The flower arrow is a sign of onion maturity. The plant has reached its maximum and believes that it is time to give offspring. But sometimes a clearly young and small onion begins to actively bloom. Consider why the bow goes into the arrow and what should be done to redirect the forces of the plant to the growth of bulbs and feathers.
If green onions turn yellow in June, they lack nutrition or are affected by pests. But it happens that a perfectly healthy onion does not want to grow, prefers to bloom. If an onion planted in the spring on a head or turnip began to produce flower stalks, a good feather harvest will not be obtained, the bulbs will be small and weak. Even if you collect the heads, they will not be stored well, they will quickly deteriorate. Therefore, gardeners negatively perceive the appearance of arrows.
All the reasons why the bow goes to the arrow.
- Incorrect storage. Onion sets should be stored in a cool place, at temperatures up to 5 ° C. Pre-sorting of onions is also important. Onions are left for sowing either 8-14 mm in diameter, or average 14-22 mm. Too large sets easily go to the arrow.
- Planting already sprouted bulbs. Such plants ripen faster and begin to bloom. To prevent too early germination, observe the storage mode: low temperature, dry air, ventilated room.
- The bow was not properly prepared for planting. Onion is a seasonal plant. By exposure to different temperatures, you can regulate its rhythms. The second important point is that spores of fungal diseases are perfectly preserved on the scales of the bulbs. If the conditions are right for their development, they can stimulate the formation of arrows. Antifungal treatments reduce the risk of infection.
- The onion was planted before winter. Winter onions ripen early. For planting, you need to choose the optimal size. Before winter, it is best to plant small onions – up to 8-14 mm. Although the smallest of them may freeze, the onion will have time to gain the desired size by the time of harvest. In spring, it is better to plant onions a little larger – 14-21 mm. A large set, 2-2,5 cm, is a winter onion for greens. It can also be planted in the spring, its plus is that there will definitely be a harvest, but the risk of arrow formation is high, especially if there were temperature changes during storage.
- Dryness, lack of watering. Even a young onion, faced with a lack of moisture, believes that it is time to enter the breeding phase. Arrows appear instead of feathers. All types of onions are sensitive to watering – biennial, perennial: family, leek, batun.
- Excess watering. Excess moisture for onions is also stressful. And the onion will react to any load by trying to give seeds as quickly as possible.
- Incorrectly selected species or variety. Onions with red or purple husks are more likely to shoot than classic golden ones. There are also varieties that are almost not subject to bolting.
- Improper harvesting. Haste with deadlines or delay are equally harmful. Too early harvesting leads to the fact that the husk does not have time to form, late harvesting provokes cracking of the onion, re-growth of the roots. In both cases, the bulbs are poorly stored and prone to disease.
The method of cultivation is also important. Onions love planting in warm soil – about + 20 ° C, although planting at + 12 ° C is also allowed. However, it is well-warmed soil that reduces the likelihood of arrows to a minimum. In most regions of the Russian Federation, such planting will be too late, so onions can be grown in seedlings. Shallots with a seedling method of cultivation almost do not form arrows, and leeks will not have any arrows at all.
If the onion shoots, nothing drastic can be done this year. The arrows are cut or removed. In the future, agricultural technology is being revised.
- If arrows appear, you need to cut them off until they reach 20-30 cm.
- Arrows can be eaten: salads, first and second courses.
- You can leave flower stalks for the sake of seeds, but seeds from two arrows are usually enough for these purposes.
- Experienced gardeners prefer not to save arrow bulbs at all, they use them for greenery. Because even with plucking it will not be possible to save, you can no longer get a large turnip.
To grow a bow without arrows, he is satisfied with suitable conditions and care.
- It is necessary to store the seed either at a constant temperature of -1 … -3 ° C, or a combination of temperatures is needed: first at + 20 ° C, then at -1 … -3 ° C, warming up in spring at + 30 ° C for 2 days and storage again at +20°C. Randomly changing temperatures are almost guaranteed to produce arrows.
- Freezing should be avoided. Plants frozen during storage very often go into the arrow.
- The humidity in the storage room should be in the range of 60-70%. If higher – the bulbs will begin to rot or germinate, lower – dry.
- Onion sets for greens are soaked for 2 minutes in hot water (60 ° C), then immediately put in cold water. This treatment stimulates the formation of a thick feather. You can also warm up the bulbs hung in nets near a fire or a portable battery.
- Before planting, the onions are treated with fungicides, soaked for 3 hours in a solution of soda (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water) or ordinary salt (1 tablespoon with top per 1 liter of water), kept in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
- Planting is carried out in soil suitable for temperature. For family onions, the optimum soil temperature is + 5 ° С, for leeks – from + 15 ° С, it is best to grow batun seedlings at a temperature of + 6 … + 12 ° С, for shallots, the range + 15 … + 22 ° С is more suitable .
- For planting prepare a plot with loose soil. Sand, peat are added to clayey ones, chalk, slaked lime, dolomite flour or ash are added to acidic ones.
- Required verified watering. Batun onions are abundantly watered at least 4-5 times per season; in dry summer conditions, drip irrigation is useful. Shallots in the dry period of summer are watered 3-4 times. It’s just that it’s good to water a little in time, you still need to provide ventilation to the soil, so loosening the soil is a must.
- Onions are harvested when their leaves begin to fall. Usually it is the end of July-August.
It is best to go through all the stages of cultivation and storage on your own or buy sets only from reliable sellers who provided suitable storage conditions for the seed. It is better to sow batun before winter, then in the spring of next year it will not shoot as quickly as biennial plants sown in spring.
There are varieties that are less prone to the formation of arrows than others. The most popular ones.
- “Shakespeare” – winter variety with golden bulbs and white pulp weighing 100 g. Early, productive, disease resistant. The taste is wonderful. Grows well in Siberia. One of the best varieties for beginners.
- Centurion F1 – early maturing Dutch hybrid. The bulbs are light golden, elongated, weighing 90-100 g. The flesh is snow-white, moderately sharp. The variety is planted in spring. Early ripe, not susceptible to disease, perfectly stored, even small.
- “Sturon” – Dutch winter variety, which has earned wide popularity due to its unpretentiousness and keeping quality. The bulbs are large – up to 200 g, golden brown, harmoniously rounded. The pulp is white. Mid-season, not affected by diseases.
- “Senshui Yellow” – winter early ripe onion of Japanese selection. The integumentary scales are golden yellow, the flesh is white, the outer layers are slightly golden. The heads are beautiful, poured, weighing 150-180 g, the taste is mild. Resistant to bolting and downy mildew.
- “Troy” – Dutch early ripening onion. Planted in spring. Heads with golden brown husks, calm shade, white flesh, medium spicy. The shape of the heads is round or flat-round. Unpretentious and not inclined to tie arrows.
- “Radar” – a Dutch variety with great potential. Mature bulbs have a flattened shape and can reach 300 g. The flesh is white, sharp, the husk is golden brown, strong, the bulbs are very soft. Winter variety, resistant, lying.
- Red Baron – a late variety with spectacular red bulbs. The flesh is white with purple-red veins, the taste is spicy. Fruit weight – up to 120 grams. Planted in spring and autumn. The grade is resistant and adaptive, it is perfectly stored.
- Stuttgart Risen – a well-known German variety with calibrated flattened bulbs. Weight – 100-150 g. The color of dry scales is honey, the flesh is white, semi-sharp. Planted before winter. The variety is resistant to diseases, very prolific.
It is possible to grow other varieties that have good keeping quality, hardiness, resistance to diseases and their ripening dates are easily coordinated with the climate in the region. Such varieties will produce fewer arrows. Usually these are early or mid-season varieties for most regions of the Russian Federation. Late varieties will produce fewer arrowheads if grown through seedlings.
The seedling method of growing onions is often found labor-intensive, but it is he who allows you to turn around in 1 season. Early, slightly sharp, sweet onion varieties are poorly stored, it is not possible to save sets, and even if it does, the onion quickly goes into the arrow. If seedlings are planted in the ground at the age of 50-60 days, the turnip has time to fully mature, such bulbs can lie without damage and germination for up to 9 months. The seedling method is especially good for regions with short summers, early and cold autumns, and unstable weather in the second half of summer.
Experienced gardeners call the first reason for active archery to be improper storage. Watering can provoke, but this is not the most important point. Incorrectly stored onions, even perfect watering will no longer help. If from year to year onion plantings form arrows, it is worth switching to winter planting of small onion sets.
