Growing onions for greens all year round: mini garden on the windowsill
Very often, zealous owners who prepare onions for the whole winter are faced with a massive appearance of sprouted heads, starting from the first winter month. Onions awaken especially quickly when stored in a warm way - at a temperature of +18 to +22°C, for example, in a city apartment or an insulated barn.
If you collect all the sprouted bulbs and plant them in the ground, then in 2-3 weeks you can count on a harvest of juicy, vitamin-rich feathers. Green onions are not only a delicious addition to your favorite hot and cold dishes, but also a versatile source of vitamins, amino acids, fiber and minerals during the cold season.
All the subtleties of planting onions at home on greens have long been mastered by experienced gardeners and gardeners. This process is so simple that even an inexperienced plant grower can master it.
Features of planting onions to get a quick harvest of greenery on the windowsill
The main advantage of forcing onions onto greens directly on the windowsill is the use of small planting containers, the height of which is more than 5 cm. In order for the bulbs to produce long white roots, the layer of soil must exceed 3-4 cm.This means that you do not need a large amount of substrate.
Both garden soil and ordinary river sand can be used as a soil mixture. And to enrich the substrate with useful macro- and microelements, it is recommended to add wood and grass ash, as well as fireplace ashes and stove soot. Ashes are added to the soil or sand at the rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 1 liter of substrate.
The heads are planted close to each other, shallowly immersing them bottom down in a soil mixture previously moistened with warm water.
The optimal temperature for forcing onions is from +18 to +20°C. To speed up the process of formation of leaf mass, the temperature can be increased to +24 - +28°C. Remember that at temperatures above +30°C, onion greens completely stop growing.
Green onions can withstand short-term temperature drops of up to +1°C, so the crop can be grown on the windowsill of a cold but glazed balcony at above-zero temperatures outside.
Containers with onions for greens are placed in the brightest place in your apartment. The greatest increase in greenery is observed when growing plants on the windowsills of windows facing south.
All plant care involves organizing watering. The soil is moistened as it dries. Typically, green onions in a mini garden are watered moderately 1-2 times a week. Excess water can trigger the development of root rot of plants.
After the green sprouts grow over 15 cm, they can be safely cut off and added to food. After the first pruning, the vegetative mass continues its active growth. One bulb can be harvested 2-3 times.
In addition to sprouted onion heads, you can also use onion sets for planting. And to speed up the awakening process, the tops of the sets are cut parallel to the bottom, removing approximately 2 mm. Naturally, thinner shoots are formed from seeds than from onions.
You can grow greens on a windowsill all year round. And since onions do not require the installation of additional lighting sources, this particular crop is the easiest to cultivate at home.
Have a good harvest of leafy greens in your mini garden this winter!