Hybrid onion "Hercules": is it possible to plant before winter and cultivation features

Hercules is one of the popular onion hybrids that is suitable for growing both in private plots and for industrial purposes. The culture ripens quickly, is resistant to many diseases, has a high yield and is easy to care for. Ripening of vegetables when ripening is 100%.

Description

Onions with a pleasant sweet-spicy taste without bitterness are used in cooking by freezing or adding to salads, snacks and marinades. The rich chemical composition of vegetables makes them valuable in folk medicine.

Origin and development

Hybrid Hercules was bred by Dutch breeders... The originator is BEJO ZADEN.

Composition and useful properties

100 g of onions contain:

• proteins - 2% of the daily value;
• fats - 0.5%;
• carbohydrates - 7%;
• dietary fiber - 4.5%;
• calories - 2%;
• trace elements: copper, iron, iodine, chromium, cobalt, zinc, fluorine, manganese, bromine;
• vitamins: C, PP, E, group B;
• macroelements: calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine.

Onions strengthen the immune system, normalize the brain and nervous system, useful for weight loss, has antioxidant properties.

Ripening period and yield

Hercules is an early ripe hybrid: ripens 70-80 days after planting the seed.

Marketable yield in a two-year culture is 228-500 kg / ha. The maximum rate is 560 c / ha.

Disease resistance

Hybrid is immune to most common cultural diseases:

• mosaic;
• yellow dwarfism;
• fusarium;
• rust;
• gray rot;
• peronosporosis.

Specifications

The plant reaches 35 cm in height... The root system is strong with long shoots, thanks to which the onion grows well even in drought.

Feathers are juicy dark green... The bulbs are one- or two-edged, broadly elliptical, weighing 120-160 g, covered with 3-4 layers of dry golden scales.

Juicy white pulp, sweet-spicy taste without pronounced bitterness.

Interesting! After heat treatment, the taste of the onion practically does not change.

Growing regions

The hybrid is recommended for growing in The central region of Russia, but due to its unpretentiousness to climatic conditions, it is successfully cultivated almost everywhere.

Advantages and disadvantages

The virtues of Hercules:

• early maturation;
• long-term storage of vegetables without loss of taste and useful properties;
• excellent presentation;
• high productivity;
• good taste;
• resistance to drought, shooting, diseases and pests;
• unpretentious care.

disadvantages:

• high cost of planting material;
• the inability to grow from their own seeds.

Differences from other varieties and hybrids

Comparative table of some varieties of onions:

Planting and growing

To get a bountiful and high-quality harvest, it is important choose the right planting time and provide the plants with proper care.

When is the best time to plant

Bow Hercules planted in spring, when the soil warms up to + 12 ° C at a depth of 8 cm, and the air - up to + 10 ° C... Dates vary depending on the growing region. So, in the southern regions it is approximately the beginning of March, in the northern - the first days of May, and in the middle lane - mid-April.

Another option for onion cultivation — growing before winter... The advantages of this method:

• there is no need to store the sets until spring;
• planting material in the fall is cheaper;
• the crop ripens earlier and is ready for harvest in July;
• roots grow until onion flies appear;
• the vegetable does not release arrows.

Is it possible to plant Hercules onions before winter? This growing method permissible only in regions with not too severe winters.

Dates of autumn planting depend on climatic conditions: The seedlings are planted in the ground 17–20 days before the onset of frost, when the average daily temperature is 0… -5 ° C. As a rule, this is the end of October or the beginning of November.

If sown too early, the vegetable will take root and will grow, because of which it will freeze and die in winter.

Preparing for landing

For planting in spring choose onion sets Hercules with a diameter of 2-3 cm, without visible damage and signs of rot... Selected copies for 8-12 hours soak in a solution of salt, potassium permanganate, copper sulfate or "Nitrofoske" (20 g per 10 liters of water). This disinfects the planting material and removes disease and pest spores.

The soil is dug up in advance, at the same time getting rid of weeds and plant residues, and apply fertilizers at the rate of 1 m²:

• 4 kg of peat;
• 5 kg of rotted manure;
• 30 g superphosphate;
• 10 g of urea.

Add to sandy soil 2 buckets of clay soil, 1 bucket of peat and humus, 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate and urea per 1 m².

After applying top dressing, the area is covered with a film and left for 5 days to warm up.

Reference. Before winter, when digging into the ground, only wood ash is introduced: 500 g per 1 m².

Ground requirements

Hercules prefers light, nutrient-rich soil with good aeration, moisture permeability and medium to neutral acidity. The best option is sandstone, loam or black earth.

Landing scheme and rules

Planting scheme for Hercules:

1. Form the beds at a distance of 20–30 cm from each other.
2. Make planting holes in them every 10-15 cm.
3. Place the bulbs in the pits, deepening 3-5 cm.
4. Sprinkle the plantings with earth.

When grown before winter, the beds are mulched dry grass, sawdust, straw, thick cardboard or tree branches.

The nuances of care

Hercules - heat-loving bow, therefore, the planting site should be well lit by the sun, and not be in the shade.

The place is chosen on a hill. In the lowlands, water often accumulates, which provokes rotting of vegetables.

It is important to follow the rules of crop rotation: in the same place, the hybrid is planted once every 3-4 years, and the best predecessors for it are tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, melons.

An unpretentious hybrid requires minimal effortincluding timely watering, feeding and weeding.

Watering mode

Moisten the onion with moderately settled or rain water... In dry weather, irrigation is required once every 3-4 days, with sufficient precipitation - less often.

Important! Watering is stopped about 3 weeks before harvest.

Loosening and weeding

The soil in the aisles is weeded as the weeds grow... If you do not get rid of them in a timely manner, the onions will lack nutrients and the harvest will turn out to be small.

After watering or rain, the soil is loosened to a depth of 2-3 cmtaking care not to damage the plants. Loosening improves the access of moisture and oxygen to the roots, which favorably affects the development of the culture.

Top dressing

Plants are fertilized 2 times per season:

• in the spring, with the appearance of the first shoots, nitrogen-containing agents are introduced (for example, 20 g of urea per 10 liters of water);
• in the middle of summer, liquid organic compounds are used (2.5 kg of manure per 10 liters of water).

Fertilizer consumption - 5 l per 1 m².

Disease and pest control

Onion Hercules is not prone to disease, but sometimes insects attack him:

• tobacco thrips;
• onion flies;
• onion mites.

They get rid of pests with the help ash and brine. Do not neglect preventive treatment of planting material.

In advanced cases plants are treated with insecticides.

Growing difficulties

Sometimes in the process of growth, the aerial part of the onion turns yellow. This usually happens due to lack of nutrition or pest attacks.

Preventive measures to prevent the problem:

• processing of sevka before planting;
• compliance with the rules of crop rotation;
• timely fertilization.

Feathers yellowed ahead of time - a sign of a lack of nitrogen in the soil.

Lack of loosening deprives the bulbs of oxygen, which makes them bitter.

Harvesting and storage

Signs of ripe onions - yellowing and wilting of leaves.

How and when to collect

Gather vegetables in late August, in dry, sunny weather, carefully digging them out of the ground with a pitchfork or a shovel. The bulbs are carefully sorted and sorted, getting rid of damaged specimens. The remaining harvest is dried for 3-4 days in the beds, if the weather is sunny, or under a canopy - with rain.

Storage features and keeping quality

After drying, the feathers are cut from the onion with a pruner, the turnips are laid in baskets, wooden crates with ventilation holes or nets and taken out into a dry, well-ventilated area. The temperature in it is maintained at + 15 ... + 20 ° C, humidity - about 50–80%. In such conditions, the crop does not lose its marketable quality and taste for 9-10 months.

Tips from experienced gardeners

Vegetable growers who have been growing Hercules for several years recommend:

1. Mulch the planting with sawdust or straw. This will reduce the frequency of watering and the number of weeds.
2. In August, open the turnips, raking off the ground to about half the onion. This will speed up the ripening of the vegetables.
3. Arrange the beds so that carrots grow nearby. It drives away insects, in particular onion flies.

Reviews

For a general idea of ​​the hybrid, you can read the reviews of farmers who have already grown it on their plots.

Ekaterina, Kursk region: “Last year I was choosing what to plant in the garden. I studied the description and characteristics of many onion varieties with photos - the Hercules hybrid attracted attention. I was just delighted with him. I have never had such a harvest of onions. I planted Sevok in April, stored ripe vegetables in the basement - it's not cold there, room temperature. The planting material is, of course, expensive, but worth the money. ".

Valentina, Ryazhsk: “It all started with the fact that I envied my neighbor at the dacha: then my onion got sick, and the harvest was not expected at all, and her feathers were green on the beds, and even without arrows. She asked what kind of variety she had, it turned out - onion Hercules (Hercules). The next year I bought a set, planted it and for 5 years now I have been growing only it. I store it at above-zero temperature, we eat fresh and tasty onions all winter ".

Conclusion

Hercules is an early ripening onion that is suitable for spring and winter planting. Due to its high yields, unpretentiousness, resistance to diseases, pests and a long shelf life of the crop, the crop is in great demand among farmers.