperature of +3 degrees, which for a normal variety will simply be disastrous.

Cultivation

The traditional scheme of growing onions looks like this: sprouted seeds, small onions, a full crop. Everything about everything took two years. Seeds of onions Chalcedony sprout immediately into full-fledged fruits - the plant is one-year old.

Experts recommend first sprouting seedlings, as well as with cucumbers and tomatoes, and only after that to land it in the open ground. When transplanting, care should be taken not to break sprouts, and also not severely damage the root system. It is best to initially sow seeds in plastic containers, for example, from salad. It is necessary to sow it densely, and after - it is obligatory to cover with a film and to watch, when the first eyelets of shoots appear. Of course, one should not forget about watering - the more abundant it is, the more juicy the onions will be (however, it is also not worth pouring - this can lead to decay of seeds).

Preparation of the site for sowing

Many gardeners believe that it does not matter when to prepare the soil for planting - in autumn or spring, shortly before sowing. However, a certain preparation requires a bow of Chalcedony. Cultivation and the results of labor in this case will depend on the soil directly. Therefore, its processing should be done in the autumn. The earth should be thoroughly digged, diligently removing from it the falling weeds. You can leave large pieces of land without breaking them, then more air will flow into the soil. But in the spring when the digging is repeated, the soil needs to be loosened up to the "downy" state. The most important thing in processing is to preserve the capillarity and structure of the soil. Sow seeds as soon as possible.

Seed sowing

Accurate sowing is what loves Chalcedony onions. Cultivation from seeds is only the first stage, after which follows no less important: transplanting into the open ground. By the way, in order for seed to sprout faster, they are pre-soaked in warm water and left for a day. After this, mandatory disinfection - a solution of potassium permanganate of medium saturation. After that, the seeds are washed again with clean water. It should be borne in mind that with early sowing there is the possibility of frostbite germs with the last frosts. Therefore, seedlings are covered with a film. It should be stocked in advance with low-lying peat, which performs a very important function. They are sprinkled with beds, so that they do not form a crust, and peat is an excellent insulation. If the transplantation was successful, then within 7-10 days it will be possible to observe the mature shoots.

Too thick places are recommended to thin out at once - for this the plant is not simply torn from the ground, but raked to the side and removed along with the roots - in Chalcedon a very strong and tenacious root system. Between plants, you must adhere to a distance of 6-8 centimeters.

Care

After thinning beds (and do it better when the onion grows slightly, and it can be used for salads), you will have to look after the bulbs. After the first rains, under the warm sun rays, the beds will quickly cover with weeds. Give them to grow and grow categorically impossible. Therefore, it is completely inappropriate to be lazy in such a matter. Variety of onion Chalcedony likes watering in dry weather, and also grows better if it is fed periodically.

Top dressing can be done together with watering. To begin to feed a plant it is necessary from the moment when the phase 3-5 of the present leaflet begins, and also in that period when the fetus begins to be formed. Top dressing is carried out with a full mineral fertilizer with microelements in liquid form. On depleted soils, you can make humus in the calculation of 7 kilograms per square meter. After the spring processing of the soil, minerals - potassium and phosphorus - must be introduced without fail, which must be spread over 20 grams per square meter.

What is the difference between onions grown from seeds?

Onion Chalcedony, grown from seeds, differs from bulbs grown from seedling. Initially, the difference is that you do not have to spend time to germinate the seedling itself, and also to save it before the planting season. Onions, which are grown directly from seedlings, do not go into the shooter, but retain their quality until the new harvest season.

By comparison: many varieties of onion begin to deteriorate during storage from the middle of winter, until the spring season, at best, half of the crop is left. The rest of the onions are preet and decay. Also grown from seedlings, Chalcedony becomes a real giant - bulbs on average weigh up to 120 grams, and from one standard bed can collect up to 5 kilograms of this golden miracle, incidentally, derived by Moldovan vegetable growers.

Features of agricultural technology

Still, there are several factors that need to be paid attention. This directly depends on the amount of harvest, but, of course, its quality.

The site on which the Chalcedony onion will be planted should be located in a sunny place - the bulbs will be filled with juice more quickly, especially with good watering. Also, in the garden must be present light loam or sandy loamy soil of increased fertility. If the soil is determined by acidity, then it must be slightly alkaline. Try to regularly fertilize the soil with such proven folk methods as ash, dolomite flour and pus lime. In the autumn it is desirable to lavishly plant the earth with rotted manure - by its qualities it will be the best fertilizing. And more - the soil in which Chalcedony will be planted should be in a four-year rest from the last landing of the onion. Ideal for preparing the soil will be planted under the onion on the eve of peas and pumpkin.

What else do you need to know?

There is a list of certain diseases to which chalcedony onions are susceptible. You will find a description of them below. The list is as follows: onion moth and fly, stem nematode, cervical rot, peronosporosis. Butterfly moths are not as dangerous as larvae - they are the ones that devour the plant. To destroy the mole it is necessary in the caterpillar age, and after not to put in this place the onion at least a year. The fly hits the plant so that it withers and dies. You can get rid of it with a solution of tobacco and soap. The nematode kills the entire crop at once. For prevention, the soil is treated with a solution of salt - 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. Rot affects the plant, forming gray spots.

Chalk or powder of charcoal will help it. Peronosporoz kills the crop until the end. After infection of plants, planting onions at this place should not be a minimum of 4 years. Top dressing and watering is stopped 20 days before harvest (so that the bulbs do not rot then). The collected onions are left in the furrow, and then transferred to the room for complete drying.

So, what is the good onion of Chalcedony? Reviews of vegetable growers are reduced to one: it is tasty, stored for a long time, uncaring, frost-hardy and prolific.