How to Grow Anti-Cancer Welsh Onion Seeds? A Detailed Guide to Sowing, Harvesting Time and Germination Days

As the saying goes, “onions won't die of drought, cabbages won't die of flooding”, which shows just how drought-tolerant welsh onions are. Welsh onion is a fairly popular vegetable in China, especially in the north, where many people like to eat it raw; it can also help prevent cancer and detoxify the body, giving it extremely high economic value, and the seeds it produces are no exception. So when should welsh onion seeds be planted? When should they be harvested? How many days until they germinate? How do you grow them?

1. When are welsh onion seeds planted? When are they harvested?

1. Autumn planting time: sow in early September of the first autumn, overwinter as seedlings, transplant in early to mid-May of the second summer, harvest before winter, store in cellars or overwinter in the open field, bolt and flower in spring of the third year, and harvest seeds in the following season. The seedlings at transplanting time can be sold as small onions (spring onions) from early May to late June; they can also be planted before the Start of Summer as clump-planted flat-bed onions (cuocuo onion) or grown with reduced row and plant spacing as trench onions for autumn supply, or overwintered and supplied as early-spring lamb's-horn onions.

2. Spring planting time: sow after the soil thaws in early spring, supply as small onions before the hot summer arrives, or harvest in the same year after transplanting as dry onions or trench onions. They can also be overwintered as lamb's-horn onions or kept as seed plants.

3. Summer planting time: mostly sown from late July to early August, hence also called "dog-days onion". By the time winter comes, the plants are larger and easily complete vernalization, so they sprout early the next spring and quickly bolt and flower. They generally come to market after the lamb's-horn onions.

2. How many days does it take for welsh onion seeds to germinate?

After welsh onion seeds are planted, they generally germinate in about ten days, but the seeds must be properly treated before planting. The specific method is to soak and disinfect the seeds before sowing, which can improve the germination rate and seedling emergence rate. Soak the seeds in clean water with stirring for 10 minutes, remove the shriveled seeds and impurities, then put the seeds into warm water at about 65° for 20-30 minutes while stirring constantly; or soak them in a 0.2% potassium permanganate solution for 20-30 minutes, then rinse clean with fresh water, which can kill pathogens on the seed surface. Seed soaking can bring seedlings out 1-2 days earlier.

3. How do you grow welsh onion seeds?

1. Sowing time: climate conditions differ between north and south across the country, so sowing times also vary. The best time is determined by the size of the seedlings before overwintering: too large and they easily vernalize and bolt the following spring, too small and they cannot overwinter safely. The standard for pre-winter seedlings is to grow to two leaves and one heart.

2. Preparing the seedbed: choose a plot that is level, fertile, close to a water source and easy to drain. Plow shallowly and harrow finely, apply 50 kg of compound fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer, and at the same time apply 2.5 kg of carbofuran and 0.5 kg of carbendazim powder per mu to kill underground pests and pathogens.

3. Sowing method: before sowing, first take out the covering soil from the bed, then irrigate the bed thoroughly; after the water seeps in, mix the seeds with sandy soil and scatter them twice over the bed, then cover with soil to a thickness of 1.5-2 cm. For a nursery field, use 1.3 kg of seed per mu, enough to transplant 3-5 mu.

4. Transplant at the right time: summer-sown welsh onions are transplanted in early to mid-September, and autumn-sown welsh onions in March to April of the following year. Use a row spacing of 80 cm and a plant spacing of 1.5-2 cm, planting in furrows. Before transplanting, grade the seedlings strictly, then treat them with chemicals to eliminate root maggots and ensure a full stand.

5. Reasonable watering: after transplanting, the key to management is promoting root growth, so watering should be controlled; drain after rain to prevent waterlogging, and prevent root rot, yellow leaves and seedling death. If it rains continuously after transplanting, it will cause root rot and seedling death, so drain promptly. In case of high temperature and drought, water to cool the soil.

6. Timely topdressing: after the Start of Autumn, apply a "leaf-promoting fertilizer" of 1500-2000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure and 20-25 kg of superphosphate per mu. After White Dew, apply a "plant-promoting fertilizer" twice along with watering, each time with 15-20 kg of urea and 10-15 kg of potassium sulfate per mu.

7. Timely hilling: hilling is an important measure to soften the leaf sheaths, prevent lodging and improve the yield and quality of the white stalk. From the Start of Autumn to before harvest, generally hill three times; the first two times combine with intertillage, banking the ridge soil into the onion furrow, and after the End of Heat, fill the furrow level.

4. Which varieties of welsh onion seeds are good to choose?

1. Small onion (spring onion): white roots, green stems and green leaves, sweet when eaten raw, comes to market in April.

2. Improved onion: grown by transplanting small spring onion seedlings from late autumn. When the small onions finish coming to market, improved onions come to market to fill the gap. Improved onions taste rather pungent, with long, dark green leaves.

3. Trench onion: thick stalks with white stems, but the leaves are old and not edible.

4. Green onion: an old onion that comes to market after Frost's Descent; this type is generally planted densely and is hilled little or not at all during growth.

5. Bunching onion: deep leaf color, pure white stalk, strong tillering ability, mild pungency and good quality.

6. Tower onion: pure white and sweet, strong tillering ability, short small leaves and rather poor quality.

7. Shallot: mostly cultivated in the south, tender in texture and mild in taste, grown mainly for its leaves. In the north, welsh onions are also divided by growing period into varieties such as lamb's-horn onion, ground lamb's-horn onion, small onion, improved onion, trench onion, green onion and old onion.

8. Lamb's-horn onion (also called yellow onion): grown from small old onions with the leaves cut level and kept, stored in a greenhouse pool to grow; the leaves are golden yellow, the stalk white, and the taste fresh and tender.

9. Ground lamb's-horn onion: an onion left from the previous year when it did not grow mature enough, then brought to market the following spring. White stalk, green leaves, thick leaves, very pungent when eaten raw.