Red onion varieties Red Baron: How to grow?

Red Baron is one of the most popular varieties of red onions. It is attractive for its taste, can be grown in various conditions, unpretentious, suitable for long-term storage. The variety is salad, so it is especially good fresh.

Characteristics of the variety, advantages and disadvantages

The popularity of the Red Baron bow is largely due to its characteristics:

  • ripening time is medium early – the crop can be harvested 3 months after planting;
  • rich red dense husk;
  • juicy and fleshy white-pink flesh with purple-red streaks;
  • round and slightly flattened shape;
  • the mass of the bulbs can reach 120 g;
  • the taste is sweetish and slightly spicy, the aroma is pleasant.

Red Baron is notable for its high content of vitamin C and other useful elements. This variety has other advantages:

  • fast maturation;
  • good yield – up to 3 kg per 1 sq. m;
  • unpretentiousness to growing conditions;
  • resistance to early frosts and droughts;
  • good immunity, low susceptibility to disease;
  • long-term storage;
  • versatility – can be used fresh, for conservation, heat treatment.

The only drawback of this variety is the unsatisfactory quality of the sowing, which is why it is preferable to grow the crop with seeds. Usually they are purchased in a store, since it is problematic to get planting material on your own.

Optimal growing conditions

To obtain a high yield of good quality, it is important to create optimal conditions for the culture:

  • Steady weather for outdoor planting. The threat of night frosts should already be over, work should be planned for fine days. The optimum daytime temperature is 0-5 degrees, at night – not lower than -3 degrees.
  • Sufficiently lit and dry area. It is better to choose a hill or make high beds.
  • Compliance with the rules of crop rotation. Onions feel good after green manure, cucumbers, nightshade, legumes. Any representatives of the Onion family are undesirable predecessors. The plot after carrots and celery is also not suitable.

Red Baron thrives on a variety of soil types, but sufficient looseness and drainage are important. Light soil is best suited for culture. Site preparation should begin in the fall.

When digging, you need to make 1 sq. m:

  • wood ash – a glass;
  • humus – 0,5 buckets;
  • superphosphate – 2 tbsp .;
  • peat – 2 buckets.

During autumn digging, you can choose another scheme:

  • wood ash – 1 tbsp. l.;
  • compost or humus – 3 buckets;
  • nitrophoska – 1 tbsp. l.;
  • superphosphate or potassium nitrate – 1 tbsp. l.

In the spring, immediately after the snow melts, ammonium nitrate is used. Enough 1 tsp. fertilizer per 1 sq. m.

Landing

It is recommended to plant Red Baron when the soil has warmed up to 4-5 degrees. Usually this is the very end of April or the beginning of May in the southern regions and the middle lane, and the end of May or the beginning of June in the northern area.

Landing

Seeds in open ground

Red Baron in seeds can be planted immediately in open ground. You need to act according to the following algorithm:

  1. Checking the germination of planting material. To do this, it is enough to lower the seeds into warm water – all specimens remaining on the surface are not suitable for sowing.
  2. disinfection. At this stage, it is optimal to use a weak solution of potassium permanganate. It is enough to keep seeds in such a solution for a quarter of an hour.
  3. Stratification. This stage allows you to accelerate the germination of seeds. You need to lower them for half an hour in hot water, the temperature should not be higher than 40 degrees. Then immediately place the seeds in cold water for the same time.
  4. Germination of planting material. You need to place the seeds in a damp cloth and moisten it periodically. Sprouts will appear in about a week.
  5. Soil preparation. It should be dug up in the fall. In the spring, you should loosen and level the ground, make grooves, deepening them by 2 cm. Leave at least 15 cm between rows.
  6. Shed the furrows and sow the seeds. There should be a distance of 1,5 cm between them.

Red Baron can be grown from seed for seedlings. A bow planted in this way will not produce arrows. It is stored poorly, but is excellent for winter sowing. It is usually produced in October, so that the culture has time to take root before frost. In the southern regions, landing can be made in November.

Onion sets

If you harvest onion sets yourself, then the largest specimens should be left for spring planting. It is better to use a trifle for winter sowing, because it will simply dry out over the winter.

In any case, it is necessary to act according to the following algorithm:

  1. Culling of planting material. You need to leave only strong specimens without mechanical damage and signs of illness.
  2. Warming up. It is necessary to keep the sevok at 40 degrees for at least 3 days. For the prevention of various diseases, this time can be increased to 2 weeks, and the temperature can be reduced to 35-38 degrees.
  3. Treatment with copper sulphate. It is necessary to dissolve 1 tsp. funds in 10 liters of water and lower the sevok there for 10 minutes. This treatment is the prevention of fungal diseases.
  4. Soil preparation. It is necessary to loosen and level it, make holes. Deepen by about 4 cm, leave 30 cm between rows, and 15 cm between adjacent holes.

If you want to get juicy greens faster, then 3 days before planting, you should cut the tops of the set.

Outdoor crop care

Red Baron needs comprehensive care after planting. All steps are standard.

Watering

You need to water the culture regularly, especially in the first month after planting. You need to focus on the condition of the soil, the recommended frequency is once every 5-7 days. During the dry season, watering should be increased up to 2 times a week.

2 weeks before harvest, watering is completely abandoned. The bulbs must dry out.

Watering onions

Loosening, thinning and weeding

It is imperative to loosen the soil so that moisture and oxygen do not have obstacles. It is recommended to loosen after watering or heavy rain. The soil should be loosened to a depth of 3 cm. This should be done every 2 weeks.

Thinning is usually required when planting a crop with seeds or seedlings. This should be done when the first greens appear. It is necessary to get rid of weak specimens, at least 6 cm should remain between plants.

Weeds interfere with the growth and full development of the crop, so it is important to get rid of them in a timely manner. It is convenient to carry out such work in conjunction with loosening.

Feeding

The first top dressing is carried out in the spring, especially with poor crop growth. You need to use an infusion of mullein, it is useful to add 1 tbsp to the bucket. l. urea. The same top dressing should be repeated when the bulbs grow to about 4-5 cm.

You can use one urea by dissolving 10 g of the product in 5 liters of water. This amount of fertilizer is enough for 1 sq. m landings. With the growth of greenery, it is useful to add urea along with nitrophoska. Fertilizer is used in dry form, per 1 sq. m is enough 30 g.

Fighting diseases and pests

Diseases of the Red Baron are practically not terrible, although they are not completely excluded. More often, peronosporosis, also called downy mildew, affects the culture. It manifests itself as vague pale spots on the greenery, which gradually grow and can merge together. The solution to the problem is to burn the affected specimens and treat the surviving plants with a fungicide.

Of the pests, the probability of damage by the onion fly is higher. Damage to the culture is caused by larvae that devour it from the inside. Affected specimens should be burned, and the beds should be treated with tobacco dust with ash and black pepper. You can powder the culture with a dry composition or make a spray solution out of it. A solution of laundry soap will also help.

Another problem is the root mite, due to the defeat of which fungal diseases can develop. The pest should be controlled with Keltan, making the solution according to the instructions.

For the prevention of diseases and pests, planting material should be properly prepared, crop rotation should be followed, the beds should be weeded in a timely manner, removed from them and burned plant residues.

Harvesting and storage of crops

The timing of the harvest of Red Baron depends on the time of planting and the characteristics of the region. Usually the work falls on mid-August. In any case, the feather should spread along the ground, and the bulbs should become a rich red color.

For cleaning it is necessary to choose dry weather. The onion must be dug carefully, without damaging it, cleaned from the ground and dried. After that, the roots and feathers should be trimmed. It is better to leave ponytails of 5 cm, and for knitting braids – 10-12 cm. After processing, dry the onion completely for a week on the street or in a well-ventilated area. The crop should not get wet.

You can store onions in different ways: in braids, bundles, nylon stockings, nets, wooden boxes, cardboard boxes. With the exception of braids and stockings, it is not recommended to make a layer of onions more than 30 cm so that the lower layers do not rot.

The storage room should be dry and dark. The optimum temperature is 0-3 degrees. Under such conditions, the shelf life can be up to 1 year.

For information on how to grow Red Baron onions, see also the following video:

Growing Red Baron is no more difficult than other varieties and varieties of onions. Its unpretentiousness and resistance to diseases facilitate work in the garden. Subject to all growing conditions, the culture will give a good harvest, which will be stored for a long time.

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Anna Evans

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