This spicy vegetable, which is able to add piquancy to any first dish, salad, meat and fish, is sure to be in every kitchen, so at least one garden bed is always there in any garden, even a small one. There are a lot of varieties of tear vegetables, and Red Baron is one of the most prominent representatives.
Grade description
It has bulbs red with a purple tint, roundish and slightly flattened. The top layer of the shell is quite dense. Its pulp is fleshy, juicy, white-pink in color with red-violet circles. The standard weight of the bulb is about 150 g. Large ones are also found - up to 200 g. Red Baron stands out with a pleasant aroma, which is less harsh than other varieties and has a slightly sweet taste. The feather is bright green.
- Among many other varieties, this is loved by mistresses and gardeners for a number of advantages:
- pleasant taste, without sharp bitterness;
- resistance to disease and drought;
- tolerates early frosts;
- its color does not pass to other products during cooking;
- well kept until spring;
- versatility in cooking.
It’s hard to find flaws.Did you know? On the tomb of Tutankhamun, archaeologists found an image of a bow, and this is 1352 BC. e.
- These include:
- rather high cost of seeds and fruits themselves;
- not always possible to buy;
- It does not tolerate excess moisture.
Onion characterization
This variety is grown mainly in suburban areas, on an industrial scale less often. According to the ripening period, the variety is mid-early. After 3 months from the time of planting, you can harvest. The variety is high-yielding. With proper care, you can get up to 300 kg from one hundredth. Moreover, this indicator is not particularly affected by weather conditions. The roots can go deep into the ground, so it is not afraid of drought.
Growing conditions
Soil suitable for this variety is nutritious and slightly acidic. The optimal time for sowing Red Baron is the end of April. As a rule, by this time the weather is stabilizing, and the risk of night frosts is minimal. Suitable temperature for planting seeds is + 15 ° C. For planting, choose a clear and warm day. In order for the onion to mature completely, planting time must not be delayed. When the nights become cold in August and the amount of precipitation increases, it can rot.
Growing from seeds for seedlings at home
One of the ways to grow onions is seedlings, and you can grow it at home on the windowsill.
Seed preparation
Seeds older than 2 years may not sprout, so they are not used. For better seed germination and to protect plants from disease, you need to treat the seeds with a pink solution of manganese. Then they are dried and soaked in a growth stimulator. After drying, they can be sent to the ground.
Did you know? The onion has a natural sugar content of 6%, which is higher than in pears or apples, which is why when frying, after volatiles have evaporated, the onion becomes sweet.
What is the best way to grow
When growing onions in the seedling method at home, it is better to use long wooden boxes or purchased cassette containers. You can take unnecessary shoe boxes and cover them with plastic wrap or buy plastic drawers. Disposable plastic food trays with lids are also good. Soil suitable purchase, designed for seedlings of vegetables.
Seed planting process
Sowing work begins in late February - early March. The earth needs to be slightly moistened, to make even furrows. Ready seeds are laid in rows, between which 5 cm stand back, and between the seeds - 3 cm. Gently sprinkle on top with a 0.5 cm layer of earth. The containers are covered with film or glass, moistened with a spray bottle and placed closer to the heat source. The air temperature in the room should be +20 ... + 24 ° С. If sowing is carried out in a cassette, then 3-4 seeds are placed in each cell. The first shoots appear in 14–20 days. Then you need to reduce the temperature to + 16 ° C.
It is convenient to use a "snail" for sowing - they make tapes of the desired length from toilet paper, moisten and spread the seeds on them. Then these tapes are placed in a container and sprinkled with earth.
You can plant onions not only in the spring, but also in the winter. It is believed that winter onions are less likely to be affected by an onion fly. Each gardener decides for himself when it is more convenient for him to plant this crop.
Transplanting seedlings into the ground
Seedlings are planted in mid-May, when it reaches 15 cm in length and 3-4 feathers appear. It is pre-tempered. The bow is put on the balcony or on the street. Begin with 30 minutes with a gradual increase in time to 2 hours. In the early days, the “young” are shaded so that it does not burn out. After a week, they begin to accustom seedlings to the sun - in cloudy weather, open containers for the whole day, and in the sunny - when the sun begins to set. This is done for a week.
Important! If the bulbs are deepened deeply, their formation will be delayed, and they will not have time to ripen by the harvesting period, so the planting depth should not exceed 1 cm.
For landing choose a cloudy day. Seedlings are carefully removed from the container and divided. Each stalk is planted in a separate hole and rammed the soil near it. A distance of 30 cm is left between the rows, and a gap of 5 cm is left between the bulbs.
After planting, the garden is watered and mulched with peat.
Cultivation and care of seed in open ground
One of the components of success for obtaining a high yield of onions is the correct selection of the site and its preparation.
Site selection and soil preparation
The onion area should be dry and sunny. Red Baron grows better where solanaceous, bean and cucumbers were previously grown. Shovels are dug up the earth in the fall and loosened. Then it is fertilized by applying rotted manure (0.5 buckets per 1 m²), 2 buckets of peat, 1 tbsp. l superphosphate. You can add wood ash - 1 cup.
In the spring, when the snow melts, the site is sprinkled with ammonium nitrate, based on the instructions on the package.
Important! The site is better to choose on a hill, since the proximity of groundwater is undesirable for onions.
The process of planting seed in the ground
On the prepared bed, holes are planned, the distance between which depends on the purpose of growing the onion:
- to get green between the pits make a distance of 10 cm;
- for a good harvest of the underground part, a distance of 15 cm is observed.
If you need to get fresh greens, then the tops of the seeds are cut with sharp scissors. Before planting, the bed is watered with water heated to + 50 ° C. Sevocs are planted quite thickly - this provides better germination. When the bed is completely sown, the soil is slightly compacted with the addition of a thin layer of peat.
Watering
Onions Red Baron needs regular watering - in the first month, seedlings are watered 1-2 times a week from a watering can with very small holes. Water is heated in the sun to + 30 ° C. Stop watering in mid-July. At this time, the bulbs ripen, and excess moisture can cause rot.
Soil cultivation and weeding
After each irrigation procedure, the soil is loosened to a depth of 3 cm to provide oxygen access to the roots. Do this very carefully, as the onion has a superficial root system. Weeding is carried out as the weeds grow.
Feeding
This variety needs additional nutrition. When three feathers appear at the landing, you need to feed it with mullein - 1 bucket of mullein per 15 buckets of water. Chicken litter is also suitable, but it is more saturated, and the norm will be 2 times less. Superphosphate - 1 tbsp. Is added to the solution. spoon on a bucket of fertilizer.
Subsequent feeding is done no earlier than 2-3 weeks later - with potassium sulfate and superphosphate. Be sure to moisten the bed with water before applying any fertilizer. Feeding is stopped with watering - in mid-July.
Plant pests and diseases
Everyone knows such a pest as an onion fly. Although small, it is capable of ruining the entire crop.
To save him, you must:
- In time, disinfect the soil - with ash or a mixture of sand and naphthalene - 20 to 1.
- Timely weed the beds.
- Treat plants with insecticides (“Aktara”, “Fly-eater”, etc.). In this case, the pen can not be used.
Fluffy grayish plaque indicates defeat by downy mildew. This leads to softening of the bulbs, the death of leaves.
To prevent this disease, you need:
- Before planting, treat the beds with 1% boric acid composition.
- After the appearance of 4 feathers, spray the onion with “Rodomil”.
Watering must be done carefully, do not abuse. Excess moisture leads to decay of the root system and the turnip itself.
Harvesting and storage
It’s time to dig out the bow when the feather “lies” on it. This is usually August. They take the crop out of the ground with the feather, dry it, cut the roots. It is convenient to store the crop in braids - they are plaited into wreaths and dried well. You can do this in the attic, under a canopy in the yard - most importantly, not in the sun. If you plan to store in bulk, the bulbs are sorted - the largest are left for storage, and the small ones are immediately used for food and canning. The scattering is placed in dense cellophane bags or boxes and hidden in a dry cellar. The main rule is the lack of moisture.
Video: Red baron variety onions
Growing this red onion is not at all difficult. Not only is it tasty and healthy, it is also unpretentious, so it does not require much trouble. These special qualities will surely make Red Baron a true favorite among your home cultures.
Network user reviews
ADVANTAGES: Ability to grow in high latitudes, size, taste.
DISADVANTAGES: Not always on sale.
For a long time we tried to grow onions, which in the conditions of the Arctic is a difficult task. They tried to regionalize different varieties of yellow onions, but they left the arrow at the slightest freezing and did not give a normal onion. 2 years ago in Novgorod I accidentally bought Red Baron onion sets. They read about him on the Internet, and there was a hope that he would grow up. Planted in early June, after 10-15 cm, between the rows - 15 cm. They nursed and fertilized like a regular onion: the application of organic and mineral fertilizers, loosening the aisle. Despite the usual summer frosts, the onion did not go into the arrow, all summer we pleased us with a fresh green dense feather. The sharpness is slightly lower than that of other varieties, but in onions, red onions look attractive. So, in the conditions of the Far North, you can grow a good crop. Only the right variety, desire and, of course, zeal is needed.
Good luck and great harvests!