To determine the period of harvesting onion sets from the garden, it is necessary to study the characteristics by which the ripeness of the vegetable is determined. And you should also focus on the lunar calendar. Subject to the recommendations from experts on the timing of harvesting this crop, it will be possible to preserve the crop well for the next planting season.
signs of maturation
The duration of storage of the sevka depends on the time at which it was removed. It is very important to determine the ripeness of a vegetable in order to harvest it directly at this moment.. There are two ways to determine the degree of maturity of onion sets: mathematical and external.
The harvesting period is influenced by various factors, the main of which is the selected variety. Some varieties are early ripening, while others are late ripening.
When visually inspecting a mature vegetable, you can see several signs confirming this.
- The stems begin to turn yellow, dry and gradually lean towards the surface of the earth. Gardeners even have such a concept: “the onion lay down.” This means that it’s time to dig up the vegetable.
- The neck of the bulb becomes thinner and also begins to gradually turn yellow.
- In mature bulbs, the scales are easily separatedbecome dry and acquire a golden hue.
To confirm the maturity of the crop, you can additionally make a simple mathematical calculation:
- remember the date when the sevok was planted;
- add from 70 to 90 days to the number of dates (depending on the sevka variety);
- the resulting figure will be the period of onion ripening from planting to the day of digging.
For example, if an early-ripening onion was planted on May 10, then 70 days must be added to this date. It turns out that harvesting must be done on the 20th of July. You can extend or shorten this period depending on weather conditions.
Cleaning according to the lunar calendar
Many gardeners, when cultivating onions, are guided by the lunar calendar. It indicates the most favorable days for planting certain vegetables by the months of the current year, as well as the desired time for its harvesting. When the time comes to dig onions, all that remains is to choose the next favorable day (and even hours) for harvesting, since there may be several of these days in August or July.
Keep in mind that these dates change every year, so you need to navigate by the calendar.
But even in this case, it is necessary to make sure that the onion has ripened according to external signs of ripeness.
Deadlines for different regions
The timing of onion harvesting is, of course, greatly influenced by the climatic conditions prevailing in a particular region.. If we talk about the Moscow region, then here the onion harvesting period begins in the last days of July and ends at the end of the first decade of August. If the weather is good, then the onion can be safely kept in the garden until early August. In the event of the onset of the rainy season, it is better to dig and dry the onion in advance, otherwise it may rot.
In the Urals, onion harvesting is completed by August 20. The timing of the start of excavation also depends on weather conditions. In Siberia, onion harvesting begins only in mid-August, and the end falls on the last days of the same month.
In the North-Western region of Russia, onions begin to be harvested no earlier than the regions of the Moscow region. From season to season, harvesting dates may shift due to the weather up to 2 weeks in one direction or another.
What happens if the onion is not harvested in time?
The quality and duration of storage of this vegetable depends on the correctly chosen onion harvesting period.. As already mentioned, its maturity can be calculated both mathematically and judging by external signs.
But sometimes it happens that there is a need to go somewhere urgently. In this case, gardeners harvest onions earlier or later than the due date. This can lead to a number of unpleasant consequences.
The fact is that when the onion is removed from the garden in an unripe state, the neck remains thick, and the skin does not have time to fully form. During winter storage, this can cause rot to form. If it so happened that the vegetable must be removed from the garden ahead of schedule, it is necessary to adhere to certain features during the digging process.
- Dig the bulb out of the soil carefully so as not to damage the tops. Otherwise, rot will begin to develop in this place.
- When digging, it is important to try not to damage the thin skin, which performs a protective function for the vegetable.
- From the turnip, you need to carefully clean the ground and give it time, to dry well.
By taking such actions, you can minimize the risk of unpleasant consequences.
If you do not remove the onion from the garden for a long time, then this can also result in undesirable consequences. For example, in September the sun is no longer so active, so a vegetable dug up at this time will be very difficult to dry. In addition, it may begin to rain, it will be difficult to dig the onion out of the garden, clean it from adhering clods of earth and dry it. Being in the ground for a long time, onion turnips will begin to rot. After such a delay in harvesting onions, you should not count on a successful outcome of its long storage.
Taking into account all of the above factors, it should be noted that the vegetable from the garden should be removed not only correctly, but also in a timely manner. In this case, the crop can be kept fresh until next spring. For storage, onions are best woven into braids or placed in special nets.
