Aflatunsky onions: features and rules of breeding

In the spring, when the snow had just barely exposed the ground, flower beds look unattractive and depressing. But not only those summer residents who plant aflatunsky onions in their flower beds.Its features and rules of breeding do not require much experience or special knowledge from the grower, and the appearance will decorate any flower bed.

This variety got its name by place of origin (Aflatunsky Pass, Kyrgyzstan). Often it is also called purple balls because of its beautiful and unusual appearance. Consider the description of the plant.

• The Aflatunsky bow or anzur is a mountain plant, but it also grows well on flat terrain. Onions are undemanding to soils and light, resistant to disease and does not need abundant watering. Even a beginning gardener can easily cope with his breeding.
• Aflatunsky onions - a perennial plant, in the spring its shoots appear very early, sometimes even to complete snow removal from the beds. It tolerates wintering very well, maintaining temperatures up to -35 degrees. At the same time he does not need warming.
• Not only onion flowers, but also its leaves have a decorative appearance. They are wide, belt-shaped, have a juicy and bright green color. The first shoots appear quite early, usually soon after the snow disappeared from the beds. I would also like to mention one more important plus: the aroma of blooming aflatunsky onions, very delicate and unlike any other floral scent.
• Onion bloom begins in late May or in the first half of June. On fairly high (0.7-1.5 m) peduncles, spherical inflorescences of huge form (up to 10 cm in diameter) are formed. They are composed of small purple flowers that actively attract bees.

• The plant prefers sandy or chernozem soils, while on acidic it does not feel very good. Also does not like excessive moisture, so the beds under this bow is better to make high, well-drained. With irrigation, too, do not be too zealous. But the degree of illumination can be any: it is well tolerated in both sunny and shaded areas.
• Aflatunsky onion perfectly gets on with primroses, poppies, peonies, an euphorbia, delphiniums, roses and irises. The plant has found application in cooking: dishes with it are more fragrant.

You will learn more about the properties of aflatunsky onions by watching the following video.

Aflatunsky onions - an ornamental plant. But this does not mean that it is absolutely inedible. In its homeland, in the mountains of Altai and Central Asia, its leaves are actively used for food. Therefore, no one forbids our housewives to add them to, say, a salad.

The leaves are slightly reminiscent of garlic, but they are more tender. Since the shoots appear very early, lettuce with the addition of such leaves is an excellent means of combating spring avitaminosis. Fresh leaves are quite large, fleshy and juicy. But only by the beginning of June, when the first buds begin to appear, the leaves wither and are no longer suitable for food.

Can be eaten and onions. It should be careful: in large quantities they can cause poisoning. Before cooking or eating, anzur onions need to be soaked. This will not only help to remove the surplus of active substances, but also smooth out the sharp smell, which many people consider unpleasant.

After soaking, lasting from 15 to 50 days, onions can be baked, pickled or cooked in honey.

In places of natural growth of aflatunsky onions, where it is often found in the wild, it is considered a good drug. From the point of view of traditional medicine in Central Asia, it can be put on a par with such a well-known medicinal plant, like ginseng.

• It is used to improve digestion, treatment of headache, for the prevention of age-related deterioration of hearing and vision. Freshly squeezed onion juice is used to relieve rheumatic pains. Mixing the plant juice with honey and milk, you can use it to treat depression.
• Does not deny the healing qualities of aflatunsky onions and modern medicine. As part of its bulbs and leaves contains a huge amount of nutrients. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to name vitamins C, D and E. By the amount of vitamin C, anzur is many times greater than its garden counterpart - onions. Also in mountain onions contain carotenoids, saponins (vegetable glycosides). This plant is rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, iodine, copper, potassium, zinc.
• A large number of biologically active substances, an example of which can be phytoncides, is located mainly in the underground part of the plant. Their high concentration explains the discomfort that a large number of bulbs can cause.

Such a rich set of nutrients allows you to use anzur for medicinal purposes. It can have a beneficial effect on the human immune system and help to cope with colds. It can normalize the metabolism, prevent the formation of malignant tumors and be used as a prophylactic against impotence.

If you have problems with brittleness or excessive hair loss, anzur can also help. With regular rubbing of its juice in the scalp, hair growth and structure improves.

The use of aflatunsky onions is very useful for older people. It helps to avoid age-related memory impairment, relieves spasms of the brain. The beneficial effects on the nervous system helps relieve tremor syndrome.

Anzur onions are very useful, but nevertheless care should be taken when using them. In some cases, it is advisable to abstain from growing it. Here are some examples where aflatunsky onions can be harmful.

1. Anzur may be an allergen. In the presence of food allergies from its use is better to refuse.
2. Bulbs contain a large number of biologically active substances. When used more than 3 grams of possible poisoning.
3. Onion blossoms actively attract bees. In the case of severe allergies to the bites of these insects, plant growth is undesirable.

If there are no allergic reactions, and the onions are eaten in moderation, then the cultivation and use of aflatunsky onions will only be beneficial.

Growing aflatunsky onions is not particularly difficult. Even a beginner gardener can easily cope with it. This is a very undemanding culture, winter-hardy and well resistant to disease.

• Alkaline soils, sandy or black earth, are better suited for plants. It is advisable to choose a well-lit or slightly shaded area. The beds are better to make high, well drained. Place under them is better to choose in the part of the site that is not flooded with melt water.
• It is desirable to add wood ash to the soil, it will help reduce the acidity that onions do not like. But manure should not be consumed, it only hurts planting onions. The soil should be loosened well: the soil is not to the plant's liking.
• It is extremely important to consider the basics of crop rotation. Aflatunsky onions will be great to grow in the beds after the planting of cabbage, potatoes, legumes, tomatoes. But he absolutely will not like the soil after onions, garlic, cucumbers, carrots. It is necessary to transplant a plant to a new place at least once every 4-5 years.
• Anzur can be grown either by seed or onion.The first method is longer, the seed-grown plant will begin to bloom only after 3-4 years. Nevertheless, this method can also be successfully applied if it is not possible to reach the bulbs.

Before planting, the seeds need to be hardened, wrapped in a damp cloth and put in the fridge. The method of cultivation is seedless, the seeds are sown directly into the ground. You can plant as before winter, in late autumn and in early spring. The main thing is that the soil was cold and wet. Depth of planting seeds - 1.5-2 cm.

When growing seeds need to carefully monitor the level of humidity. An adult plant resists drought quite successfully, but for young shoots it can be disastrous. Especially in the first year of life of the plant. It can also harm them and the abundance of weeds, so they should be removed very carefully and regularly.

It is more convenient to grow with anzur bulbs, and the plant will start to bloom much earlier. They either land in the fall, in September or October, or in the spring, in April or early May. The seeding depth directly depends on the size of the planting material used. Large bulbs need to be planted to a depth of 15-20 cm, medium - about 12 cm, the smallest - no more than 7 cm. The distance between adjacent plants should be about 15 cm.

The plant gives the first shoots very early and at the end of May goes on to bolting. Peduncles, on which buds begin to form, rather thick, hollow inside. The thickness and elasticity of the peduncle allows it to withstand very strong gusts of wind. Even in spite of the fact that its length can reach up to one and a half meters, and the diameter of a huge inflorescence can be 10 cm.

Onions tolerate drought well, but if you want to achieve bright, fleshy leaves and large inflorescences, you need to water it regularly. Weeding and loosening the soil will also be of great benefit. After the anzur began to bloom, and this usually happens in late May - early June, its leaves can no longer be eaten.

They turn yellow, collapse and die. Because of this feature, as mentioned above, it is highly undesirable to put the plant in the foreground. Its dried leaves look very unprofitable compared to other ornamental plants.

In July, flowering plants ends. If you are planning to harvest aflatunsky onion seeds, you need to wait for August, when they finally ripen. If seed collection is not required this year, it is better to remove the withered buds immediately. In this case, next year the flowering will be longer, and the inflorescences themselves will be larger.

It is possible to collect seed boxes and bulbs at the end of August-September, when they are finally ripe. Choose for this should be a dry sunny day. Young onions can be planted before winter in the same autumn, letting them dry beforehand.

Aflatunsky onion is not only a medicinal plant with a rich set of healing properties. In the first place - this is a beautiful decoration of your site. Having spent quite a bit of effort to care for him, you will be able to envy all neighbors to grow an unusual decorative onion with a delicate aroma and inflorescences of amazing beauty.