Why you should soak onions in salt water before planting

Onions are considered an easy-to-grow garden crop, but to grow large, healthy bulbs, they need to be prepared for planting. This involves not only digging the beds and fertilizing them, but also soaking the planting material in a disinfectant solution. The treatment increases resistance to diseases and pests, and allows for an early harvest.

Why do we soak onions?

Not all gardeners believe it's necessary to soak their seeds. However, experience has proven that this treatment:

1. Suppresses the activity of pathogenic microorganisms.
2. Disinfects the soil.
3. Increases the plant's defenses.
4. Protects against pest infestation.
5. Stimulates rooting and growth of green mass.
6. Prevents rotting.
7. Reduces arrow protrusion.

Some gardeners recommend cutting off the bulb tops to speed up germination. Soaking is done immediately before planting.

Pre-planting treatment

To enhance the plant's protective properties, many gardeners try to avoid chemicals or growth stimulants. They prefer tried-and-true home remedies—salt solution and potassium permanganate. These can be used regardless of the season.

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Soaking in regular table salt or sea salt prevents infestation by the main pests of garden crops: nematodes and onion flies. Before disinfection, perform additional preparation:

1. During storage, the heads lose moisture; if you plant them directly in the ground, you'll have to wait a long time for harvest. Therefore, you should first restore the lost moisture by placing them in settled water for at least 2 hours.
2. The beds should already be dug up.
3. Dissolve salt in warm water. Gardeners' opinions on the proper concentration vary. Some recommend a ratio of salt to warm, settled water (heated to 45°C) of 3 tablespoons to 5 liters, while others recommend 0.8-1 tablespoon to 1 liter. If in doubt, you can conduct a preliminary experiment a few days before the gardening season. Soak several bulbs in various solutions and test for germination.
4. If the concentration is weak, the sets are kept for 3-4 hours; if the concentration is strong, no more than 25 minutes.
5. Rinse the planting material several times under warm running water. Tap water can be used for the initial rinses, but the final rinse should be done with settled, slightly warmed water.

If you didn't have time to soak the heads before planting, it's recommended to water the beds with a low-concentration saline solution. First, thoroughly water the beds. Dilute the saline solution at a ratio of 300 g to 10 liters of settled water.

Choose dry, sunny weather. After watering the beds with brine, wait 1-2 days for the soil to dry, then spray the soil with clean water to wash away the salt from the surface, otherwise the pH will change. This method is used once a season. Frequent use of this method will slow or stop the growth of garden crops.

If you're aiming for lush, dense stems, you can avoid pickling. In this case, simply warm the seedlings near a radiator at around 40°C and moisten them thoroughly in settled water. However, you need to be sure the planting material is of high quality and free from nematode infestations.

Ways to grow a worthy harvest

In fertile soil with good drainage, soaking the bulbs in a saline solution is sufficient. However, this treatment will not prevent various types of rot. In this case, soaking is carried out in two stages. After the saline solution, add:

1. In a manganese solution. Suppresses the activity of bacteria that cause decay. Dilute at a ratio of 30-40 g to 10 liters (a bucket) of water. Rinse the seeds after salt treatment and let them dry slightly, then place them in a plastic mesh bag—you can snip the end. Whole seeds are soaked for 2-3 hours, snipped seeds for 15-25 minutes.
2. In a soda solution. Heat the water to 51°C and dissolve in the following proportion: 1 tbsp. sodium bicarbonate per 1 liter. Simply soak for 10 minutes, immediately before planting in the beds.
3. In copper sulfate. Time the soaking time so that the seeds have time to dry. Dissolve 25 g of the solution in a bucket of warm water (heated to 55°C) and soak the seedlings in it for 2 minutes. It's easiest to place the seeds in a plastic mesh bag beforehand. Allow them to dry in the sun for a few minutes, then plant them in the prepared bed.

There's another way to use copper sulfate: soak it for about two hours in a cool solution prepared according to the principle already described.

You can speed up planting by giving the seedlings a "contrast bath" while moistening them before immersing them in the salt solution. This procedure promotes rapid awakening and stimulates early germination. Alternately immerse them in a solution heated to 50°C and then 12°C for 10 minutes. Repeat this process 2-3 times.

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If you've purchased low-quality planting material infected with fungus or pest larvae, soaking it in home remedies won't help. In this case, chemical treatments are essential. Fitosporin is considered the safest.