WE GROW A MULTILAYER ONION

A multi-tiered bow is very unusual in appearance: it grows in floors - from 2-3 to 7 in our conditions. He himself easily spreads over the site, but he does not turn his tongue to call it a weed - it is very tasty and healthy. Why don't we grow it enough? Mystery!

WHERE SUCH A "NAME" WHERE - A MULTILAYED BOW

The multi-tiered onion (Allium proliferum) has several funny names. He is viviparous, because he produces and feeds children before our eyes. It is horned because the tiers are like deer antlers. He is Egyptian, because for a long time this country was considered his homeland (although recent studies point to China).

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He is walking, or walking, because he settles in an interesting way - progressively mastering new territories. In nature, flower stalks, after maturation of bulbs (air bulbs), fall to the ground under their weight and gradually dry out. Bulbs break away from the receptacle, fall to the surface of the soil and take root a step away from the mother plant. There is even a joke: “If you planted a multi-tiered bow in one corner of the estate, then sooner or later wait for it in the opposite. How soon this happens depends on the size of the plot.”

Well, it is multi-tiered, because instead of inflorescences, bunches of bulbs are formed on the peduncles, which are laid at several levels. They, and leaves, and bulbs are used as food. The taste is special, rich, the smell is subtle, pleasant.

HOW TIERED ONION GROWS AND DEVELOPES

An amazing onion is a perennial. It is not afraid of either heat or frost, withstands temperatures down to minus 35 °. It grows very early and gives the first juicy vitamin leaves. And in the fall it turns green until late, until it goes under the snow.

The root system is powerful and is updated annually. Basal bulbs are large, very similar to onion thick necks, but do not ripen and are poorly stored.

No more than 3 weeks pass from the beginning of growth in spring to cutting off full-fledged greenery. The leaves are fistulate, tender, juicy, 30-35 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter. The flower-bearing stem is cylindrical,

base and in the upper part with a core, in the middle - hollow. The height to the 1st inflorescence-tier is 50-70 cm, the largest bulbs are formed on it with a diameter of up to 2 cm. Often they germinate immediately right on the plant, and the leaves reach a length of 10-15 cm.

The growth of the peduncle continues, and soon the second and then the third tiers of bulbs are laid. Under favorable conditions, they can form 4-5 or even more. The internodes in the upper tiers are shorter.

Bulbs are round-oval, 0-5 cm in diameter and 2-1 g in weight, covered with one or two initially greenish, then gray-violet leathery scales. They can freeze, but in the spring, after gradual thawing, they germinate.

WHERE TO GET AND BREED A MULTILAYED BOW

A multi-tiered onion does not have seeds, it reproduces mainly by bulbs, as well as by dividing the bulbs. Planting material is offered on the Internet: 10 bulbs cost 150 rubles, one - 12-30 rubles. Firms with online stores send this bow by mail. Bulbs grow from bulbs, which overwinter and in the next season give 1-3 flowering shoots and a large basal bulb, which then divides and forms a nest. In it, with the development of young bulbs, the old ones dry out and die off, so there are usually 5-7 shoots on an adult bush, sometimes more. Cut greens usually begin in the third year after planting.

Bulbs in the garden are planted immediately after ripening (in the middle lane - in August) with different densities, depending on size, usually followed by thinning into beam greens. With sufficient soil moisture, they quickly take root and give leaves.

In the spring, the site is cleared of plant residues, the soil is loosened and the onions are fed with nitrogen fertilizers. During the period of leaf regrowth and the beginning of bolting, a complete mineral fertilizer with microelements is applied. At the end of summer, they are fed with phosphate and potash fertilizers so that the plants are well prepared for winter. It is advisable to mulch the soil around the bushes with humus or compost with a layer of 2-3 cm.

Of the diseases, downy mildew is the most dangerous, of pests - slugs.

The plantation is used for 4-5 years, then the plantings must be renewed.

Reference by topic: Multi-tiered onions - planting and care, varieties and cultivation

WHY MATTRESSES ARE NEEDED

Green onions, even in very small quantities, are of great benefit to our body, which constantly needs vitamins. Therefore, it is better not to wait for spring and get fresh greens on the windowsill long before the start of the season. It is only necessary to stock up on planting material, and multi-tiered onion bulbs are perfectly stored, do not take up much space, and do not have a dormant period. In addition, this onion is less demanding on lighting conditions than onions and shallots, and grows faster. This is the best type of onion for forcing kitchen greens. The vitamin value of the leaves, of course, is less than from open ground, but they are tender and less spicy, which many will like.

It is enough to grow multi-tiered onions in a garden on an area of 2 square meters. m, so that there are enough bulbs for distillation for the whole winter. To do this, they are collected by cutting off the tiers from the stem, in no case are they torn off from the receptacle and do not separate the nests. Then dry well to prevent leaf growth and mold formation, and store in air-permeable containers in dry, unheated rooms where there are no sharp temperature fluctuations. You can also keep in cardboard boxes on a glazed balcony.

It is convenient to expel the leaves in small containers, even without soil - on mattresses made of paper towels or soft fabric. Bulbs are placed on a damp lining close to each other, and then periodically watered. It is worth involving children in this simple work, they will be able to observe how the leaves stretch upwards, and even measure them with a ruler in order to visually see how much they have grown in a couple of days.

The duration of distillation, depending on the conditions, is from 14 to 20 days. The leaves are cut at a height of 15-20 cm. It is better not to be late - the tips may turn yellow.

If the bulbs are large (more than 1 cm in diameter), you can get 2 crops. After the first cut, the plants are fed with a weak solution of complex fertilizer for indoor flowers. The second harvest, of course, will be significantly smaller.

How to propagate a multi-tiered onion

Reference by topic: Multi-tiered bow (photo) best grades, planting and care

MULTIPLAYER VARIETIES

The multi-tiered onion has several varieties. Chelyabinsk - very fruitful, for the season from 1 square. m you can collect up to 3 kg of fresh herbs and up to 5 kg of bulbs. Memory - 1 peduncles are formed from one bulb. Likova yields even in low light. Gribovskiy 4 ripened early in the Urals and Siberia. The victory in the third year gives a powerful bush of 38-20 shoots. Odessa winter 30 forms up to 12 bulbs on the peduncle.

HOW ARE YOUR COLLEAGUES?

A multi-tiered bow came to Italy in the Middle Ages, but in the last century, during the transition to industrial technologies, it turned out to be almost lost. However, in the XX century. its re-creation and dissemination has become almost a national-political affair.

Within the framework of the international agreement "Convention on Biodiversity" (1992), the Italian society Regaloe Barattoin Agricoltura ("Agriculture: giving and changing"), founded in 2013 in Liguria, is engaged in multi-tiered onions.

One of the members of the society found a plant of a strange onion in an abandoned garden and brought it to specialists for identification. Immediately the idea arose to grow and propagate the find. In the collections of botanical gardens, the multi-tiered onion was present, and, fortunately, it multiplies very quickly. Over 4 years, more than 10000 bulbs have been grown and distributed to everyone!

Garden restoration covered the whole country. To popularize the multi-tiered onion, they organized “presentations in the beds”, exhibitions, tastings of various dishes, photo exhibitions and even competitions of children's drawings. Thousands of gardeners began to grow it, getting 3-4 green crops per year. The project brought joy to people, and its organizers have something to be proud of, and it is also a great example to follow.

Reference by topic: Multi-tiered onion - cultivation, photos and useful properties