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It’s still a bit early for this, but this is my advice when you plant onion sets into rows – that is, if you plant in the spring and don’t already have sets in the ground since November. My grandmother used to do it this way and I do it like that too. I have been growing sets for years and I always have good results with this method.
Bath in a saline solution
Prepare all the sets and dissolve three cups of salt in a 10-liter bucket of water.
Stir this solution, place all the bulbs intended for planting into it and leave them soaked for 1- 2 days to achieve the best result.
Do not pour out the salty solution, but before planting pour it onto the soil, or sprinkle ordinary salt. This will help prevent onion flies and other parasites from appearing during growth. It’s a disinfection of the soil before planting.
How to speed up growth and increase the onion’s resistance
If you have problems with nematodes, people from our village used to soak the onions from the salt solution before planting for 10-20 minutes in a weak 2% potassium permanganate solution. That disinfects the seeds and protects against possible diseases in the soil and also acts as a stimulant.
If you don’t have potassium permanganate, soak the seeds before planting at least in water (temperature 20-25 ° C). Vegetable seeds contain chemical substances that inhibit germination; soaking washes them out, the seeds swell and get ready for rapid germination. Soak onion seeds 30-60 hours before planting and then leave them in the air for about 1 hour to dry briefly.
