When to remove onion sets from the garden?

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 be guided by the lunar calendar. If you follow the recommendations from experts on the timing of harvesting this crop, it will be possible to preserve the harvest well for the next planting season.

The storage duration of the set depends on the time at which it was harvested. It is very important to determine the ripeness of the 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 by external signs.

On visual inspection of a mature vegetable, several signs can be seen to support this.

• The stems begin to turn yellow, dry and gradually tilt towards the surface of the ground. Gardeners even have such a concept: "the onion is down." This means it's time to dig up the vegetable.
• The neck of the bulb becomes thinner and also gradually begins to turn yellow.
• In ripe bulbs, the scales are easily detached., become dry and take on a golden hue.

To confirm the maturity of the crop, you can additionally perform a simple mathematical calculation:

• remember the date when the sevok was planted;
• add from 70 to 90 days to the date number (depending on the variety of sevka);
• the resulting figure will be the ripening period of the onion from planting to the day of digging.

For example, if an early-ripening onion variety was planted on May 10, then 70 days must be added to this date. It turns out that harvesting must be done in the 20th of July. You can extend or shorten this period depending on weather conditions.

Many gardeners, when cultivating onions, are guided by the lunar calendar. It indicates the most favorable days for both planting certain vegetables by months of the current year, and the desired dates for its harvest. When the time comes to dig the onions, all you have to do is choose the next favorable day for harvesting (and even hours), since there can be several of these days in August or July.

It should be borne in mind that these dates change every year, so you need to navigate by the calendar.

Of course, the climatic conditions prevailing in a particular region have an important influence on the timing of harvesting onions.... 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 the beginning of August. In the event of the rainy season, it is better to dig up and dry the onion in advance, otherwise it may rot.

In the Urals, harvesting of onions is completed by August 20. The timing of the start of the excavation also depends on the weather conditions. In Siberia, onion harvesting begins only in mid-August, and ends on the last days of the same month.

In the North-West region of Russia, onions begin to be harvested not earlier than the districts of the Moscow region. From season to season, the harvesting time can shift due to the weather up to 2 weeks in one direction or another.

The quality and duration of storage of this vegetable depends on the correctly chosen harvesting period of the onion.... 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 immature state, the neck remains thick, and the skin does not have time to fully form. During the winter storage period, this can serve as a reason for the formation of rot. If it so happens that the vegetable must be removed from the garden ahead of schedule, it is necessary to adhere to some 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 has a protective function for the vegetable.
• From the turnip, you need to clean the ground as carefully as possible 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 onions from the garden for a long time, this can also lead to undesirable consequences. For example, in September the sun is no longer so active, so a vegetable dug out at this time will be very difficult to dry. In addition, rains may begin, it will be difficult to dig the onions out of the garden, clean them of adhering lumps of earth and dry them. Being in the ground for a long time, onion turnips will begin to rot. After such a delay in harvesting the onion, you should not count on the successful outcome of its long storage.