Red baron onions are a variety of salad onions. It is well adapted to growing in various conditions. Stores perfectly in any form.
Description and characteristics of the variety
Let's start with a description of Ed Baron. The features of this species include the beautiful rich red color of the bulbs.... They are distinguished by a round, slightly flattened shape with a fairly dense structure of the upper layer (husk). It has a fleshy, juicy pulp with purple-red veins on a white-pink background.
The variety is characterized by medium early ripening. The bulbs can be harvested within three months after planting. Fruits reach 24 to 120 grams. They have a pleasant aroma, sweetish taste (less pungent than conventional varieties).
By adding it to other ingredients, you can not be afraid that the dish will turn red.
Due to these qualities, "Red Baron" is widely used in cooking and preparation of vegetable dishes.
Benefits of Red Baron
Red onion is considered an active fighter against various infections, cholesterol, and diabetes. Due to the high content of antioxidants, it helps the body fight cancer, slows down the aging process of cells. Most useful are the upper, juicy parts of the bulb.
The vegetable contains many different minerals and vitamins. For example, the amount of vitamin C can reach 6.2 mg.
The composition and percentage of vitamins and minerals depends to a large extent on the quality of the soil and the place of cultivation.
In addition to rapid ripening and a large set of useful qualities, the advantages include:
- High stable yields (up to 3 kg per 1 m²) under any climatic conditions.
- Nice presentation and good taste.
- Long-term storage.
- Drought and disease resistant. This is achieved through the well-developed, strong root system of this variety.
Red Baron onions can also be grown in the northern regions, as they tolerate early frosts well.
Time to board
Optimal time for disembarkation, the weather is stable, no night frosts. This usually occurs in the last days of April or early, mid-May (southern and middle regions). In the northern strip - planting is done later, in the first days of June.
You need to plant on fine days. The landing time should not be delayed. Onions may not have time to ripen before temperatures drop and rains. This will cause the bulbs to rot.
You can grow onions using seedlings. This is a cheaper method, but is associated with a lot of hassle in the preparation for disembarkation. The onion grown from seedlings does not give arrows, it allows you to get turnips in the same year. They persist poorly until spring, but are suitable for planting in autumn - before winter.
Landing should be done at a temperature:
- Air: during the day 0 +5 ° С, at night - about -3 ° С.
- Soils: the ground should not be too warm up to +4 ° С
This is usually done in October, early November. The main thing is that the sevok should take root before the frost appears, and did not have time to shoot the green arrows.
Benefits of planting in the winter:
- Earlier aging.
- The bulb is less susceptible to various kinds of diseases.
- No need to waste time in the spring planting and caring for seedlings.
Negative factors include:
- Spring stagnation of water in the beds.
- Planting too deep and too early.
- Frequent changes in temperature. The bulb freezes and thaws several times.
Preparing the site for disembarkation
In order for the harvest to be good, it is necessary to worry in advance about the site on which the planting will take place. For this you need:
- Choose a sufficiently lit and dry part of the site. Places where potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, or beans used to grow work well.
- The beds are made higher for low-lying areas.
- The earth is dug up and fertilized. You need to add two buckets of peat, half a bucket of humus, a glass of wood ash, a tablespoon of superphosphate. In the fall, you can have two. All this is calculated per 1 m².
In the spring, after the ground thaws, the beds are fertilized with ammonium nitrate. Teaspoon per square meter.
Landing features
You can plant the red baron in different ways:
- Onion sets. To speed up germination, the bulbs are soaked in water (35 - 38 ° C) for up to 15 hours. The seedlings are pressed into the moist, loose, weed-free soil. The depth should be about 4 cm. The distance between the bulbs is up to 10 cm, and the beds are about 20 cm. The comfortable temperature for planting is 10-15 ° C. The tip of the bulb is trimmed (3-4 days before sowing). This will allow for faster and more succulent shoots of green onion feathers. This sowing method does not require a large amount of additional fertilizers. Prepared soil is sufficient.
- Seeds. After preparing the soil and the beds, small grooves are made. The distance between them is 15 cm, the depth is 1.5 cm. Having spilled the sowing site with warm water, the seeds are sown (1 - 1.5 cm between them). Having finished sowing, the seeds are sprinkled with peat or earth (1 cm). At the end, the beds are covered with foil. Remove the film after the first shoots appear. So that they do not burn out in the sun, further (until June) they can be protected with nonwovens, lutrasil or spunbond.
- Seedlings. Seedlings are prepared at home from seeds. They are sown in special boxes or cassettes (end of April, March). Before planting in the ground, the seedlings are separated from each other. Each plant deepens by 1 cm. The distance is 5 cm from each other. After watering, each planting site is mulched with peat.
Seeds for open ground and seedlings are prepared in the same way:
- Soaked in a manganese solution (1 g per liter of water), for 45 - 60 minutes.
- Filled with a solution of the drug "Epin" (according to the instructions) for 18 hours.
- Dry to a free-flowing state.
Care after landing
It is necessary to water the seedlings regularly, during the first month (in 5-7 days - 1 time). If the heat is intense, twice every week. After heavy rains, watering - the land must be loosened and weeds removed.
During the formation of the bulbs, the plant is fed with fertilizers (phosphates, potassium sulfate). Organic types of bait are added (mullein, chicken droppings). Best diluted in water as directed and used once a month while watering.
By about the middle of summer, watering and feeding stops. This is due to the maturation of the turnips. An excess of moisture and fertilizers can ruin them.
After the appearance of the first feathers, the plants are necessarily thinned out. The weakest shoots are removed. The distance between each of the remaining ones is gradually brought to 6 - 10 cm. Such measures contribute to a good harvest and large bulbs.
Plugged plants should not be left in the beds. This will cause the onion fly to appear.
Prevention of diseases and pests
Protection against onion flies are:
- Timely weeding of the beds.
- Timely disinfection of the soil (sprinkling with ash, a mixture of sand with naphthalene - 20 to 1).
- Treatment of the plant with an insecticide (Medvetoks, Mukhoed, Aktara, etc.).
The appearance on the leaves of a fluffy grayish bloom signals that the plant is affected by peronosporosis (downy mildew). This threatens the softening of the bulbs, the death of the leaves. For prevention it is necessary:
- Treat the beds with 1% of the bark composition (before planting).
- Spray plants with Rodomil Gold MC (when 4 - 6 feathers appeared).
Do not abuse watering. Excess moisture will damage the root system. As a result, the turnip itself will rot.
Harvesting and storage
The red baron is harvested after the feathers fall (late summer). The onions should be removed from the beds, dried on the ground. Then, after cutting off the roots, it is dried in the air or in a ventilated room. The tails can be tied into buns, pigtails, or cut off. You can not leave the crop in direct, scorching sunlight.
After drying, the onions are sorted and prepared for storage. There are several ways to save it:
- Fold in thick polyethylene bags. This type of packaging can be kept in a cellar or refrigerator.
- Braided onion braids are hung in a cool, dry place (closet).
The main condition for preservation is good drying, health and integrity of the bulbs.
The correct approach to cultivation, planting and care will allow you to rightfully appreciate the merits and taste of the "Red Baron". The ability to preserve it for a long time will provide you with antioxidants and useful vitamins until the next harvest.