Onion Carmen variety description, photo, cultivation, reviews

Among a large number of onion varieties, the Carmen variety stands out with its sweetness and not capriciousness, which is the result of the activities of Dutch breeders and has been a leader in our country for several years now. Onion Carmen is unpretentious in care, well stored and often used in cooking.

General characteristics of the variety

This species belongs to the mid-season varieties of red onions. It is grown on turnips as an annual crop from seeds and as a biennial crop from onion sets.

Appearance Description

Carmen has the following characteristics:

  • shape – rounded flat;
  • bulb sizes – medium;
  • weight – from 50 to 70 g;
  • external, dry scales – purple, juicy scales – white with a purple tint;
  • feather height – up to 30 cm;
  • onions are two- and three-germ.

Productivity and keeping quality

Up to 2,5 kg of crop can be harvested from one square meter of land. Carmen is grown in all regions of Russia, but the following are most suitable:

  • Central;
  • Middle Volga;
  • Central Black Earth.

Depending on the climate and locality, maturation takes from 65 to 90-100 days from the moment of planting. In the presence of favorable conditions, the crop is stored for up to 8 months.

Advantages and disadvantages

Planting and caring for this onion variety is not very difficult, and the culture itself has the following list of advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

  • has a 100 percent maturity level;
  • contains a large amount of useful substances;
  • characterized by good keeping quality;
  • resistant to shooting;
  • suitable for everyone, even northern regions;
  • has a sweet and fragrant taste;
  • is immune to diseases.

There are no pronounced shortcomings in the variety, except that they include the small size of the bulbs themselves.

Composition and Properties

Onion Carmen is known for the fact that it contains a huge amount of useful substances and minerals:

  • sulfur compounds;
  • flavonoids;
  • macroelements – calcium, sodium, potassium, etc.;
  • trace elements – selenium, copper, fluorine, iron;
  • vitamins C, A, E, group B, etc.

By growing a similar variety in your garden, you get a natural remedy that helps fight seasonal viral epidemics, increasing immunity.

Applications

The taste of Carmen is delicate, sweet, soft and piquant, and the flesh of the bulbs is juicy and crispy.

Carmen is a salad onion, but it is better to eat it fresh, and avoid heat treatment in order to preserve all the beneficial properties to the maximum.

Preparing for planting

The unpretentiousness of the variety does not mean at all that it does not require care. Planting begins with the selection and preparation of the site and soil.

Soil preparation

The beds should be located in an area that is well lit, where there are no winds. Carmen prefers loose nutrient soils with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction – most often these are chernozems, loams or sandy loams.

If the soil is heavy and clayey, add organic matter and coarse sand for greater looseness, and if the acidity level is elevated, then lime the soil.

Also make sure that there are no floods and stagnant water in the chosen place, because this causes the onion heads to rot. The beds are prepared in autumn by harvesting weeds, applying compost or manure and digging. During the winter, the soil absorbs all these nutrients and makes it more fertile.

Landing onions

Selection and preparation of seed material

Seeds can be bought in specialized stores. In the southern regions, they are planted immediately in open ground, and in the north it is better to grow a variety through seedlings.

Before sowing, seed material must undergo certain preparation:

  • the grains are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour;
  • soak the seeds in any growth stimulator.

Next, put the planting material in a damp germination cloth, and after a couple of days, start sowing.

Landing technology

Growing onions provides several options for planting. Each gardener chooses for himself the one that is most suitable for his region and climate.

In the open ground

Sets of Carmen onion and seedlings are planted in May, when the soil is already warm, but not dry, with enough moisture from early spring. The successful rooting and development of the bulbs depends on whether you have chosen the right soil.

The instruction for planting Carmen in the soil is as follows:

  1. Make grooves or holes in the prepared soil.
  2. Pour water over them.
  3. Deepen the sevok by 4 cm, but plant the shoulders tightly so that air gaps do not form.
  4. Cover with earth 2-3 cm.
  5. Work the top layer of soil with a rake.

Plant the landing without deepening the growth point, and press the root against moist soil, sprinkling it with earth. Lightly press the onion sprout into the ground and finally fix it with earth.

The seating chart is 10 * 15 cm. Sometimes, for greater convenience, the width between the rows is made to the size of the inventory – a flat cutter or a chopper. The main thing is that it should not be less than the length of the palm.

Planting seedlings and transplanting in open ground

For seedlings, you need a small box – fill it with earth by about 100 mm, warm it up and pour it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to get rid of harmful bacteria. After that, thickly sow the nigella and cover it with prepared soil on top. Level the soil with your palm and pour water at room temperature.

Such seedlings should be prepared by the beginning of March, so that the seeds have time to hatch and sprout by May. Grow seeds on a windowsill so that daylight will warm the ground.

Some gardeners cover the box with foil to create a greenhouse effect. It can be illuminated with a lamp if there is not enough sunlight.

After these steps, the seedlings can be transplanted into open soil. If everything is done correctly, then it will take root without problems:

  1. Before transplanting seedlings, dig up the soil.
  2. After digging, cover the ground with a film to plant in warm ground.
  3. Plentifully water the soil in which the seedlings grew so that the feathers do not come off the head while pulling.
  4. Seedlings should be planted to a depth of 30 mm, so that the emerging head is not very deep from the surface of the earth.
  5. When the plant grows, do not open the green feathers so that the onion head forms strong and large.

Care instructions

In order for plants to grow well, carry out all the necessary actions in a timely manner and comply with agrotechnical requirements.

Feeding

Perform the procedure several times per season as follows:

  • 2 weeks after planting, nitrogen fertilizers (nitrophoska and urea) are applied – 25 g of urea or 30 g of nitrophoska per bucket of water;
  • 2 weeks after the first feeding onions, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are added – 30 g of superphosphate / 15 g of potassium salt per 10 liters of water;
  • after 15 days, repeat phosphorus-potassium top dressing – 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium salt.

Water the soil thoroughly after each fertilization. Be sure to wash off the remaining fertilizer from the onion leaves with warm water from a watering can.

Watering

Watering is carried out in such a way that the soil does not dry out, otherwise the seedlings will wither and dry out. Onions are watered once a week, but 2-3 weeks before the expected harvest date, it is completely stopped to allow the onions to ripen in dry soil.

Watering onions

Loosening and weeding

The next day after watering, the soil is loosened. The earth is loosened shallowly, between rows, trying not to damage the bulbs.

Weeding is carried out throughout the growth of the plant. When planting onions with seeds, weed grass can stop the formation of heads, and there will be no harvest. Since the arrows during seed planting are very small, carry out weeding as carefully as possible so as not to damage the plants.

Fighting diseases and pests

Carmen is attacked by such pests:

  1. Onion secretive hunter. This beetle lays larvae in the onion, which, after hatching, eat the leaves of the plant. They fight it by observing crop rotation, careful harvesting, autumn plowing and destruction of plant residues.
    A mixture of ash with tobacco dust in a ratio of 2: 1 is suitable for the fight. Also carry out treatment with Karbofos – a solution of 0,6%. You need 100 ml of solution per 1 sq.m.
  2. Onion flies and moths. Plantings are striking from the second decade of May. The consequences of the “work” of the fly and moth are not immediately visible, since insects act in the soil. The problem becomes noticeable when the onion leaves wither and dry. You can fight by watering with salt water (100 g per 3 l).
  3. Nematodes. This is a family of parasitic roundworms. The fact that the onion is infected is evidenced by the deformation and drying of the green mass, the bulb becomes loose, cracks, after rain the smell of rotten onions is felt on the site. They fight with the help of preventive measures – proper crop rotation, selection of seed, compliance with storage rules.

Of the chemical control measures, Percalcite is suitable – it destroys nematode cysts with eggs and larvae in the soil. The drug is scattered in dry weather on the site 5-10 days before planting at the rate of 200-300 g per 1 sq.m. and close up with a rake to a depth of 10-15 cm.

Diseases that onions may encounter:

  1. Downy mildew. A fungal disease that overwinters both on bulbs in storage and in the soil. Affected stems acquire a dirty green color, sag and die. As a result, the bulb does not have time to ripen, and the amount of yield decreases. To prevent the disease, with a leaf height of 10-12 cm, spraying with Polycarbacin (40 g of the drug per 10 l of water) or Arceride (30 g of the drug per 10 l of water) is carried out.
  2. Bacterial rot. This disease can be encountered when cutting the bulb – among the healthy scales you will notice several soft dark layers. And the longer the vegetable is stored, the stronger and larger the affected area will be.
    For prevention, before planting, a careful selection of the bulbs is carried out, cutting off their neck with a base of 0,5-1 cm so that the scales are visible. You can treat the soil with Hom (40 g per 10 liters of water, spending 1 liter per 10 sq.m.).
  3. Fusarium wilt. A fungal disease manifested by wilting and rotting of green sprouts during the growing season and pinking and softening of the bottom during onion storage.
    Before sowing, be sure to soak the seedlings in a fungicide (Fundazol or Quadris), and burn the affected plants so that they do not infect the rest of the neighbors. When spots appear, Hom treatment is effective (40 g per 10 l).
  4. Yellow dwarfism and mosaic. Arise as a result of violation of the conditions of planting and care of seedlings. Affected plants slow down in growth, change shape and color. There is no specific treatment, only preventive measures.

Thus, in order to prevent the development of diseases, first of all, follow the preventive measures:

  • follow the rules of crop rotation;
  • plant onions without thickening;
  • carry out disinfection of seeds, sowing and soil;
  • water without waterlogging;
  • eliminate all plant residues from the beds;
  • regularly weed the soil;
  • plant plants that repel pests.

Harvesting and storage of crops

Harvest Carmen onions on a dry, sunny day. Pull out the plant, having previously undermined it with a shovel, if the ground is hard, and lay it in rows. At the turnip, cut the roots, leaving a tail of 3-4 cm.

After harvesting, it is dried in the garden for 2-3 weeks. You need to dry in sunny weather, and if it starts to rain, the plant must be hidden under cover.

After the onion is completely dry, it is cleaned of excess husks and tops. When stored in braids, leave about 30 cm for weaving. If the onion is stored in boxes, leave 10 cm of tops. Store Carmen in a dry (humidity should not exceed 70%) cool or warm room:

  • cold storage – at temperatures up to 0 degrees;
  • warm – at 20 degrees.

Onion storage

Reviews

Ivan, 46 years old, Voronezh. I grow several varieties of red onions, Carmen is one of them. There has never been a crop failure. I buy Carmen sevkom. It is suitable for winter consumption. This variety attracts with its taste.

Ekaterina, 35 years old, Novosibirsk. This is not the first time I have planted a variety, as I consider it one of the most unpretentious. Carmen is not afraid of temperature changes, is able to produce crops, even if the summer turned out to be dry and cold, and does not need frequent watering. What else is needed, given the harsh weather conditions in Siberia?

By deciding to grow Carmen onions, you can get a high yield with a minimum investment of money and effort. If you properly cultivate a vegetable, you do not need to worry about pests or diseases. Onions are distinguished by their long shelf life and their taste.

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Anna Evans

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