Shandong onion transplanting time

Shandong is one of the major onion -growing provinces in China, with production areas including Weifang, Jinxiang, Qingdao and other places. Due to the characteristics of the regional environment, Shandong onions have an excellent taste and are highly praised in the market. So when is the best time to transplant onions when growing them in Shandong? Let’s learn more about it below.

Shandong onion transplanting time

The onion transplanting time in Shandong area is usually from late October to mid-November. This is because the winter temperature in Shandong is generally above -7℃, which is suitable for transplanting about 30-40 days before freezing.

Key points for onion transplanting

1. Reasonable planting

Onion plants are upright and provide little shade from their leaves, making them suitable for dense planting. Generally speaking, the row spacing for onion planting is 15-18cm, the plant spacing is 10-13cm, and about 30,000 plants are planted per acre.

2. Thinning and weeding

When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, weed and thin out the seedlings in time, following the principle of removing the weak and keeping the strong, removing the small and keeping the large, to ensure uniform growth of the seedlings.

3. Water and fertilizer management

After transplanting onions, make sure the soil remains moist to promote root recovery and growth. But do not water too much to avoid root rot. At the same time, you can combine watering with appropriate fertilization, and pay attention to the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer to prevent excessive growth of the aboveground part.

4. Cultivate and loosen the soil

Generally, the soil should be loosened three to four times during the seedling stage, combined with each watering. The tillage should be stopped after the plants have formed ridges. The depth of intertillage should be about 3 cm, it should be shallow near the plants and deep away from the plants.

5. Temperature management

After the onion seedlings emerge, the temperature should be lowered appropriately to prevent them from growing too tall, keeping the temperature at 15℃-20℃ during the day and 10℃ at night. When the onion grows to more than 15cm, you can open the small arch shed to allow the seedlings to adapt to natural temperature changes.

6. Pest and disease control

Check the growth of your onion plants regularly. If pests and diseases are found, they can be treated with organic pesticides or fungicides . At the same time, biological control and physical control methods can also be used to reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases.

In general, the transplanting time of Shandong onions is generally concentrated in late autumn and early winter, but the specific time needs to be determined according to local climatic conditions and planting habits. In addition, field management should be strengthened after transplanting to ensure the healthy growth of the onion seedlings and obtain high-yield and high-quality onions.