The Crimean onion is called the Yalta onion variety. This is an original southern variety with characteristics that distinguish it from most varieties of this culture. Despite the fact that the Yalta onion is grown mainly in the Crimea, some vegetable growers are trying to grow it in the Central lane. The variety requires a special approach to growing.
Variety characteristics
Red Yalta onion was bred in the Crimea from the variety Madera flat. A variety of plants was introduced into the peninsula in the 19th century from Portugal.
The Yalta onion is distinguished by the fact that its bulbs are not sharp, like many other varieties with red-violet color of integumentary scales. They are sweet, without a hint of pungency or bitterness, without a pungent onion smell. Because of this, Crimean onion belongs to salad varieties and it is consumed raw, without heat treatment.
The shape of the heads is also noteworthy - round and flat, without a groove at the top. Due to this, they are easily cut into half rings of the same length.
The bulbs are composed of thick, juicy scales that are tightly pressed against each other. It is interesting that there are only 7 of them in varietal heads, no more and no less. The color of the integumentary scales of the mature heads of the Yalta onion is violet-red. The same color is also set. Inside, the onion is white or pinkish, very juicy.
This is a late variety: plants need 140-150 days to fully mature the bulbs. Each head, on average, has a diameter of just over 7 cm, weighs 150 g, the yield of the variety is from 1 sq. m is approximately 2 kg.
Advantages and disadvantages
Crimean onions are famous for their sweet taste and attractive appearance. It is with pleasure grown by farmers and summer residents, consumers are also eager to buy it. However, you can get heads with the taste of this Yalta onion only if you grow it in your homeland - in the Crimea, where the climate creates optimal conditions for revealing all its valuable qualities.
Onions can be grown in regions with colder climates, but the taste will be sharper. This is considered a disadvantage of the variety, but it does not stop many gardeners.
Late-ripening Crimean onions do not have good keeping quality, therefore it is not recommended to send them for long-term storage. However, most of the mild varieties are not intended for winter storage, which is why this particular variety should not be considered a significant drawback.
Growing seedlings from seeds
In the south, varietal plants are grown by sowing seeds directly into the soil. But this can be done in regions where the summer is long and warm autumn. In Russia, with the exception of the southern regions, Yalta onions are grown from seedlings. This is due to the long ripening period of the variety - if you sow the seeds on the beds, the bulbs do not have time to ripen before the cold. Crimean onion seedlings are grown in greenhouses under the film or in a warm room in cassettes. Sowing is carried out at the very end of winter.
First, prepare the substrate and seeds. To fill the cassettes, it is best to use a universal substrate for growing vegetable seedlings. In it, all components are selected so as to best meet the needs of plants, there are also trace elements.
From the available planting material, the best specimens are selected - large, without flaws and damage. They are disinfected for 20-30 minutes in potassium permanganate or in a solution of fungicides (diluted according to the instructions). Then washed with water, dried and sown.
For 1 square. m spend 10-20 g of seeds, sowing them according to the scheme:
- 1 cm in a row;
- 4-5 cm between rows;
- sowing depth - 1 cm.
If onions are grown in small-mesh cassettes, then 1-2 seeds are sown in each of them. After sowing is complete, the seeds are watered, covered with soil, a layer of humus or peat.
The temperature in the greenhouse after sowing and before the first shoots appear should be between 18-20 degrees. When all the seeds germinate, which will happen in about 2 weeks, the temperature is reduced to 14-16 degrees. Air humidity is about 70%. The length of daylight is also important, it should be at least 10-12 hours. If the plants are not sufficiently lit, they will outgrow, elongate, be thin, pale green in color.
Caring for seedlings of red onions Yalta standard:
- Watering. Plants are watered with clean, settled warm water, it is undesirable to use cold water. First, the seedlings are sprayed from a spray bottle - it is so convenient to wet the soil surface, it does not erode or compact. The frequency of irrigation should be such that the soil always remains moist, but not wet: in damp seeds may rot and will not germinate, the roots of already germinated plants may also suffer.
- Loosening and weeding... After each watering, the beds are gently loosened to fill the soil with air. In the process, weed shoots are also removed.
- Top dressing... Onions are fed during the growth of seedlings 2 or 3 times with an interval of 1.5-2 weeks. Good results are obtained by fertilizing plants with nitrofos (1.5 tbsp. Per 10 liters of water). The picking is not carried out, but if necessary, they break through the plants, leaving 2 cm between them. 7 days before transplanting to the beds, the seedlings are tempered, opening the greenhouse for several hours every day.
Watch a video that shows how to sow Yalta onion seeds for seedlings in a greenhouse:
Planting seedlings in open ground
For growing Crimean onions, open sunny areas are well suited, flat, without slopes, not flooded by groundwater. In the shade, the plant is not grown, it loves the sun and warmth.
The best soils for the Crimean onion are light, loose, fertile loams and sandy loams. If the site has clay or sandy soil, sand, sawdust, peat in the first case, or sod soil and mineral fertilizers, in the second, are added to it. The soil for the culture should be a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction.
The predecessors for the Crimean variety are the same as for other varieties of culture - potatoes, root crops, pumpkin, nightshade, greens, legumes. Do not plant it after all types of onions, varieties and garlic. It is necessary to observe these rules so that the plants do not become infected with common diseases and do not suffer from common pests.
For onions to develop properly, they must grow in well-cultivated and fertilized soil. Prepare the soil in the garden from autumn or early spring:
- All residues of the previous culture and weeds are removed from the beds.
- Dig it to a depth of at least 30 cm.
- Humus is introduced in 1 bucket per 1 sq. m, fresh manure cannot be used, tops of vegetables grow from it, plants shoot, the formation of turnips is delayed. Ash is added to humus, 0.5 kg per 1 sq. m or phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
- If the preparation of the beds takes place in the fall, clods of earth are not broken so that they freeze in winter, all pathogens and pests have died in them.
Ready seedlings of the Crimean variety are planted in late April or early May. By the time of transplantation, the plants should be at least 15 cm in height and have 3-4 developed leaves. They are carefully removed from the substrate or cassette cells along with a lump of earth, all poorly developed ones are removed, leaving only healthy and correctly formed ones.
Most often, seedlings are planted in grooves, but can also be planted in holes. In any case, the plant placement scheme will be the same:
- 6-8 cm in a row;
- 30 cm between rows;
- depth - 1 cm above the root neck.
After planting is complete, the beds are watered and mulched with a thin layer of humus or peat, slightly compacted.
Culture care
Although the culture is considered undemanding, it will not work to get a large crop of quality onions without constant care. It consists of watering, loosening, weeding, fertilizing and, if necessary, treatments for diseases and pests.
Watering
Yalta onions are demanding not only for the soil, the amount of heat and sunny days, but also for care - it must be watered well, only then it will be sweet and juicy.
The frequency of watering depends on the weather, but averages 2 times a week. On home beds it is convenient and beneficial not to water the hose, as usual, but to use a drip irrigation system. Thanks to it, it will be possible to save the volume of poured water, the time and strength of the gardener, as well as to prevent the possible rotting of roots or bulbs from overmoistening. Having drip irrigation, it is convenient to feed plants - fertilizers can be added directly to water for irrigation.
3 weeks before collecting the heads, watering the onion is stopped so that it has time to ripen. Not ripened bulbs with thick necks are worse stored.
Loosening and weeding
After each watering, the beds are loosened, which makes it possible to make the earth breathable and remove weed shoots.
Top dressing
Fertilize red Yalta onion with organic and mineral fertilizers. Before the formation of bulbs, an infusion of manure is used (at a concentration of 1 to 10 if cow, pig, rabbit manure is taken, and 1 to 15 if bird droppings are taken).
After the onset of bulb formation, plants are fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, nitrogen is excluded. The last top dressing should take place no later than 3 weeks before the expected harvest.
Pest and Disease Control
Many red onion varieties have good resistance to infectious diseases and pests. The Yalta bow differs in the same way. With good care and stable weather, he rarely gets sick.
If it rains a lot, then plants can get sick with peronosporosis or gray rot. Control and prevention measures - spraying the beds with fungicides or 1% Bordeaux liquid.
Of the pests, the Yalta onion is most often affected by the onion fly. It is destroyed with folk remedies or, if this is not enough, chemical insecticides.
Harvesting and storage
Yalta is a late ripening onion, its ripening occurs in late summer and early autumn. You need to start cleaning after the heads are fully formed and ripe. It is possible to determine when this happened by the appearance of the plants - the tops of them turn yellow and lie down, the cover layers of scales on the bulbs dry out, tightly cover them, the neck becomes thin and dry.
You cannot overexpose onions in the beds. If it rains soon, it will take root again. Such bulbs are poorly dug up and then stored worse.
The Crimean onions are harvested on a dry sunny day. If the weather is damp or rain is expected, it is better to postpone harvesting. The bulbs are dug in with a pitchfork or a shovel to make them easier to remove from the ground. Then they are laid out on the beds to dry for 2-3 days. In damp weather they are dried indoors, dry and ventilated. They lay the whole onion in a thin layer, turn it over every day so that it dries evenly.
When drying is over, the heads are prepared for storage: the roots are cut without affecting the bottom and tops, leaving a 5 cm high piece at the base. If you plan to weave braids from onions, then the tops are not cut.
Onions are placed in boxes, baskets or plastic vegetable nets and placed for storage in a dry but heated room. If you store vegetables in the cellar, then be sure to dry.
The storage temperature should be between 0 and 5 degrees. If it rises above 10 degrees, the heads will begin to sprout. Onions braids can be stored in the barn, utility rooms, the corridor of a residential building. In such places, they are always at hand and easy to get.
During storage, the onions are sorted several times, all rotted or dried onions are removed so that the infection does not spread to whole vegetables.
Despite the fact that the Yalta variety of onions is cultivated in a warm southern climate, it can be grown from seedlings in Central Russia. The agricultural technology of this type of onion has its own characteristics, but is generally similar to the technology of growing other varieties of vegetables.