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What vegetable can be found in every garden? Some people like beets, others prefer potatoes, parsley or carrots, but without onions It is impossible to imagine a single plot of land.

What are the benefits of onions?

This amazing vegetable is simply irreplaceable in household. In addition to the undoubted culinary value, everyone knows about the miraculous medicinal properties bulbs

• White, golden and purple fruits are rich in potassium compounds and many other minerals, among which zinc, iron and manganese occupy the first places. They have a beneficial effect on everything metabolic processes, healing and even rejuvenating the body.
• The ability of onions to destroy pathogenic microorganisms due to the high content of phytoncides has long been recognized by official medicine. Scientists have found that their maximum concentrations are contained in the bottom of the onion, and the red-violet representatives in this sense are much more useful than their lighter counterparts.
• Onions are also a rich source of simple organic compounds. It contains especially a lot of vitamins C, A and group B. Aboveground part plants are generously endowed with carotene (provitamin A).
• Among all vegetables, onions rank third in nutritional value after beets and parsley due to their high (almost 20%) dry matter content, the main part of which is sugar.

The healing properties of onions were appreciated in Ancient Egypt, where it was eaten not only by slaves, but also by nobles. IN Ancient Greece onions were considered the food of the poor (due to their pungent odor) and... of the gods, since its high medicinal value was recognized unconditionally and was used to heal a wide variety of ailments. In medieval Europe, onions were even credited with the properties of a talisman and amulet, capable of protecting not only from diseases, but also from enemy attacks. In Rus', there was even a saying about this miraculous vegetable, which is still relevant today: “Onions cause seven ailments.”

The danger of untimely harvesting

The safety and quality of the future harvest directly depends on the correct timing of harvesting, so it is very important that the onions have time to fully ripen, but do not “overstay” in the ground.

• Early harvested does not have time to form full-fledged covering scales, and the thick juicy neck is open gate for any viruses and pathogenic microorganisms. Such onions cannot be stored for a long time, so they are only suitable for immediate consumption or canning.
• Overripe heads begin to lose their protective scales, crack and re-grow roots, losing nutritional value and ability for long-term storage. Very often, an over-sitting crop rots and disappears while still in the garden.

Onion harvest dates depending on region

The most important sign of onion readiness for harvesting is the massive lodging of the aerial parts (feathers). At this point, the false stem softens and withers, and all valuable substances pass into the underground part of the plant. The ripening time depends on several factors:

• timing of formation of bulbs of a particular variety;
• weather conditions during the season;
• soil characteristics (heavy or light);
• climatic features of the region.

In the regions middle zone In Russia and further south, it is customary to dig up onions in late July or early August. These dates may shift by a week or two depending on weather conditions. In hot and dry summers, the harvest ripens much earlier than the average - by mid-summer, and the cool and rainy season will not allow the bulbs to ripen even by mid-August.

The harvesting time for vitamin crops in the Urals depends on the latitude of the region. North of Chelyabinsk, onions are usually ready for harvesting at the beginning of August, but hot and dry weather can push back the harvest until the middle of the month. In any case, the harvesting campaign must be completed by August 20.

Siberia and the Northwestern regions of our country begin harvesting at approximately the same time, which usually occurs at the end of August and beginning of September. In these regions, cleaning must be completed before the onset of prolonged rainfall. In dry summers they move somewhat. Areas around Chemal begin cleaning up somewhat earlier than their more northern neighbors.

How to speed up the ripening of bulbs?

Sometimes weather conditions develop in such a way that the time for cleaning comes, but the feather does not even think about lying down. Cool weather and regular heavy rains prevent the heads from ripening properly. In such situation experienced summer residents artificially accelerate the ripening process. To do this, resourceful gardeners have invented several methods, some successful and some not so successful, but they are all based on the same principle - to forcibly reduce the supply of nutrients to the bulb.

• One of the most effective methods– cutting the roots at a depth of 5-6 cm below the bottom. It is done about a month before the intended cleaning using a shovel or other suitable tool.
• You can carefully lift the bulbs with a pitchfork 2-3 weeks in advance to partially tear off the roots, disrupt the plant’s nutrition and speed up ripening.
• Some gardeners prefer to half-expose the bulbs from the soil 10 days before harvesting, raking it out with a spatula.
• The most illiterate gardeners mow down the feather a week before harvest. However, this method leads to significant yield losses, since many microorganisms and viruses enter the bulb through cut but not dried necks. As a result, the heads mostly rot and become completely unsuitable for storage.

Onion harvesting technology

In order for the harvest to be well stored, it is very important to harvest it not only on time, but also correctly.

• You should start selecting bulbs from the ground at the moment when the volume of the already fallen feather is from 60% to 80%. The process must be completed within 10 days. It is during this time that the rest of the crop will ripen. If you start harvesting when the lodging of the above-ground part becomes complete, the taste of the heads will be noticeably worse.
• On loose soils, simply select the onion with your hands, gently pulling the dried feather. Heavy clay soils require the use of a tool. Most often, a shovel is used, with which they lightly dig up the mature heads, helping them to free themselves from the ground. Excess soil from the bulbs is removed only by hand to eliminate the possibility of mechanical damage.
• The dug up onion must be pre-dried for 1-2 weeks without removing the feather. If the weather is dry, then it is convenient to do this right in the garden. At high humidity soil, it is better to spread the crop in one layer on wooden pallets or wire mesh in a well-ventilated place protected from rain.
• After drying, the crop should be sorted, cutting off excess feathers and roots, and removing rotten specimens. When pruning, always leave a neck no less than 4 cm long. Shorter pruning often entails the appearance of various diseases. Bulbs with thick and juicy necks should not be selected for storage. They need to be processed immediately. You don’t have to cut a dry feather at all, but use it to braid onions for storage into wreaths or braids.
• If the weather during the season is unlucky and the bed is too wet, then immediately after harvesting it is recommended to rinse the onions and remove the top scales. Then the bare bulbs are laid out in a dry and warm place with good ventilation. After 2-3 weeks, they again “dress” with outer scales, but only in one layer.

Proper storage of onions

Store the harvest in a cool and well-ventilated place, putting it in wicker baskets, carton boxes, perforated plastic or wooden boxes. You can use old stockings or special nets and hang them from the ceiling of the storage room.

Having reaped a rich harvest, every gardener tries to provide everything to preserve vegetables during the long winter. For a crop like onion it is very important factor Successful storage is timely cleaning. You need to know not only when to plant, but also when to remove onions from the garden for storage, so that they are ripe, so that they do not “overstay” and lose their taste.

Onion harvesting: how to determine the correct timing?

Even experienced gardeners sometimes get lost when determining the time to harvest onions, let alone novice gardeners. Knowledge useful information knowing when to harvest onions will help you not to miss the ripening of the crop and the timing of its harvesting.

Signs of maturity

How to determine the ripeness of onions? The fact that the onion has already reached the stage of full ripening is indicated by a drooping and yellowed feather, as well as a drying neck of the onion. The leaves fade, all the beneficial substances “go” into the bulbs, and the covering scales of the heads become a shade characteristic of this variety (watch the video).

Onion harvest: timing

Onion

In general, the period when to harvest onions from the garden can be designated by two milestones: from the end of July to the beginning of September. But the readiness of the vegetable depends on the following factors:

• climatic conditions of the region;
• weather;
• features of agricultural technology;
• soil type;
• variety.

And if the gardener planted onions before winter, then she will have to harvest them before the varieties spring planting. Gardeners in central Russia and the Moscow region begin harvesting this vegetable in late July. Hot days summer season can accelerate ripening, and then early varieties Onions are harvested as early as the 20th of July.

When to collect onions in the Urals, Siberia, and also in the regions of the northwestern part of Russia? In these regions, the dates will shift to August and even to the beginning of September. Warm and dry August may also affect the harvest schedule, but in any case, onions need to be dug up before prolonged bad weather begins.

ON A NOTE! A hint for gardeners can be the growing season of onions. This period averages 70-85 days from spring planting and emergence of seedlings. So, we find out the ripening time of a particular variety, count down a certain number of days, and begin harvesting the vegetable from the ridges.

Some summer residents use moon calendar, choosing favorable days for planting in the spring, as well as the time when you need to harvest this or that vegetable. This is not bad, but we must remember that adjustments never hurt. And if it’s raining outside, and the calendar recommends cleaning on that day, it’s still better to rely on the weather and postpone gardening work.

When to dig shallots

The rules for harvesting shallots are exactly the same as for onions. The only difference is the timing, since shallots are an early-ripening species, and already in mid-July its feathers turn yellow and fall off. If this happens, then the onion is ready for harvesting.

Leek harvest time

Unlike onions and shallots, planted leeks, which are intended for winter storage, collected much later. Usually for most Russian regions it is the end of September or the beginning of October. But again, the timing depends on the weather and climatic conditions of the region.

The general rule is that harvesting should take place before the first frost.

Leek heads are dug out of the ground in the fall and cleaned. The leaves are carefully trimmed (by about 2/3), and the roots are also lightly trimmed. Then wash the white leek heads running water and lay the onions to dry.

When should you dig up seedlings?

Usually they start digging up the seedlings in August. A signal that the harvest can be harvested will be yellowing and drying of the feathers. All other techniques are completely similar to the techniques for harvesting onions grown per head.

Why is it important to harvest onions on time?

Correctly determining the timing of onion ripening and harvesting will allow you to preserve the harvest in the future without much hassle.

1. Onions dug up ahead of time and not fully ripened have poorly formed covering upper scales. If they start harvesting earlier, the neck of the bulbs will not dry out, it will be thick and juicy, and such a vegetable will not last a month in storage. The best thing you can do is to use the dug up onions directly for food or for preparations.
2. If the harvesting period is missed and the onion is not harvested, then “sitting” in the garden bed, it will become active again and begin to sprout roots. The turnip is overripe, the upper covering scales crack and burst, which often leads to rotting of the head.

Therefore, you need to carefully monitor the plants and not miss the onion ripening time.

Recommendations for accelerating the ripening of onions during harvesting

Experienced gardeners know that you should not rely only on external signs (for example, yellowing of a feather or its lodging). It also happens that it’s time to harvest the onions, but they turn green in the garden, and the feather doesn’t even think about laying down. This means that it is necessary to speed up the ripening process so that the vegetable does not fall under the rainy season.

How to do this correctly? The following techniques may help:

• carefully undermining the roots of the onion, for which the head is slightly lifted from the ground;
• stopping crop watering approximately two or three weeks before harvest;
• exposing the onion head (just dig up the soil from the onion so that the turnip is open and the onion ripens faster).

ON A NOTE! If it rains at this time, it is advisable to cover the onion area with film to prevent moisture from getting on the plants.

And one more helpful advice: Under no circumstances should you trim an onion to speed up its ripening.

Harvesting onions: features

To harvest onions from the garden bed, it is advisable to choose a clear sunny day. This will allow you to lay them in the garden bed to dry after digging up the bulbs. If the weather doesn’t work out, then immediately after digging the onions are laid out to dry under a canopy or on the veranda (watch the video).

Dig the onions with your hands or using a pitchfork, carefully and carefully removing them from the ground. The turnip must be cleared of soil, shaking it off and avoiding impacts and mechanical damage.

ON A NOTE! Onions should be properly removed. You cannot forcefully pull the bulbs out of the ground, otherwise you can damage them and then the onions will rot and be poorly stored.

The onion must be laid on the beds (you can lay thick fabric, burlap) in one layer and leave to dry. The bulbs are protected from night dews, and in rainy weather they are taken to attics, under sheds and dried there.

The optimal temperature is +25...+30ºC, and it is very good if the onion is allowed to dry in the sun for at least a few days.

When drying under a canopy, it is important to ensure the desired temperature and draft. Also be sure to turn the bulbs over so they dry evenly. Drying time is from one to two weeks, but it all depends on the specific conditions.

ON A NOTE! It is convenient to dry onions on wire mesh or on wooden lattice trays in a single layer.

Dry the onion directly with the feathers, under no circumstances cutting them off before drying.

How to prepare onions for storage

How can you tell if the harvested onion is dry? Signs that onions are ready for storage are:

• dry and completely closed neck;
• dense and completely dry outer scales.

Dried bulbs make a pleasant rustling sound and are hard to the touch. The next step after drying is to trim the leaves. The feather is trimmed, leaving a neck of 3-4 cm. Also carefully, trying not to damage the bottom of the onion, the roots are trimmed.

IMPORTANT! If you plan to tie the bulbs into bundles or “braids” for storage, then you do not need to completely remove the leaves from the onion chosen for this. They are trimmed, leaving the feather up to 10 cm.

After trimming, the prepared onion is sorted out, selecting possible deformed onions. They will be the first to eat. The rest of the onions for storage are transferred to baskets, boxes, crates, nylon bags and stored in a dry place.

Many people prefer to store onions right in the kitchen, hanging “braids” on the wall, others put them in pantries and closets.

If the variety was chosen correctly, and all recommendations for harvesting and drying times were followed, then the yield of the vegetable will please you, and the onion will be stored well all winter.

Perhaps there is no such garden summer cottage, wherever onions grow. Onions are a very common vegetable crop in all countries of the world. Many culinary dishes have no taste without it. Therefore, growing this crop is important.

Many gardeners make a lot of mistakes when growing, which then negatively affects the long-term storage. Let's take a closer look at when you need to remove onions from the garden and how to properly remove them from the garden.

Cleaning times in central Russia

Only the onions that are ripe can be harvested. On average, the ripening period for central Russia lasts from 60 to 90 days. This primarily depends on the growing area and weather conditions.

If you notice that the vegetable has dried out and begun to bend to the ground, then two weeks before harvesting you need to stop watering so that the roots do not begin to grow again. This way, the remaining green feather will dry out faster and can be pulled out. There is another way to speed up drying - digging. In this case, the onion just needs to be moved in the ground with a pitchfork. Damage to the roots occurs, as a result of which it begins to dry out faster.

Advice! Cleaning begins in mid-July. If the onions are not all gone, the deadlines are extended until the end of August.

Cleaning is carried out in sunny, dry weather. If your beds are still green, you need to force the vegetables to stop growing. To do this, the green feather is bent to the ground. So, nutrients from the bulb stop passing through the bent feather to the tips. After about two to three weeks, the greens will dry out.

To determine the exact date When to harvest onions, you need to count 70–90 days from the time of planting and begin the procedure. If you do not remember the planting date, then determine it by eye. The feathers of a ripe onion should be completely dry, the main stem should be soft, and when pulled out, some will come off the bulb.

If you keep it in the ground more than expected, this is fraught with new regrowth of the root system, which will have a bad effect on the keeping quality of the crop in winter. In the southern regions of Russia, onions are harvested two weeks earlier than beyond the Urals and Siberia. It depends on the weather and the length of the summer period.

If you have a rich harvest of leeks, when to harvest onions? Leeks are dug up much later than onions. It is harvested until the end of October, as it is not afraid of frost. Some gardeners manage to store leeks all winter in their beds, under covering material.

What is undesirable about untimely harvesting of onions?

Storage, that is, long-term storage of onions, depends on timely harvesting. It is impossible to clean up ahead of time and too late. What are the consequences of harvesting onions too early:

Late harvest also plays an important role in subsequent storage:

1. The covering scales will crack and fall off the vegetable.
2. Overexposure in the garden leads to re-growth of roots.
3. Late bulbs are susceptible to rot during storage.

To avoid such consequences, you need to determine the timing of onion harvesting as accurately as possible.

How to properly remove onions from the garden and dry them?

The harvest needs to be harvested in 10 days. In this case, you need to ensure that the main stem of the plant softens, but does not dry out, otherwise the taste of the onion will deteriorate.

The best harvesting method is to dig with a pitchfork. With this method, the bulbs are not damaged. If you decide to pull it out by hand, then this is inconvenient, since the dry tops will come off; in the end you will still have to dig it out.

A shovel is not suitable for digging as it can cut vegetables. In sunny weather, the dug up onions are laid out on the garden bed to fry in the sun. One day is enough for drying. Then the bulbs are cleaned of soil residues and trimmed from dry feathers.

We must remember that you cannot remove soil from vegetables by beating it. When struck, the bulbs are exposed mechanical damage And onions don't store well.

If weather conditions allow it to be left in the garden for several days, then the harvested crop should be covered with old rags or covering material at night. It would be better to move the collected vegetables to the attic or other ventilated area. During the drying process, you need to turn the bulbs over so that they are not subject to accumulation of moisture and mold.

How to trim and store vegetables?

The vegetable has dried out, what are the next steps? Before cutting and storing, you need to determine its dryness. It is determined by the following criteria:

Advice! When pruning, you need to leave a neck 5–7 cm long, roots 1–2 cm.

Before putting it into containers, it is sorted by size and degree of drying. If among the harvested crop not all the bulbs are completely dry, they are left for further drying, the rest is removed to a storage place.

Harvested onions can be stored:

But in all methods, during storage it is necessary to mix the turnips and discard spoiled onions.

In the old days, onions were braided and hung in the kitchen near the table. It was believed that this would rid the house of evil eye and words. This storage method has survived to this day. To braid a bow, a dry feather is not cut, but wound on a rope. It turns out to be a pigtail. This braid can be stored in a closet or underground, but keep the room dry.

You cannot store onions in plastic bags: they do not allow air to pass through, moisture will accumulate in them, the roots will begin to grow, and the crop may rot.

For storage in cardboard boxes or wooden boxes Ventilation holes are made on the sides if there are none. Boxes with vegetable crop in a dry, dark place. A cellar is suitable for this, basement, vegetable storage, underground.

The optimal storage temperature is considered to be from +5 to 0 degrees. If there are no such conditions for keeping the onion, then it can be placed on the balcony, but it must be warm, since in sub-zero weather the onion will freeze.

According to the advice of experienced housewives: if you put several fern leaves in a box of onions, this will extend the shelf life.

If you had to harvest turnips in bad weather, how to preserve the harvest? You can peel the rotted outer scales, and finely chop the rest of the onion and dry it.

In this form, onions can be stored in a glass container with a tightly closed lid in a dark place. You can place the dried onions in cloth bags and store them in a dark closet.

A vegetable that is still spoiled can be cleaned of rotten husks and, spread out in one layer, dried. It should be dried for about one month. After a couple of weeks, dry scales will appear on it, but single-layered. It can be packed into paper boxes and kept in the kitchen. They are primarily used for food.

Storing leeks

If the onion is properly harvested, it will be stored longer. This applies to any vegetable. When harvesting leeks, carefully dig them up without damaging the bulbs, clean them of dirt, cut off the leaves, leaving 20 cm and roots.

Leeks are stored in boxes, drawers, sprinkled with sand. To do this, you need to lay out the bulbs in one row, fill the spaces between the rows with slightly damp sand, trying to cover the white part of the bulb. Leeks feel great in the cellar, basement, even with low humidity (up to 80%).

The storage temperature should not be lower than -1 degrees and not higher than +1.

Leeks can be preserved well at home:

• V plastic film in a refrigerator;
• frozen in small plastic containers;
• in dried form;
• in canned form.

You can determine for yourself convenient way storage Leeks, in terms of taking up space, are superior to onion ones. Onions cannot be frozen; they should be stored in damp sand. But it’s still better if you have both types, since they are rich in vitamins that a person needs in life. winter period. They can also save you from viral and infectious diseases.

Results

Onions are a troublesome crop and require a lot of attention during cultivation and harvesting.

The main thing is that if you know when to remove onions from the garden for storage and do everything correctly, then you are guaranteed good preservation. You don't have to worry about your harvest throughout the winter.

Today, onions are grown infrequently. This is due primarily to the complexity this process. But those who still decide to grow vegetables usually do so through seed. Therefore, information about when to harvest onion sets will be useful to many. After all, despite all the difficulties of agricultural technology, onions are the main vegetable on the table.

In order to harvest a rich harvest of large fruits, you need to know exactly when to stop watering vegetables in the middle zone.

It is best to stop systematically moistening onions in the last days of July. By this time, the green parts of the crop will already be formed, and the lack of watering will allow the bulb to grow directly. Even rain can temporarily stop the growth of the underground part of the crop. The bulb will remain dormant until the soil dries out.

If arrows appear during the formation and maturation of the bulb, they must be removed immediately. Otherwise, the lightness of the vegetable will be lost and it will not be stored well.

Cleaning time

The timing of plant harvesting is determined based on its condition. Most gardeners are of the opinion that the period of “lying” leaves is ideal for digging up vegetables. It is believed that before this time the bulb will have already formed and become the “correct” color. At good conditions, as in the summer of 2016, the harvest falls in mid-August.

Harvesting onions from the garden should be timely. If the operation is carried out ahead of schedule, the outer scales will not have time to grow, and if it is later, long-term storage of the vegetable is out of the question. In addition, early harvesting can lead to crop diseases. Since in this case the fetal neck is thick and open, pathogens easily penetrate into it.

If the summer turns out to be rainless, you need to collect the fruits of the crop at the end of July. There is no need to wait until the leaves turn completely yellow, as this will make the process of picking small bulbs from the garden bed almost impossible.

If, in your opinion, the fruits are not yet ripe at the appropriate time, then this process can be accelerated. First, you can mow the green parts of the plant 7 days before harvesting. But it is better not to use this method, since after it the quality of the harvest decreases.

Secondly, you can scrape off the soil from each bulb in advance (10 days before).

Thirdly, you can break the integrity of the roots with a pitchfork, using them to lift the fruits. There is an option to trim the roots with a shovel. Both actions are aimed at preventing mineral elements from entering the bulb. After this procedure, the nutritional elements from the leaves will pass into the fruits, which will subsequently allow you to harvest a high-quality harvest.

Video “Harvesting onions and onion sets”

Preparing for cleaning

In temperate latitudes, at the end of July, green crops bow to the soil. In hot regions, the procedure is carried out in July, but in the Urals it has its own specifics.

This operation accompanies the ripening of large fruits. After this, you need to stop all watering of the vegetable.

At the same time, some agronomists do not advise bending the leaves to the ground, citing the harm to the false stem. And this, in turn, can cause rot in the neck of the vegetable.

Trimming

If the onion thickets have thickened, you need to cut off the “extra” greenery before the beds begin to be dug. After this, you should carefully select the fruits from the soil. This will save time on trimming the tops of each individual onion.

But, most often, the collection from the garden is carried out with the green parts of the plants, and only after they are cut off. Some people postpone this procedure until late autumn or early winter. But it is advisable to cut the tops earlier in order to dry the vegetables naturally, in the sun. This, by the way, will make the harvest more compact.

It is worth noting that the drying of the crop must be of high quality and last at least 20, or even 30 days. The temperature should be maintained at 30° -35°.

What weather should you start cleaning in?

According to all the rules, harvesting vegetables from the garden should be done in dry weather. If the soil on the site is loamy or sandy loam, then there is no need to dig up the fruits: just pull the tops. Conversely, onions growing in soil that is heavy in structure must be dug up, first carefully prying it with a pitchfork or shovel. Few people know that under no circumstances should fruits be removed from the soil by knocking them on the garden bed. This may damage the delicate structure of the fruit.

It is also worth sorting the plant: fruits with thick necks are separated from the rest. When the crop dries, it is necessary to cut off the neck, leaving only 4-5 cm from it. If you leave a short tail, the onion will not be stored for long.

You don’t have to cut the tops of the vegetable, but braid them in a so-called braid. The roots of the fruit are cut to the bottom. It is worth considering that a well-dried vegetable rustles when moved. Also an indicator of dryness is the free passage of a hand into a pile of fruits.

Drying

After the onions are harvested, the fruits must be well dried in the sun for at least 10 days. Vegetables are arranged in rows, with the green parts of the plants facing one way and the bulb itself facing the other. You will save time during the drying process if you systematically turn each vegetable. It is better to dry the crop naturally, as the sun disinfects the crop.

The readiness of onion sets for harvesting is determined by the yellowing and lodging of the tops (feathers), the protrusion of the bulbs above the soil surface and the drying and coloring of the upper scales of the set.

With normal plant development, harvesting of sets occurs 3 months after sowing and should be done in August. You should not be late in harvesting the seedlings, since with the onset of rainy weather it may begin to grow again, which will negatively affect its storage.

When harvesting seedlings late, it also becomes difficult to air dry them.

Onion harvesting methods

The set is removed by pulling it out with your hands. With a loose top layer of soil, pulling out the seed by the tops is easy. However, often the soil surface is so compacted by the time of harvesting that it can be very difficult to pull the bulb out by the feather, since the feather breaks off, and part of the harvest may be lost. In this case, they first cut the top layer of soil with shovels to such a depth as not to damage the bulbs located in the ground, and then select the bulbs.

Fig. 6. Hoeing row spacing in a tape of multi-row row sowing of a bunch of seedlings.

Harvesting seedlings requires a lot of labor: it takes from 40 to 60 working days to collect 1 hectare of seedlings.

We currently do not have special harvesting machines for sowing.

However, part of the harvesting of seedlings can already be mechanized using a special bow lifter. An onion lifter with an angular knife mounted on a frame and having a grip corresponding to the width of the seeding belt, trims, separates and at the same time loosens the top layer of soil with the bulbs in it.

After the onion lifter has worked, picking out the bulbs from the ground does not present any difficulties. A test of the bow lifter carried out at the Savalsky state farm showed high quality his works; the percentage of damaged bulbs when using the onion lifter was two times less than when cutting beds with shovels; need in labor force decreased by 30.6%.

The productivity of the bow lifter with 2 horses and 2 workers is 4 hectares. for a 10-hour working day. The same bow lifter can also be used when harvesting large onions.

Preparing onion sets for storage

After picking from the ground, the bunches of onion sets are placed on the field in narrow ribbons and, depending on the state of ripeness and weather conditions, are left to dry for 10-15 days.

For further complete drying, the seedlings are taken under a canopy to barns, into attics or, in the absence of covered premises, placed on the field in stacks (2-3 m long, no more than 1 m wide at the base and 0.3-0.5 m at the top, 1 m high).

The stacks are stacked on elevated places with a slope; to avoid soaking during rains, they are dug in with ditches and carefully covered with straw. Under the roofs, the seedlings are also stacked in stacks, shafts or round heaps with a base of 1-1.5 m and a height at the ridge of up to 1 m.

In indoor areas, it is necessary to ensure free access of air (ventilation) and periodic shoveling of the onion sets after 2-3 days, preventing them from steaming inside the heap. The set can be considered well dried when the neck of the tops is thin and dry to the touch, and 1-2 dry colored scales form on the surface of the bulb.

After drying, the tops of the onion sets are removed by trimming, tearing off or grinding. It is quite possible to leave the sets for storage with the tops if they have dried well.

Both trimmed and untrimmed sets must be passed through a winnower or sorting so that the remains of scales, tops, soil and various debris are removed. During sorting, unripe, diseased and damaged bulbs are rejected.

Only healthy sets should be stored, well cleared of debris and divided by size into three varieties: the first - from 0.5 to 2 cm in diameter (weight from 1 to 5 g), the second - from 2 to 3 cm (weight from 6 to 15 t) and the third above 3 cm - samples (weight from 15 to 30 g). The yield of sowing, depending on the growing conditions, ranges from 5 to 15-18; t. per hectare.