Breaking out the arrows of a bow. Why can a bow go into arrows, what to do and is it possible to break them? Storage - how to do it right

An important role is played by the choice of turnip onion variety, zoned for a particular region, and storage conditions also play an important role. Not everyone knows at what temperature to store onions to avoid bolting.

Why does the bow shoot?

The main reason that turnip onions go to waste is improper storage of planting material. Onions are a biennial plant; they take the storage period when the temperature drops below critical values ​​as a signal that the next stage in its development has arrived and it is necessary to prepare for reproduction. The arrows are nothing more than peduncles, from which seeds are then formed. To avoid bolting, you need to prepare well for planting and know how to properly plant onions.

Onions should be stored at positive air temperatures and low humidity. This can be achieved by storing it at room temperature. What to do if the onion was purchased only before planting, and nothing is known about its storage? How, then, to prepare onions and turnips for planting?

In this case, the purchased onion should be thoroughly dried near the radiator for 10-14 days; subsequently, the onion should be stored indoors, in a cardboard box with good air access.

What to do if the onion goes in the arrow?

There are several rules to avoid or reduce the shooting of turnip onions:

• No need for onions in cold soil. It is better to wait a little until the earth warms up to at least 20°C. Especially often onions planted “before winter” go into arrows;


• select for planting only strong turnip onions of a variety already familiar to you, without signs of growth;


• The size of the bulbs also matters - a large onion goes into the shoot, so for planting you need to choose medium-sized bulbs; onions that are too large or small will also work.


• Before planting, soak the onions in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. By this procedure you will speed up the formation of roots, the onion will sprout faster and begin to form an increase in mass.


• water the onion plantings abundantly and regularly, but only with settled warm water, since bolting may be a plant response to stressful growing conditions.


• If arrows do appear, pinch them out in time so as not to waste the plant’s nutrients. The bulbs will continue to grow, but unfortunately they will be unsuitable for storage. Therefore, in the fall, such turnip onions are only suitable for feathers; you will need to eat them first.

Onion is a plant that is in great demand; it is added to salads, first and second courses. But what to do if the onion set goes wrong? It is possible to save the harvest; to do this, you need to know the reasons and secrets of proper cultivation.

Article outline

What is a bow arrow

An onion shoot is the appearance of a peduncle in which achenes are formed; they help the onion to spread, scattering seeds over the surface of the ground.

The flower is not needed for those types of onions that are propagated by bulbs, so you will not find it in these varieties.

Several types of onions are grown:

• Onion;
• Leek;
• Bulb onions;
• Onion sets;
• Shallot.

Green onions are obtained from onions and spring onions.

Reasons for their formation

How to properly store onions

The onions are placed in boxes and baskets and stored in a cold room. From the planting material, the best is selected every month, and bad specimens are thrown out.

In the first method, the bulbs are stored at a temperature of -1 to -3 °C, most often in a cellar or under a canopy, well covering the bulbs.

The second method involves storage at a temperature of 20 °C in a warm room and +1-3 °C in winter. It is worth noting that the room needs to maintain low air humidity. It is worth warming the bulbs from the winter cold at a temperature of 30 C for several days.

A few weeks before planting it should be about 20 °C. Planting material will not rot or collapse if the storage room is regularly ventilated.

Housewives sometimes braid braids from onion bulbs. Such a string of bulbs is obtained if you collect it together with the tops. The shelf life of the bulbs is extended by treating with lime.

To do this, the roots are cut and the bottom is treated with lime paste, then dried. If you do not use the bulbs for planting, burn them before storing them with fire, this will perfectly preserve the harvest.

To combat shoots on onions, you should take into account the nuances of cultivation. The selection of planting material follows the size of the bulbs.

Onions are planted at the end of April, when the cold weather has completely subsided, at a temperature of +12 °C. When purchasing bulbs, you do not know in what conditions they were stored, so you should prepare for planting in advance. Dry the planting material on the battery a week before planting in open ground.

Appearance of arrows

If you see that flowers have appeared at the ends of the green onion feathers, you will have to remove such feathers at the root. Planting material will reach a certain size, but is not recommended for winter storage. Make a salad of flowering feathers or add to pickles.

Onion seedlings hatch in about a week. Standard plant care includes watering, removing weeds, and loosening.

When it's hot outside, onions are more capricious and need watering. Moisture is especially necessary in the first 1.5 months after planting. The irrigation rate is 6-10 liters per m2, carried out weekly in May.

In June, every 10 days at a watering rate of 10-12 liters per m2, in July 8-10 liters per m2 weekly. To prevent the feathers from breaking, use a watering can for watering. Watering is stopped 2 weeks before harvesting.

Also, pay attention to simple tips:

Summer residents also say that:

• The second feeding is carried out 2 weeks after the first (5 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).
• The third feeding is necessary when the bulb is formed. The plant is fertilized at the rate of 5 tbsp. l per 10 liters of water.
• It is necessary to treat onions for various diseases. Feathers that have reached a size of 15 cm (100 g per 10 liters of water).

When to Harvest Onions

Onions are harvested after the bulbs have formed and new green feathers have stopped forming. Harvesting takes place from August to September; if you are late, the bulbs will grow again and become unsuitable for storage.

Harvest day should not be rainy. The bulbs are dug out with a pitchfork and carefully pulled out by the feathers. Dirt and soil are not shaken off the bulbs, but removed by hand to avoid rotting.

The harvest is placed on newsprint and kept in the sun for 2 weeks. After this, the feathers are trimmed to a neck measuring 4 cm. Such bulbs are dried for another week at a temperature of 30 °C.

Growing onion sets from onions before winter

Bulbs of onion sets that are too small are not stored for long, so they are planted before winter. Mid-summer will delight you with an excellent harvest of onions without arrows.

First, prepare the place for planting. Onions love sunny areas, so the bed is created in an intensely lit place. The bed width is 1 m, height is 0.2 m.

Weeds are removed from the soil and disinfected with copper sulfate in a proportion of 2 liters per m2. After this, the soil can be fertilized, most often this is done using:

A distance of 15 cm is maintained between rows of bulbs, and 2-3 cm between bulbs. Before planting, small bulb sets must be thoroughly dried. Planting material is covered with highly fertile soil.

Winter onions are planted on October 20-30, be sure to mulch them and lay a layer of covering material. In winter, additional snow is thrown onto the bed to prevent the bulbs from freezing. Excessive moisture should not be allowed in the spring, otherwise the plantings will rot. The mulch is moved in the spring so that seedlings appear more easily.

If the plants grow too close to each other, thinning is performed. Excess onions are not thrown away, but used for food.

Winter planting allows the bulbs to ripen by mid-summer without shoots and is stored for a long time during the cold weather.

Large bulbs from seeds can be obtained after 2 years. But gardeners outwitted this system and learned to grow onion sets in 1 year. The trick is to sow early with thickened planting:

Onions are sown on the 20th of April. When thickened seedlings appear, they are thinned out and a distance of about 4 cm is left between seedlings.

Onion sets stop watering when mid-July arrives. New leaves will eventually stop appearing, which is when you should start digging them up. They are dried according to the standard procedure. High-quality drying is determined by the easy separation of the roots from the onion head. Poorly ripened onions should be taken to the kitchen and cooked.

Leek

Leeks contain potassium and iron. During storage, this vegetable gradually accumulates vitamin C, which makes it truly unique. The plant is biennial. In the first year it produces leaves with a white stalk, in the second year leeks form purple heads on the top.

Russian summer residents grow it in seedlings:

1. The seeds are soaked in advance on a damp sponge or cloth for a week;
2. Leeks are sown for seedlings in mid-March in boxes or greenhouses;
3. Try to maintain a distance of 2.5 cm between seeds.

Cultivation is carried out at a temperature of +20C during the day, +15C at night. Planting in open ground occurs after 2 months; 1/3 of the green feathers are cut off and the roots are also shortened by 1/3. The soil is filled with organic matter or compost. The height of the bed is 0.20-0.25 m.

Onion

The most popular and perennial onion. The species requires moist soils, but at the same time tolerates drought and sub-zero temperatures. Does not form bulbs, unlike onions.

They begin forcing the crop in mid-April:

1. Planting material for this procedure is prepared in advance in the fall;
2. The feathers of the batun are cut off and dug out along with the roots, stored in a cool room at sub-zero temperatures;
3. Before planting, the onions in a warm room are cleaned of old scales and the roots are cut to 4 cm.

The soil should have a loose structure and high fertility. The row spacing should be about 2 cm.

The seedlings are watered and placed under covering material, so the seedlings will hatch earlier. Feed the onions with general-purpose fertilizer when their feathers reach a length of 10 cm. Long green feathers grow in 2 weeks. Care is the same as for the onion variety.

Shallot

Shallots prefer places where legumes grew last year. Gardeners call it the heirloom onion. From the seeds, its seedlings are obtained using onion technology.

Small onions are used for forcing greens, medium and large ones are used for planting. Plant in early spring to a depth of 2 cm. Create a small layer of drainage at the bottom. They are cared for according to the standard scheme. Harvesting begins in July.

All onions have a specific smell and taste and are widely used in cooking and added to salads. The bactericidal substances in its composition help with many diseases. Good harvests are obtained if you follow agricultural practices and use the experience of professional gardeners.

It often happens that an onion planted on a turnip shoots. Of course, the quality of the crop decreases. Why do turnip onions go into the shoot, what can be done about it, how to properly store onions to avoid this - these questions worry many unlucky gardeners.

An important role is played by the choice of turnip onion variety, zoned for a particular region, and storage conditions also play an important role. Not everyone knows at what temperature to store onions to avoid bolting.

Why does the bow shoot?

The main reason that turnip onions go to waste is improper storage of planting material. Onions are a biennial plant; they take the period of storage when the temperature drops below critical values ​​as a signal that the next stage in its development has arrived and it is necessary to prepare for reproduction. The arrows are nothing more than peduncles, from which seeds are then formed. To avoid bolting, you need to prepare onions well for planting and know how to store onions correctly.

Onions should be stored at positive air temperatures and low humidity. This can be achieved by storing it at room temperature. What to do if the onion was purchased only before planting, and nothing is known about its storage conditions? How, then, to prepare onions and turnips for planting?

In this case, the purchased onion should be thoroughly dried near the radiator for 10-14 days; subsequently, the onion should be stored indoors, in a cardboard box with good air access.

What to do if the onion goes in the arrow?

There are several rules to avoid or reduce the shooting of turnip onions:

There is no need to plant onions in cold soil. It is better to wait a little until the earth warms up to at least 20°C. Especially often onions planted “before winter” go into arrows;
select for planting only strong turnip onions of a variety already familiar to you, without signs of growth;
The size of the bulbs also matters - a large onion goes into the shoot, so for planting you need to choose medium-sized bulbs; onions that are too large or small will also work.
Before planting, soak the onions in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. By this procedure you will speed up the formation of roots, the onion will sprout faster and begin to form an increase in mass.
water the onion plantings abundantly and regularly, but only with settled warm water, since bolting may be a plant response to stressful growing conditions.
If arrows do appear, pinch them out in time so as not to waste the plant’s nutrients. The bulbs will continue to grow, but unfortunately they will be unsuitable for storage. Therefore, in the fall, such turnip onions are only suitable for feathers; you will need to eat them first.

I, like probably many other gardeners and vegetable gardeners, have had to deal with such an unpleasant phenomenon as shooting onions, especially onion sets. It is clear that a shooting bow is, one might say, an already rejected bow. Since as a result of bolting, a full-fledged bulb is not formed. And all efforts to grow normal onions went to waste. Why is this happening?

Shooting of plants (including onions) is the result of improper storage of planting material in winter (at a temperature of +1...+15°C). Seeds with a diameter of 1.5-2.5 centimeters should be stored at +18...+25°C (warm storage) and a relative humidity of 50-70%. It can also be stored in the refrigerator at -1...-3°C and air humidity 80-90% or in snow in boxes (cold storage).

Plants from large sets stored warm or cold are not thrown away, and the onion harvest, provided the necessary agricultural practices are followed, is high and of good quality. At the same time, the seeds, well dried after harvesting, are stored in autumn and spring at +18...+25°C and a relative air humidity of 50-70%.

With the onset of stable frosty weather (during the winter months), the seedlings are stored at sub-zero temperatures (- 1 or - 3 ° C) and air humidity 80-90%. At the same time, seed waste is significantly reduced, and after planting in the ground, the plants do not bolt.

To prevent plant disease from downy mildew, two weeks before planting, the seedlings are heated for 8 hours at a temperature of +40...+42°C. It is necessary to take into account that during winter storage, seedlings, especially those harvested in rainy weather, are often affected by neck rot. To protect the onion from this disease, after drying it before storing it, it is heated for 8 hours at a temperature of +43°C. Properly stored and heated seedlings produce a high yield of good quality.

If you purchased a large set in the spring and do not know how it was stored, then, if possible, warm it up before planting at +25...+30°C for 15-20 days. At home, the sowing can be easily heated in a room on a heating radiator by spreading it on any tray in a layer of no more than 3 centimeters. Warming up the seedlings this way will significantly reduce the bolting of plants.

If it was not possible to warm up the seedlings and shoots appear on the plants, you need to break them out in their infancy. Plants that continue to throw out new arrows should be used first, since they will not produce full-fledged bulbs.

Small sets with a diameter of up to 1 centimeter, stored at any temperature, are not thrown away by the shooter after planting in the ground (regardless of the date). That is why it is recommended to use it for planting before winter. It should only be stored cold in winter, as it dries out greatly when stored warmly.

Agronomists know the reasons why onions shoot and what to do in such cases. But novice gardeners, with their inept actions, often create conditions for the plant that it is forced to use the method of propagation by seeds.

The appearance of a peduncle in onions is a natural reproduction process that you need to learn to suppress. If you follow the agrotechnical rules for growing onions, you can get a good turnip harvest, avoiding the appearance of flower stalks.

Why does a peduncle form?

Cultivated varieties of onions are biennial plants that form well-developed root crops from seeds in the first year of life, and produce flowering shoots in the second year. They develop from the apical bud, and their renewal occurs from the axillary bud.

The bulb is needed for vegetative regeneration of plants, and the flower buds that appear in it are necessary for the formation of seeds if natural disasters prevent the root crop from fully developing.

Interesting: The number of rudiments the mother bulb will have, the number of arrows will appear in it.

Flowering shoots are set when the turnip is stored. All types of onions, the buds of which have a diameter of more than 3 cm, will set a flower bud during storage. In turnips with a diameter of more than 1 cm, a flower bud is formed only during improper storage, when the bulb wakes up early.

A flowering shoot develops after planting a healthy root crop in open ground in early spring. Night frosts lead to the death of the roots, and then the plant turns on a protective mechanism in which the reproduction process occurs through the seeds.

In spring, leaf embryos begin to actively develop, using the nutrients available in the fleshy leaves of the turnip, while the flowering buds are still dormant. They will begin to appear when the leaves die. The arrow slowly emerges from the axil of the last leaf and gradually grows larger. There are varieties in which the peduncle is tied and comes out from the center of the bulb, which makes the root crop unsuitable for food.

Important: In bulbs less than 1 cm, the bud of the flowering shoot is absent due to the minimal size of the root crop.

When the seeds are ripe, the mother bulb often dies from exhaustion. If nutrients are still preserved in it, it will try to develop the leaf primordia necessary for the turnip ripening process. Green feathers accumulate nutrients that are transported to the base of the leaves. This process causes the underground part of the plant to enlarge, and the resulting turnip grows larger.

Important: The mother bulb can be saved from depletion and drying out if, during the ripening of nigella, the soil around it is loosened and fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are applied.

Knowing the structural features of the bulb and its growing season, you can understand why the onion goes into the arrow.

What contributes to the appearance of a peduncle

The main reason for onion flowering is most often a violation of the rules for growing this crop, which genetically contains 2 methods of reproduction: using seeds or turnips. A shooting bow appears if:

• at the beginning of the growing season, the bulb suffered greatly from lack of moisture;
• increased humidity during storage stimulated the growth of feathers and roots;
• sharp temperature fluctuations were observed, reducing the plant’s immunity;
• the bulbs planted to obtain turnips were more than 3 cm;
• at the beginning of the growing season, when young green onions were growing, there was a severe drought;
• there is a lot of nitrogen in the soil.

If arrows appeared, but none of the above reasons were observed, the cause may be the onion variety. Breeders distinguish between biennial and annual onion crops.

Annual varieties

Bulbs of annual Dutch varieties, formed from nigella, must produce a turnip of at least 60 g in one season. Violations of the rules of agricultural technology lead to the formation of small bulbs, which are called sets. When the harvest is harvested, small onions of annual varieties are left for planting, hoping to get a large head next year. But as a result, such seed shoots, and removing the shoot does not contribute to the formation of the head.

If you buy this variety from an unscrupulous seller, most of the plantings will first produce green feathers, after which the onion will bloom and form seeds. They can be sown in the ground, but the germination rate of such nigella can be very low.

Important: The larger the diameter of the head, the higher the likelihood that the planted onion will begin to shoot.

Biennial varieties

Biennial onions of domestic varieties will form medium-sized bulbs in the first year after sowing the seeds, if seedlings are rare and the turnips have enough room to grow.

If a turnip with a diameter of more than 3 cm (picks) is prepared for planting, it will shoot and bloom. Gardeners know this feature of onions and sow nigella thickly so that the turnip cannot grow a large mass in the first year, and in the second year it does not develop arrows.

As a result of dense sowing of nigella, a harvest of sets is obtained, the bulbs of which have a diameter of 1 to 3 cm. Among the grown turnips, there is oat with a diameter of less than 1 cm. This is a high-quality planting material from which large-sized root crops grow.

Promptly harvested and well-dried biennial onion sets lie at room temperature, and after planting in the ground they develop according to all the rules. It first goes into the feather, and then forms a medium or large root crop.

Oatmeal

It is more difficult to get a good harvest of onions from bulbs with a diameter of less than 1 cm, because it is difficult to store such planting material indoors. With high humidity it germinates and rots, and with dry air it dries out greatly.

Agronomists recommend planting wild oatmeal in open ground in late autumn so that it goes into winter with a well-developed root system. Frost-resistant bulbs easily endure winter, harden, grow early, get sick less and do not form flower buds because they are too small for this. By mid-August, wild oats will form large bulbs suitable for long-term storage.

The wild oatmeal is planted so that there is a 2-3 cm layer of soil above the bulbs. Mulch the top with nutritious soil, adding humus, peat or compost about 2 cm thick. When the ground freezes, the bed is covered with dry grass, corn stalks or reeds. This protects the plantings from premature thawing of the soil at the end of winter, when the first thaws begin.

When the snow has completely melted, the beds are cleared of dry grass, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are sprinkled and the soil is loosened. Further, growing such onions requires timely watering, weeding and fertilizing with phosphate-potassium fertilizers.

Important: Well-dried wild oatmeal is stored in cold rooms where it is dry and the air temperature is around 0C.

What can affect the appearance of the arrow?

In search of the reason for the bolting of onions, you need to analyze the conditions under which the seed was stored.

To prevent flowering buds from forming, the seeds are stored at a temperature not exceeding 18C and at a humidity not exceeding 75%. The drier the room, the longer the bulbs will sleep.

If the seed begins to grow roots in early spring during storage, the percentage of flower buds formed increases several times. After planting, such a bow will go into an arrow that will have to be trimmed.

If you plant a seedling onion in a garden bed in early spring, then in the conditions of central Russia it begins to bolt. To prevent the formation of flower buds, planting material is planted when night frosts weaken to -1C, and the average daily temperature is about 15C.

If you don’t take care of the onion bed, the onions will turn green and will not be able to form bulbs.

Dense soil will not allow the onion roots to receive enough oxygen, and they will begin to die.

Lack of moisture will speed up this process. A lack of phosphorus and potassium will prevent the plant from forming a bulb. Then the plant has no choice but to turn on the mechanism of the second method of reproduction.

Does the size of the bulb matter?

When deciding why the onion shoots and what to do about this phenomenon, you need to pay attention to the size of the seed material.

The larger the bulb, the greater its ability to develop a flower bud. 90% of the sample finds the strength to grow a flower, but the formation of its seeds may occur with disturbances, and they will turn out to be empty. That's why they break them out.

When planting onions on turnips, the seed fund needs to be sorted. First, the seed fund is sorted out, laying it out in 4 containers. In 1, rotten specimens are collected and must be burned.

In 2 dishes they put sets, in 3 – selections, in 4 – bulbs with a diameter of more than 6 cm, from which nigella will be grown.

The seed sorted in this way is treated with a fungicide and planted separately in the beds. The feathers of sets planted on turnips are not cut off.

Sampling produces a lot of greenery and needs to be cut and eaten, because it rarely produces full-sized bulbs.

A turnip planted on a blackberry plant can have its feathers cut off once. This will not prevent it from forming seeds.

To understand why the bow went into arrow, you can watch a video where they name the most common reasons.

What can you do with a shooting bow?

If an arrow has formed, you need to go and remove it. If you cut off a flower bud immediately after its discovery, the bulb will begin to produce them until it is completely depleted.

We must wait until swelling appears on the arrow. This means that the bulb has directed all its efforts towards cultivating this peduncle, and mechanisms have developed that inhibit the appearance of other buds. If you cut off the pipes of an arching bow as they swell, then most specimens will still form a large turnip.

In an onion variety where the arrow grows from the side, the quality of the turnip will be good, and the root crop can be stored for about a month. If a variety expels a flower bud from the middle of the bulb, then this greatly spoils the turnip. After breaking out the pipe, putrefactive processes begin in it, which makes it unfit for food.

What varieties of onions do not bloom?

When choosing which onions do not shoot, you can pay attention to multi-cavity varieties.

Arrows rarely appear on shallots, because they have a lot of germs, and they devote all their energy to growing full-fledged root crops.

To get nigella from shallots, you need to take a huge onion and cut them into several parts so as not to disrupt the integrity of the rudimentary buds. Then the largest parts will be able to expel the peduncle and form seeds.

Flower buds are almost never formed in hybrids because they often lack the gene responsible for propagation by seeds.