Red Baron is one of the most popular varieties of red onions. It is attractive for its taste, can be grown in various conditions, unpretentious, suitable for long-term storage. The variety is salad, therefore it is especially good in fresh form.
Bow Red Baron
Red baron has a sweet taste
Red Baron is stored for a long time
Variety characteristics, advantages and disadvantages
The popularity of Red Baron onions is largely due to its characteristics:
- Ripening dates are medium early - the crop can be harvested 3 months after planting;
- deep red dense husk;
- juicy and fleshy white-pink pulp with purple-red veins;
- round and slightly flattened shape;
- the mass of the bulbs can reach 120 g;
- the taste is sweetish and slightly spicy, the aroma is pleasant.
Red baron is notable for its high content of vitamin C and other beneficial elements. This variety has other advantages:
- fast ripening;
- good productivity - up to 3 kg per 1 sq. km. m;
- unpretentiousness to growing conditions;
- resistance to early frosts and droughts;
- good immunity, low susceptibility to disease;
- long-term storage;
- universality - can be used fresh, for preservation, heat treatment.
The only drawback of this variety is the unsatisfactory quality of the seed, which is why it is preferable to grow a crop with seeds. Usually they are purchased in a store, since it is problematic to independently obtain planting material.
Optimal conditions for growing
To obtain a high crop of good quality, it is important to create optimal conditions for the crop:
- Stable weather for outdoor planting. The threat of night frost should already be over, work should be planned for fine days. The optimum daytime temperature is 0-5 degrees, nighttime - not lower than -3 degrees.
- Sufficiently lit and dry area. It is better to choose a hill or make high beds.
- Compliance with crop rotation rules. Onion feels good after siderata, cucumbers, nightshade, legumes. Any representatives of the Onion family are undesirable predecessors. The plot after carrots and celery is also not good.
Red baron feels good on different types of soil, but sufficient looseness and drainage are important. Light soil is best suited to the culture. Site preparation should begin in the fall.
When digging, you need to make 1 sq. Km. m:
- wood ash - a glass;
- humus - 0.5 buckets;
- superphosphate - 2 tbsp. l .;
- peat - 2 buckets.
During the autumn digging, you can choose another scheme:
- wood ash - 1 tbsp. l .;
- compost or humus - 3 buckets;
- nitrofoska - 1 tbsp. l .;
- superphosphate or potassium nitrate - 1 tbsp. l
In spring, immediately after the snow melts, ammonium nitrate is used. Enough 1 tsp. fertilizers per 1 square. m
Landing
It is recommended to plant the Red Baron when the soil has warmed up to 4-5 degrees. Usually this is the very end of April or the beginning of May in the southern regions and the middle lane and the end of May or the beginning of June in the northern region.
Open Seed
Red baron in seeds can immediately be planted in open ground. You need to act according to the following algorithm:
- Checking the germination of planting material. To do this, it is enough to dip the seeds in warm water - all specimens remaining on the surface are not suitable for sowing.
- Disinfection. At this stage, it is optimal to use a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Seeds in such a solution are enough to hold a quarter of an hour.
- Stratification. This stage allows you to accelerate the germination of seeds. It is necessary to lower them in hot water for half an hour, the temperature should not be higher than 40 degrees. Then immediately place the seeds in cold water for the same time.
- Germination of planting material. You need to place the seeds in a damp cloth and periodically moisturize it. Sprouts will appear in about a week.
- Soil preparation. It should be dug up still in the fall. In spring, loosen and level the ground, make grooves, deepening them by 2 cm. Leave at least 15 cm between rows.
- Spill grooves and sow seeds. There should be a distance of 1.5 cm between them.
Red baron can be grown by seed for seedlings. A bow planted in this way will not give arrows. It is stored poorly, but is great for winter sowing. It is usually produced in October, so that the culture has time to take root before frost. In the southern regions, landing can be made in November.
Onion sevkom
If you harvest the onion sets yourself, then for the spring planting, you should leave the largest specimens. It is better to use a trifle for winter sowing, because during the winter it just dries.
In any case, one must proceed according to the following algorithm:
- Culling planting material. Only strong specimens should be left without mechanical damage and signs of illness.
- Warming up. It is necessary to keep sevoc at 40 degrees for at least 3 days. For the prevention of various diseases, this time can be increased to 2 weeks, and the temperature can be reduced to 35-38 degrees.
- Blue vitriol treatment. It is necessary to dissolve 1 teaspoon in 10 liters of water and lower the sevoc there for 10 minutes. Such treatment is the prevention of fungal diseases.
- Soil preparation. It is necessary to loosen and level it, make holes. Depth approximately 4 cm, leave 30 cm between rows, and 15 cm between adjacent holes.
If you want to get juicy greens faster, then 3 days before planting you should trim the tops of the seeds.
Outdoor crop care
Red baron needs comprehensive care after landing. All its stages are standard.
Watering
You need to water the crop regularly, especially in the first month after planting. You need to focus on the condition of the soil, the recommended frequency is once every 5-7 days. In the dry period, watering should be increased up to 2 times a week.
2 weeks before harvesting, watering is completely abandoned. Bulbs should dry.
Loosening, thinning and weeding
Loosening the soil is necessary so that moisture and oxygen do not have obstacles. Loosening after watering or heavy rain is recommended. The soil should be loosened to a depth of 3 cm. This should be done every 2 weeks.
Thinning is usually required when planting a crop with seeds or seedlings. This should be done when the first green appears. It is necessary to get rid of weak specimens, at least 6 cm should remain between plants.
Weeds interfere with the growth and full development of culture, so it is important to get rid of them in a timely manner. It is convenient to carry out such work together with loosening.
Top dressing
The first top dressing is carried out in the spring, especially with poor growth of the culture. It is necessary to use the infusion of mullein, it is useful to add 1 tbsp. To the bucket. urea. The same top dressing should be repeated when the bulbs grow to about 4-5 cm.
You can use one urea, dissolving 10 g of the product in 5 l of water. This amount of fertilizer is enough for 1 square. m landings. With the growth of greens, it is useful to introduce urea with a nitrophos. Fertilizer is used in dry form, per 1 square. 30 g is enough
Pest and Disease Control
Diseases of the Red Baron are practically not terrible, although they are not completely excluded. More often, peronosporosis, also called downy mildew, affects the culture. It manifests itself in vague pale spots on the greens, which gradually grow and can merge together. The solution to the problem is the burning of affected specimens and the fungicide treatment of surviving plants.
Of the pests, there is a higher probability of being hit by an onion fly. Larvae that devour it from the inside cause damage to the culture. Affected specimens should be burned, and the beds should be treated with tobacco dust with ash and black pepper. You can dust the culture with a dry composition or make a spray solution from it. A solution of laundry soap will also help.
Another problem is the root tick, due to the defeat of which fungal diseases can develop. Fight the pest should be the drug Keltan, making a solution according to the instructions.
For the prevention of diseases and pests, planting material should be properly prepared, crop rotation rules must be observed, weeds must be weeded in a timely manner, cleaned from them and burn plant debris.
Harvesting and storage
Harvest dates for the Red Baron depend on the time of planting and the characteristics of the region. Typically, work falls in mid-August. In any case, the feather should spread along the ground, and the bulbs should become a deep red color.
For cleaning, you need to choose dry weather. Dig the onion carefully, without damaging it, clean it from the ground and dry it. After you should trim the roots and feathers. It is better to leave ponytails of 5 cm, and for knitting braids - 10-12 cm. After processing, dry the onions completely for a week in the street or in a well-ventilated area. Harvest should not get wet.
You can store onions in different ways: in braids, knitwear, nylon stockings, nets, wooden boxes, cardboard boxes. With the exception of braids and stockings, it is not recommended to make a layer of onions more than 30 cm, so that the lower layers do not harden.
The storage room should be dry and dark. The optimum temperature is 0-3 degrees. Under such conditions, the shelf life can reach 1 year.
Growing a Red Baron is no more difficult than other varieties and varieties of onions. Its unpretentiousness and resistance to diseases facilitate the work in the garden. Subject to all conditions of cultivation, the crop will give a good harvest, which will be stored for a long time.