Branched onions are known by different names: wild, Chinese, fragrant, Tatar, odorous, jusai. The culture is a perennial herb, belongs to the Onion family, has special tastes and properties. You can plant it in different ways, care should be comprehensive.
Branched onion flowers have a pleasant aroma
Branchy bow
Leaves have onion and garlic flavor.
Plant characteristics
It is believed that branched onions appeared in the Chinese and Mongolian mountainous regions, and was distributed by nomadic tribes. Jusai has the following characteristics:
- the height of the flower stalk reaches 60-70 cm;
- the leaves are flat and fleshy, reaching a length of 35-60 cm, a width of 1 cm, the color is dark green, there is a light waxy coating;
- 6-12 leaves are formed on one shoot, the total mass reaches 70 g;
- the flowers are white, have a star-shaped shape and a purple vein in the center, form dense umbrellas in the shape of a ball - it was for the pleasant and delicate smell of flowers that the plant began to be called fragrant onions;
- plant leaves with onion-garlic taste are most often eaten - this is the main reason for the cultivation of branched onions;
Fragrant onion leaves are widely used in cooking. They are consumed raw, salted, added to salads, snacks, hot dishes. Not only leaves are edible, but also other aerial parts of the plant. Even the arrows of the flowers are used, pickling them like wild garlic.
Branched onions are appreciated not only for their taste and aroma, but also for their healing properties. It has a lot of vitamin C and other useful substances that make the plant effective in various diseases.
Varieties of branched onions
Several varieties of culture are known. The most popular are:
- A priori. The variety is suitable for different Russian regions, it is medium early, resistant to frost. The greens are dark green and juicy, 30 cm high and 1 cm wide. You can collect 2-3 kg of greens per square meter in 3 cuts.
- Fragrant. Greens appear early, feathers reach 30 cm, have a dark green color and a waxy coating. A square meter of plantings provides up to 4.5 kg of greenery.
- Benefit. The variety is mid-season, frost-resistant. Feathers reach 40 cm in height, have a garlic flavor. From a square meter, you can collect up to 4.5 kg of greenery.
- Jusai. The feather reaches 30 cm in height, has a delicate taste and a delicate garlic smell. A square meter brings up to 3 kg of greenery.
- Astrologer. Mid-season variety, herbs are used fresh. The height of the pen reaches 50 cm, abundant greens, has a waxy coating. Harvest can be obtained earlier than with other varieties, a square meter of planting brings up to 3 kg of greenery.
- Caprice. Mid-season salad grade. The feather is wide, grows up to 50 cm, has a dark green color, slightly peppery taste and garlic smell. A square meter of landings provides up to 3 kg of greenery.
- Spicy. The variety is mid-season, considered salad. The feather is juicy, dark green in color, has a delicate taste with garlic notes. A square meter of plantings brings up to 3.5 kg of greenery.
When choosing a variety, the climatic features of your region should be taken into account. The maturity of the culture and its frost resistance are important.
Growing conditions, soil requirements
Allspice onion is a perennial plant, and in one section it can be kept for 3-4 years in a row. Culture attracts with its unpretentiousness. For normal development, she needs the following conditions:
- Crop rotation. It is good to plant Chinese onions after pumpkin or bean crops. After cabbage, potatoes and other nightshade culture does not feel well. It should not be planted after onions or other plants of this family.
- Correct plot. It must be sublime and sunny. The northern slopes should not be chosen, but you can plant a crop in the shade of trees or shrubs - greens will not grow so fast, but will become especially tender.
- Snow cover. Many varieties of branched onions are frost-resistant, but the culture is still thermophilic. It is necessary to ensure that in winter a sufficient layer of snow covers it.
Branched onions are quite unpretentious to the characteristics of the soil. Its fertility positively affects greens: the consistency becomes softer, and the taste and aroma become more saturated. The soil should be sufficiently loose. If the soil is acidic, then limestone must be added.
Soil preparation should begin in the fall. During digging, you need to make complex fertilizer per square meter:
- wood ash - 1 glass;
- potash fertilizer - 1 tbsp. l .;
- compost - 1 bucket;
- superphosphate - 1.5 tbsp. l
In spring, loosening is necessary. At this time, ammonium nitrate is added - 1 tsp. per square meter.
Landing
You can plant fragrant onions in different ways. Each case has its own characteristics.
Seeds
When choosing this method, landing can be done at different times. The time of emergence of the seedlings and the harvesting of the first crop will depend on this. The optimal timing is as follows:
- winter sowing - seedlings appear in March, the first cut is carried out in mid-summer;
- April - the plant will get stronger in the first year, cutting is carried out the next year in the spring;
- summer - Landing is carried out until mid-July, the first cut is carried out in the spring of next year.
Regardless of the chosen landing time, it must be carried out according to the following algorithm:
- Prepare planting material. It is necessary to lower the seeds into hot water at a temperature of 40 degrees, soaking time - 8 hours. Then you need to put them in warm water for a day. Change the water at least three times.
- Prepare the site. The earth needs to be loosened and leveled, to outline the rows, leaving 25 cm between them.
- Moisten the soil, make holes. Deepen by 1-1.5 cm, leave 5 cm between adjacent plants.
- Sow seeds, sprinkle with soil and humus.
- Thin out the beds. You need to wait for the appearance of 2-3 real leaves and thin out the plants. Extra copies can be deposited. Thinning is carried out in several stages. In the first year, 10 cm is left between the sprouts, and in the second year this distance is doubled.
Division of the bush (shoots)
This is one of the ways to multiply branched onions. They resort to it in the spring or in the fall. You can divide the bush in the second year of its life, but it is better to use a three-year culture.
You need to act according to the following algorithm:
- Prepare a plot for transplanting shoots. It is good to moisten the soil and make holes, leaving 25-30 cm between them.
- Carefully dig out the bush selected for division.
- Divide the bush into several parts. Each shoot should have 2-3 bulbs.
- Place each shoot in a separate hole, pick up the earth from different sides and squeeze.
- Abundantly water fresh plantings.
Deepening the shoots costs as much as the bush was planted before dividing.
Bulbs
Another option for propagating culture. This method is used in early spring when the first green shoots appear.
The algorithm is simple:
- Prepare the site for a new landing.
- Make grooves, leaving a distance of 20 cm between them.
- Dig a bush and separate young onions. For planting, choose only the largest and strongest specimens.
- Plant onions in prepared grooves. Large specimens should be buried by 5-7 cm, small ones by 2 cm.
It is not recommended to plant the culture with bulbs in the fall. In this case, the plant may not have time to take root and strengthen properly, so it will simply die during the winter.
To get the bulbs, the plant can also be dug in the fall. In this case, feathers should be cut by a third, and the bush itself should be stored. It is better to do this in the cellar at a temperature of 0-2 degrees.
Outdoor Care
With any method of planting a branching bow, further care is required, which should be comprehensive.
Watering
Features watering branched onions depend on its age. In the first year, the plant should be watered as necessary, when the land is too dry or a hot, dry period sets in. The culture does not need regular watering.
In the second year, the situation is changing. Watering the plant needs abundant, but not frequent - enough 8-10 times per season. For each square meter of landings you need to spend 40-50 liters of water. With a lack of moisture, the leaves of the culture begin to coarse.
After each leaf cut, branched onions need abundant watering.
Weeding and cultivation
Timely weed removal ensures proper crop development. Such care should be regular. Otherwise, moisture will linger on the surface, which reduces the resistance of branched onions to fungal diseases and causes decay.
Do not forget about loosening, which is best done after watering. It is good to combine this process with weeding. Such a set of measures is needed for proper air exchange, which ensures good plant growth.
Top dressing
This step of caring for branched onions should not be ignored, since top dressing provides the nutrients that the culture needs for good growth and development.
For Chinese onions, the following fertilizers are used:
- The first feeding takes place in early spring. It is good to use chicken droppings during this period. A solution should be prepared from it by adding 12 parts of water.
- After germination, urea is also effective. You need 5 g of fertilizer per square meter. Dry matter should be scattered in the beds, and then pour them with warm water.
- 2 weeks after top dressing, Ferovit can be used. This drug improves photosynthesis. Use it according to the instructions.
- Mineral fertilizers are also useful to the plant. Make them necessary after each cut. It is good to use complex fertilizer Nitrofoska. For branched onions, 40 g of the substance should be added to a 10-liter bucket of water.
Diseases and Pests
One of the main enemies of branched onions is the onion fly. Usually it appears in mid-May, lays eggs in the soil and on the plant. Larvae appear from them, and the culture serves as food for them. As a result, the plant withers, the feathers dry, rot begins. It is necessary to deal with the pest with insecticides. There is also a folk method - a mixture of tobacco dust, black pepper and ash. A plant is dusted or sprayed with it, having prepared an aqueous solution.
Another possible problem of branched onions is downy mildew called peronosporosis. It is manifested by rapidly growing oval spots on the leaves. The solution is fungicides.
Harvesting and storage
The leaves of fragrant onions are cut several times during the growing season. Break off only the outer row, leaving the shoot in the center untouched for vegetation. Such a measure is not a whim, but a necessity - without cutting, the plant begins to wither and turn yellow.
For the season usually spend 3 cuts. Feathers should be cut at least 25 cm in length.
The optimal time for the last cut depends on the climatic features of the region - you need to produce it 2 months before the cold weather. The plant should not be touched anymore so that it gains strength for wintering.
Cut leaves are not stored for a long time, so they can be preserved or frozen. In the first case, the crop is salted, sour, pickled. To freeze greens, you need to rinse, dry and cut, then place it in tight bags and freeze.
If the culture sits in one place for 3-4 years, it is necessary to free the site from it. Plants must be carefully dug up with a spatula without damaging the bulbs. To clear bushes from the earth, to dry in the fresh air and to lay out in the punched boxes. For storage, choose a dark, dry and ventilated room. Subject to all conditions, the crop can be stored for up to a year.
Branched onion is an interesting culture with a special taste and aroma. Planting should be arranged so that it is possible to cut leaves from early spring to autumn. It is better to eat fresh jusai - this provides maximum benefits.