Technology for forcing green crops in spring hotbeds

Forcing onions for greens in warm hotbeds is a reliable way to effectively utilize space during the first frame rotation. You will be able to harvest one or two crops of greens before the hotbeds are occupied by transplants or the main crop. The entire growing cycle takes no more than three weeks when the technology is followed.

• Forcing period — 20–22 days
• Air temperature — 20–25 °C
• Soil layer thickness — 12–15 cm
• Optimal bulb weight — 20–35 g
• Planting material consumption — 12–16 kg per frame

To obtain high-quality greens, it is important to maintain a temperature of 20–25 °C in the hotbed. If the air cools down to 10–12 °C, plant development will slow down, and the forcing period will almost double. Soil is used as a substrate, which is poured in an even layer.

1. Warm up the bulbs before planting for 12 hours in warm water at a temperature of 30–35 °C. This technique will accelerate emergence and reduce the forcing time by 5–7 days.
2. At the end of February or early March, plant the bulbs using the bridge (continuous) method, burying them in the soil to two-thirds of their thickness.
3. Cover the plantings from above with a small layer of soil 1–2 cm thick.
4. Every 5–8 days, combine irrigation with top dressing using nutrient solutions.
5. Regularly and abundantly irrigate the plantings, and also ventilate the hotbeds.
6. Cut the ready greens when they grow to 30–40 cm.

For top dressing of onions, parsley, and celery, use one of the four solutions:

• 40 g of nitrogen fertilizer per 10 l of water;
• 20 g of nitrogen fertilizer, 10 g of superphosphate, and 10 g of potassium salt per 10 l of water;
• a mixture of manure slurry with water in a ratio of 1:3 with the addition of 20 g of superphosphate per 1 bucket of the mixture;
• mullein diluted in warm water.

Forcing parsley, celery, and sorrel

For early forcing of parsley and celery, small root crops weighing 15–25 g are used, which were culled during the autumn harvest. These crops develop well at a temperature of 14–22 °C but continue to grow even during slight cold spells. Celery can also be forced using transplants: for this, seedlings with 3–4 true leaves are transferred to the hotbed. Top dressing is carried out with the same solutions as for onions.

Sorrel planting is carried out with two-year-old rhizomes, which are harvested from the autumn on fields of the second year of use. The best soil for it is a mixture of old hotbed soil and peat, poured in a layer of up to 17 cm. From one root per season, three crops of greens can be harvested, but after each harvest, nitrogen top dressing is mandatory.