Do I need to soak onions before planting? What does it do?

We grow different types of onions in our gardens, all of them often get sick and are affected by pests. To prevent infestation with parasites, it is important to know how to soak the seeds of any onion (leek, batuna, nigella) before planting and how to process the seed. Of course, further care in the garden will be required, but by pre-sowing treatment we heal the planting material, ensure a quick start and active development of young plants at the beginning of the season.

Why do you need to soak onions before planting?

Any onion is propagated by seeds, and when grown for two years, onions are planted with small heads - sets.

By soaking the planting material, depending on the drug, we can:

• kill pathogenic fungi that live on the surface of the seeds, as well as on the scales of the seed and under them;
• to destroy the larvae and eggs of pests laid on the seedlings - under the scales, on the neck and on the bottom, under the roots;
• increase germination and accelerate germination.

As a result of soaking, the bulbs are freed from parasites. If this is not done, fungi and born insects will begin to feed on juices, and instead leave the products of their vital activity in the tissues of the plant. As a result, the onion will rot, will not grow or grow stunted, it will not give a good harvest.

There are no pests on the seeds, but pathogenic fungi may appear. In addition, onions from seeds germinate for a very long time. Soaking speeds up this process.

To achieve a specific goal (disinfect or stimulate germination), you need to choose a suitable drug. What is the best way to process onions in each specific case?

What does salt water help with and how to soak onions in it before planting?

Salt even corrodes metal, causing it to oxidize to form rust. Even more rapidly and aggressively, it affects living microorganisms, fungi and pest larvae. Their thin and delicate integumentary tissues are destroyed, which leads to death. This means that with the help of salt water we can rid the seedlings of nematodes, root mite larvae, onion hoverflies, as well as various rot.

Stages of preparing onion sets and soaking in salt water:

1. Go over the onions, discard the rotten and dry heads. Healthy, but already hatched, do not need to be culled, they are also soaked and planted.
2. Separate the scales that themselves easily come off the head. Those that hold on tightly do not need to be removed. If all the scales are behind and the bulb is bare, then examine its surface. Usually in such cases, spots, roughness, unevenness are found. This is a diseased planting material; you cannot plant it in the garden bed.
3. Place all select heads in a bowl.
4. Dilute 1 tbsp in 1 liter of water. l. salt and stir until completely dissolved.
5. Pour the sevok with the solution for 2-3 hours. This is enough for the salt to penetrate the pores of the scales and disinfect the surface of the onions.
6. Rinse the onion with clean water. Now it can be planted or treated with another drug (for example, to stimulate growth).

The duration of soaking can be longer. How many hours you can soak your onions in salt water depends on the size of the bulbs:

• small (less than 1 cm in diameter) 1-2 hours are enough;
• large ones need 6-8 hours.

If the sevok is overexposed in solution, then it will be salted through, the salt will eat away at the growth point and delicate rudiments of the roots. The onion will not grow after this.

Rinsing with clean water is necessary to stop the effect of salt on the head itself and to avoid salting the soil around it in the garden.

How to soak onions in potassium permanganate before planting?

Potassium permanganate is also a salt, which also contains elements useful for plants: potassium and manganese. The substance has a strong oxidative effect, in medicine it serves as an antiseptic, and in horticulture it is used for dressing seeds, tubers and bulbs.

How to soak sevok in potassium permanganate?

1. Go through and peel the bulbs as described above.
2. Dilute 1 g of potassium permanganate in 1 liter of water. Mix well and strain so that no undissolved crystals remain.
3. Pour the sevok with the solution for 20-30 minutes.
4. Rinse with clean water and start planting.

It can be soaked in such a solution to destroy pathogenic fungi (rot, mold). It has little effect on pests. In addition, the onions are fed with the elements they need.

What gives onion wood ash, how to soak it in ash water?

Wood ash is better known as fertilizer, but in essence it is an alkali - which means that, like salt, it can corrode surfaces, and act destructively on fungi and insect larvae.

Steps for preparing infusion and soaking in ash:

1. Pour a glass of wood ash with 5 liters of boiling water, stir.
2. When the infusion has cooled, strain it or simply drain from the sediment.
3. Soak selected healthy heads in ash water for 6-8 hours.
4. Dry the onions before planting.

Sevok soaked in this way not only gets rid of parasites, but is also saturated with microelements. After all, it is known that ash contains phosphorus, potassium and more than a dozen trace elements. As a result, this treatment also stimulates the growth and development of onions.

Ashes need to be taken fresh, just collected from the grill or fireplace. If it has already been in the rain or stored in a damp room, outside of an airtight package, then its alkaline and nutritional properties have already been lost. There will be no sense in processing!

How and in what else can you soak onion sets before planting?

Salt, potassium permanganate, ash is at hand for every experienced gardener. But if you also have time before planting, as well as the opportunity to get to the store, then why not purchase modern preparations specially created for soaking seeds and bulbs:

• "HB-101" - natural growth stimulant, vitalizer, contains extracts of plantain, cypress, pine bark and cedar. To obtain a solution, dilute 1 ml in 10 l of water (or 1-2 drops in 250 ml). Sevok is soaked for 6 hours, after which it acquires strong immunity and is enriched with a whole complex of elements that promote rapid rooting and germination.
• "Epin" Is a synthetic biostimulant that has long earned the trust of gardeners and vegetable growers. To process the bulbs, 1 ml is dissolved in 4 liters of water, and 1 drop is taken into a glass, soaked for 2 hours. The drug helps to cope with stressful situations: frost, drought, and the planting itself is stress for plants. The planting material processed by "Epin" quickly takes root and germinates, in spite of the changeable spring weather.
• "Zircon" - a stimulant that will accelerate the regrowth of roots and feathers. In addition, the sevok will acquire disease resistance. To soak the bulbs, 40 drops of the drug are poured into a liter of water, the onions are kept in solution from 18 hours to a day.

Gardeners often combine pre-planting methods - for example, they are first soaked in salt water, washed and dipped in ash infusion, a solution of potassium permanganate or a purchased stimulant. As a result, the onions are cleared of existing parasites, and then receive a complex of "vitamins" for active growth.

How and in what to soak the seeds of leeks, batuna, nigella, etc. before planting?

Onion seeds are very small, covered with a hard shell with essential oils. For their germination, means are chosen that can soften this "armor", penetrate inside it, to the embryos:

• Aloe juice use clean or diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio. Soak in it for a period of 2 hours to a day. No longer: the seeds will suffocate.
• Warm solution of potassium permanganate (+ 40–50 ° C) is poured into a container with seeds to cover them completely, and left to cool. Then washed, dried and sown.
• Special drugs - "Zircon", "Epin", "Immunucytofit", "Baikal EM-1" and the like - serve as both disinfectants and stimulants. How to properly process seeds with them, see the instructions. Please note that the concentration is different for bulbs and seeds!

Exhibiting onion: how to prepare for planting, what to soak in?

In the world of gardeners, fashion trends and trends are also traced. So, today at the peak of popularity is the Exhibichen onion. The variety attracted attention with its huge bulbs (up to 800 g) - they are very juicy, have a pleasant mild, even sweetish taste.

In shops you can buy both seeds and Exibishen seeds. Prices are higher than for ordinary varieties, so gardeners pay special attention to the fashionable novelty, trying to get the highest possible result. Meanwhile, the presowing treatment of nigella and seedlings does not differ from the standard one. This is an etching and growth stimulation by the means and methods already mentioned above.

So, before planting, onion sets are soaked without fail in a dressing agent, since it has already been in the ground for one season and could acquire a whole range of diseases. In addition, many diseases develop during winter storage. Botanical onion seeds are soaked mainly for early germination.