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In the large family of onions there are several varieties, but not all of them are equally actively used by domestic cooking. Shallots are especially popular in French cuisine, where they are used as a delicacy and are included in recipes for various sauces. Thanks to its delicate aroma, the vegetable gives the dishes a special piquancy. But shallot cannot be used in large quantities, otherwise unpleasant pungency will appear, despite the sweetish taste of the product.
Briefly about culture
This variety is artificially bred from ordinary onions, therefore it has many of its properties, but in some respects it will differ. The main discrepancy is the long-term growing period. In one bed, the bush can develop well for several years, giving a good succulent feather.
The vegetable also has another name - the onion of the Magpie. Sometimes you can find an interpretation of the French name, where one more letter is added - Charlotte (or Charlotte). The very first name of the onion sounds like this - Eshkalot, in honor of the city of Ashkalon, where the culture was first grown.
In order not to ask once again the question of what it is Shallot, and not to be confused with other varieties, it is worth studying the description of the vegetable.
What a magpie looks like
Externally, a multi-lobed onion growing on a garden bed will look like an ordinary onion representative at a distance. Therefore, sometimes it is difficult for newcomers to summer residents to distinguish between these two types. In fact, the perennial herb has thin, tubular, conical, hollow leaves that are more delicate to the touch and sometimes covered with a waxy coating. Feathers do not coarse for a long time, their color varies from a light shade of green to deeply dark.
Onion
Charlotte produces elongated onions weighing 20-50 g, but there are also hybrids in which the mass of a turnip reaches 90 g. The scales that cover the bulb can be colored in all colors of the spectrum: from white to purple.
The mother gives an arrow, 1 m long, crowned with a nondescript umbrella. Shallot seeds are similar to nigella onions, but smaller in size. Another difference is that the seed does not lose germination in the multiflora for 2-3 years. In onions, only last year's seeds are suitable for planting.
Despite the fact that the taste characteristic of Shallot is sugary, the growing conditions do not differ from the onion:
- a fertile soil with a loose structure and neutral pH is needed; if the dacha is on a different soil, it is recommended to neutralize with peat sphagnum or sand;
- The shrew likes well-lit areas;
- the culture is responsive to feeding and timely watering.
Most often, Shallot is used for the winter-spring forcing of green feathers for food. Onions develop best not in separate bushes, but in joint plantings with potatoes.
Reproduction of culture
Charlotte is usually propagated vegetatively using harvested sets. It is planted in several seasons:
- in early spring - to get a feather in May and a turnip a little later;
- in summer - exclusively on greenery;
- in mid-October - for forcing on a feather to a winter table or on the first greens in early spring.
The turnip can be harvested annually, so that after winter they can be planted in new beds. Moreover, every year more and more babies will form around the uterine bulb. Their number directly affects the size - the onions become smaller over time.
With long-term cultivation, the shrew loses its qualities, so you will have to periodically refresh the variety using seed reproduction. The first year the Shallot grown in this way will give no more than 5 onions on the bush. Subsequent reproduction, already by sowing, will allow you to get a larger amount of a small turnip.
Sowing with seeds
Planting shallot onions with seeds in spring is not much different from the one-year option when planting black onions. Preliminary soil preparation is also necessary. From autumn or spring (a few weeks before sowing), the earth is dug up and fertilizers are applied: ammonium nitrate, calcium chloride or superphosphates.
Shallots Primalis (packing)
Before sowing, the seeds are sized. In order for the shoot to be friendly, it is advisable to hold the planting material for several hours in warm water, and then disinfect it in a manganese solution. After processing, the seeds are dried to restore their flowability.
The shallot planting scheme is slightly different from that which is applied to onions. Firstly, a more spacious bed will be needed for a family vegetable, since the row spacing should be at least 30 cm.The distance between the seeds is 10-15 cm.
Pre-germination
In cold regions, it is more advisable to sow seeds in seedling boxes, and then carefully transfer the germinated seedlings together with a lump of earth to the garden bed. You can use a standard commercial soil mixture or take humus and sod land in equal proportions, filling it with a little peat.
In open ground, germinated seeds must be planted to a depth of 1 cm, sprinkled with earth and covered with mulch on top, or use film shelters. It will take no more than a week to root the seeds, after which you need to remember to open the beds so that the seedlings do not trample.
Planting sevkom in spring
To begin with, the bulbs are sorted, choosing the most suitable ones - weighing 30 g and a diameter of 3 cm. Those that are smaller are better left for winter forcing. A larger set will give a lot of greenery, but too small teeth (albeit in large quantities).
A week before planting, the shallot sets are kept in hot water (42 degrees) for about 8 hours (in a thermos). This will prevent fungal infections. Alternatively, a solution of potassium permanganate or fungicide can be used to process the onions, but the seedlings are kept in them for no more than half an hour.
Before planting the onions in the ground, the soil is moistened
The scheme to be followed depends on the size of the planting material. Row spacings are maintained within the following limits:
- for small bulbs - 8-10 cm;
- for medium - 15-18 cm;
- rows with large specimens are best placed at a distance of 20-30 cm.
In the furrows themselves, in all cases, one interval between the seedlings can be observed - 10 cm.For each fraction, the planting depth will be different, while the main condition is maintained - above the neck of the bulbs, the layer of earth should be about 2-3 cm.
The planted beds are covered with a layer of peat or humus. Such a "blanket" will keep the soil moisture for a long time and will provide good feeding.
Shallots Care
It is not enough to know how to plant the onions of the Magpie in the spring, it still needs to be grown, observing all the conditions of agricultural technology. Only the right approach will ensure a good harvest. In principle, it is not difficult to grow a Magpie - all the main points coincide with those of growing onions.
Watering
Irrigation of the beds is carried out at least 4 times, with the main irrigation occurring at the beginning of the growing season. One month before harvesting the turnip, moistening stops completely.
Top dressing
Shallots, like all onions, are responsive to additional food. With a frequency of 2-3 weeks, a solution of bird droppings (proportion of 1:15) or infusion of mullein (1:10) is added to the beds. Organic matter can be alternated with mineral water, diluting 40 g of fertilizer in a bucket of water. In order for the plant to spend more energy on the development of the onions, and not on the feather, the feeding stops at the right time (one month before the harvest).
Thinning
Since the seedlings were already originally planted in the garden with the required distance, there is no need for thinning. But the summer resident can adjust the size of the growing turnips. After the nest is formed, you need to carefully rake the ground around the bush. Having chosen the smallest slices, they are broken off along with the feathers.
If the cultivation of Shallot is made from seeds, and the summer resident sowed the rows densely, then thinning is required, from the moment when there will be 2-3 low leaves on the seedlings. The procedure is repeated as the bush grows up until the desired interval is reached.
Periodic thinning required
Charlotte gives arrows, on the tops of which seed umbrellas are then formed. If the onion is grown for a turnip, then the arrows must be broken off before they reach maturity.
Crop maintenance also includes regular loosening of the soil (usually done after watering) and weed control. These measures will help to avoid fungal diseases of the onion and make the stay of pests in the garden uncomfortable.
Pest control
| Problem | Features: | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Onion fly | Appears in garden beds when cherries and dandelions bloom. Onions first wither and then rot | · Soil and feathers should be treated with wood ash; If the insect managed to make masonry, and worms have developed from them, then the greens on the bush must be treated with a saline solution (a glass of the product in a bucket of water) |
| Nematode | The pest is not visible, since it lives in the soil. The insect enters the mother's bulb and bends it. Neighbors quickly become infected from an infected bush | It is unrealistic to fight a secret enemy, but it is possible to prevent its invasion if, before planting, stand the seedlings for several minutes in a solution of Formalin 4% or Maxim |
| Aphid | It is sometimes difficult to notice a colony of small insects on the leaves - they merge with the green in color. If you do not control the breeding process of the pest, then very soon you can lose the entire plantation. | Folk remedies are perfectly controlled with aphids: decoctions of chamomile, potato peelings, pepper; |
Onions treated with pesticides should not be eaten for several days. Incorrectly chosen landing site of the Magpie and violation of agricultural conditions provoke the development of fungal diseases. Having found diseased plants, they are immediately removed from the garden and destroyed. The remaining onion is sprayed with Pentofag, Mikosan, Quadris.
How to harvest
It is important to collect the family onion on time, otherwise the ripe slices will begin to germinate and will no longer be suitable for winter storage. The nest (along with the feather) is removed from the soil when half of the greenery on the bush dries up. Laying the onion under a canopy in the shade, dry it for several days.
Then the dry tops are cut off, and the divided slices are revised to remove the damaged and diseased ones.The turnip is placed in cardboard boxes, wooden crates or fine mesh nets to be stored in a cool dry place.
The shallots must be frozen, but for this the scales must be completely removed, the onions must be moistened and slightly frozen, and then put in bags. The turnip is stored in the freezer for several months, while it does not lose its qualities.
