Altai onion is a Central Asian species, and so far belongs to the wild. It is distributed in the mountains of Southern Siberia (Altai, Sayans), Baikal and Transbaikalia to the Amur region, in Mongolia and China. In the west it reaches Dzhungarskiy Alatau and Tarbogatai in Kazakhstan, in the east it enters the Amur region, in the north it rises along the shores of Lake Baikal. Residents of the mountainous regions of Altai breed it in vegetable gardens.
According to morphological features, the Altai onion has much in common with the long-cultivated onion-batun. According to Ya. I. Prokhanov (1924-1930), the Batun and Altai bows had a common “ancestor”, the center of origin of which was China. This onion is very actively collected by the local population, and therefore its number and range are declining, which can lead to the destruction of the species. Because of the threat of extinction, back in 1975 it was listed in the Red Book of the USSR, the RSFSR, Buryatia, Altai, Mongolia - in the lists of rare and endangered species.
The main measure for the protection of this onion should be its introduction into the culture by creating varieties and growing technologies for widespread use.
Altai onion grows on rocky outcrops, screes, in rock crevices in the forest and subalpine zones, in the mountains up to 2700-3500 m above sea level. It grows singly, is rare, but sometimes forms large thickets - Sinyukha, r. Korgon, Idol, White, Inya, Sentelek, Shinok.
Outwardly, the Altai onion is similar to the batun onion, but, unlike the latter, it forms rather large isolated bulbs (2-6 cm in diameter) - up to 20-30 pcs. from the bush. They are oblong-ovoid, with red-brown thin-skinned shells, sitting on an oblique rhizome. The plant has fan-shaped, swollen stems in the middle, usually 30-70 (up to 100) cm high. Leaves (2-4 pieces) are fan-shaped, two times shorter than the stem, one third from the bottom “dress” the stem with their sheaths. Umbrella spherical, many-flowered. The flowers are usually yellowish white. Plants, as a rule, bloom in the second year, in late May - early June. Seeds ripen in July. They remain viable for 6-7 years.
Altai onion prefers carbonate (not acidic) light soils with a pH of at least 6. It is usually grown by sowing seeds in open ground in early spring, in April, or before winter. In spring, the seeds germinate on the 15-20th day after sowing. Usually, the row spacing is up to 30-35 cm, 3 rows are placed on the ridge, seeds are sown quite often in the row, but thinning is carried out next spring, leaving the plants after 10-30 cm. The seeding rate is 1.5-2 g / m2, depth embedding 1.5-2 cm. After germination, caring for plants does not differ from caring for other perennial onions.
According to the same scheme (preferably in spring), seedlings are planted - divisions of the second year and subsequent years.
It is better to grow Altai onions in a separate “onion” bed that is not flooded with melt water, placing it in a sunny place that is freed from snow early.
Altai onion is a valuable spicy-flavoring and therapeutic and prophylactic perennial plant with a vasodilating effect. It enhances intestinal peristalsis, stimulates digestion, is rich in sugars. The leaves that grow immediately after the snow melts are an excellent source of vitamins and microelements. Thus, the content of vitamin C in young leaves reaches 113 mg%, in bulbs - up to 43 mg% - this is twice as high as that of onions. The content of carotene in the leaves is 3.2 mg%.
For greens, Altai onions are cut up to 4 times. It practically does not suffer from peronosporosis, therefore, during the second wave of growth, in August, it compares favorably with other species, giving excellent, delicate green products. It belongs to the semi-sharp onions, it is used mainly fresh. However, in Buryatia, green leaves are dried for the winter and seasoned with soups; in Mongolia, sweet onions are more often eaten.
Given its high nutritional value, decorativeness and great importance for beekeeping, Altai onion is widely and intensively cultivated, studied in botanical gardens. It is protected in the South Siberian Botanical Garden (Barnaul), Altai, Sokhondinsky nature reserves, and the Pribaikalsky State National Park. Meanwhile, the majority of Russians, until recently, were not familiar with this valuable type of onion. Only the most meticulous gardeners exchanged seeds among themselves.
Considering the above, by the method of individual and clonal selection from a local sample of Oirotia (Gorny Altai) at VNIISSOK, the Alves variety was obtained, which forms oblong-ovate bulbs, 2-4 cm in diameter, attached to an oblique rhizome. Roots strongly developed, branching. Leaves (their 3-4) are cylindrical, fistulate, 2-3 cm wide, shorter than peduncles, bluish-green. Peduncles are powerful, 30-70 cm high, swollen, 2-3 cm in diameter. The inflorescence is a simple round-conical umbrella, the flowers are pale green.
This variety is very hardy, can tolerate frost down to -50°C without shelter, is drought tolerant and generally does not need watering. In the conditions of the center of the Non-Chernozem zone, it grows in early spring. Early ripening, from the growth of spiky leaves to their technical ripeness, 28-32 days pass. The yield of green onions with a single harvest is 1.45-1.8 kg/m2, with 2-3 cuts it is 2.7-3.25 kg/m2, the content of ascorbic acid is 92.3 mg%. Practically not affected by downy mildew, resistant to rust and bacteriosis. Starting from the second year, it forms flower stalks, blooms in late May - early June. It is grown by sowing seeds (before winter or early spring), planting seedlings (in May) and dividing the bush (no later than August).
Variety Alves is also interesting as an ornamental, honey plant. A huge fragrant inflorescence lasts 15-20 days, at which time it is constantly visited by bumblebees and bees. It can be widely used to create rocky gardens, alpine hills in combination with Cossack juniper (Jumperus Sabina L.) and three-lobed meadowsweet (Spirala tribo¬lata L.), which create the necessary background.
Altai onions are also suitable for obtaining underground bulbs, but cutting should not be done. In the Alves variety, plants of the 3rd year of life at the end of July form bulbs weighing 20-40 g (1-2.16 kg/m2).
Seeds of the Alves variety went on sale in 2006-2007.

Altai onion

Perennial bows are of great interest to gardeners and gardeners. They are frost-resistant, with good care they grow in one place for 5 years or more, they give excellent vitamin greens earlier than onions.

This group of rare bows is quite numerous. This includes anzur, allspice, slime, chives, wild garlic, etc. Their cultivation has a lot in common. To grow them, you need to take somewhere on the edge of the garden small plot so that they do not interfere with the main tillage, in a well-lit place. In culture, they are very undemanding, they do not tolerate only very acidic soil.

Each of these bows is good in its own way. But all of them are a source of vitamins, phytoncides and biologically active substances. Therefore, you need to choose the bows you like and breed them in your area.

The main center of origin of the Altai onion is the mountainous regions of China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, some mountainous regions of Central Asia, as well as the mountainous regions of Altai. It has long been widely used by the population, but mainly from natural habitats. It has many names - wild batun, Siberian wild onion, Mongolian bow, stone bow, mountain bow, kurai bow, sogono, sanchin, etc.

The plant is very hardy, tolerates low temperatures (down to -45 degrees) and lack of moisture in the soil, it can grow on any type of soil and in different climatic conditions.

This is one of the earliest bows, perfectly tolerates cutting. Its greenery begins to grow immediately after the snow melts and until late autumn (up to frost at -5 degrees). In addition, plants are practically not damaged by pests and diseases; in one place they can grow up to 6-7 years or more.

Altai onion is a perennial herbaceous plant, very powerful, strongly branching, very similar to batun onion. Its tubular bluish-green leaves are shorter than those of the batun, but somewhat wider. They are tender and juicy, have a very pleasant taste, especially if the summer is humid and cool.

The root system of the Altai onion is powerful, the roots are strongly developed, branched. Unlike most perennial onions, it forms rather large, oblong-ovate bulbs that are attached to an oblique rhizome. They are most often solitary, elongated-oval, ranging in size from 1.5 to 5 cm. They are located at a depth of 10-15 cm, which allows it to endure the most severe weather conditions. When grown on fertile loose soils, it forms up to 7-15 bulbs in a nest. In this case, the number of leaves increases to 15-30.

In the second year, the plant forms thick flower-bearing stems up to 80-90 cm high, with swelling at the base, on which greenish-yellowish flowers are collected in spherical inflorescences. Pale green flowers have a strong fragrance. Flowering is very long - from the beginning of June and almost to its end. Altai onions can be grown along with other varieties of perennial onions in a separate area.

In seed stores, this type of onion, unfortunately, is quite rare. Based on local samples from the Altai Mountains, the first variety of the Altai onion, Alves, was obtained.

This is an early maturing variety intended for fresh use of the green leaves. The leaves are fistulate, bluish-green, with a strong wax coating, up to 30 cm long and up to 2.5 cm wide, with a sharp taste. During the growing season, 2 cuttings are carried out. Plants form bulbs with a diameter of 2-3 cm, which are well stored and can be used for propagation.

The place for its cultivation should be sunny, where melt water does not linger. Since it is very responsive to increased fertility and soil moisture, the site for it is carefully prepared in the fall, bringing in 1 square meter for digging. meter to 1 bucket of rotted compost, 1.5 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potash fertilizers, 1 glass of ash. Depending on the mechanical composition of the soil and its acidity, lime and sand are added. During the spring harrowing of the soil, 1 teaspoon of ammonium nitrate per 1 sq. meter.

Altai onions are propagated by seeds, sowing them before winter or early spring, seedlings or dividing bushes almost throughout the summer. The seedling method is also used, for which, 2 months before planting, the seeds are sown in boxes with row spacing of 4-5 cm, laying out the seeds after 3-4 mm.

And adult plants are propagated by dividing the bush, planting delenki in a row after 10-12 cm with a row spacing of 20-25 cm. In one place, it grows well for 5-6 years. Planting care is exactly the same as for onion-batun.

In the spring of the following year, after planting the onion, the bed is cleared of plant residues and 1 tbsp. spoon of nitrophoska per 1 sq. meter. They dig up the whole plant with a root or carry out 2-3 cuts, the last one in mid-August. And although the Altai onion can withstand 4-fold cutting of leaves, it should not be done more than 3 times. After the first and second cutting, the plants must be fed with nitrophoska, and after the last cut, with ash.

Altai onions can be grown in winter on the windowsill. To do this, planting material is harvested in the fall with a clod of earth, placed in a box and stored in a cool room at a temperature of 2-4 degrees. Before forcing, the box is brought into the room, the soil is allowed to warm up, the sod is divided into divisions and planted tightly in the box. Forcing greens lasts 20-25 days.

V. A. Loiko

Altai onion

The French, recognized culinary experts, recommend using spicy for cooking some dishes, sweet for others, and spicy varieties and types of onions for others. Try adding Altai to the well-known bows. Then the dishes of your kitchen will be more diverse, they will have more flavors.

Altai onion (Allium altaicum)- Central Asian species, found naturally in the mountains of Southern Siberia (Altai, Tuva, Sayan), in Mongolia, in the Baikal and Transbaikalia, the Amur Region. It was first described in detail in 1773 and given its species name by P.S. Pallas (academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, author of the work “Flora of Russia”). Until recently, the Altai onion was not cultivated in culture, but the indigenous population has long been collecting it, calling it wild butun, stone bow, sogono, sanchin.

According to morphological features, the Altai onion is very similar to bow-batun and also perennial. There is even an opinion that they have a common Chinese ancestor. But the Altai, unlike the batun, has rather large, isolated bulbs and more powerful, branched roots. It is one of the earliest varieties of onions, it tolerates cutting perfectly, and its leaves have a delicate taste, and are also rich in easily digestible carbohydrates, polysaccharides, vitamin C (2 times more than in batun), and trace elements. That's why Altai onion greens so loved by residents of regions where winter lasts a long time. In addition, this onion has a vasodilating effect, enhances intestinal motility, stimulates digestion and thus helps to cleanse the body of toxins.

However, the intensive collection of wild-growing Altai onions has led to the fact that there is a threat of its extinction, therefore it was included in the Red Book. To save the species, we tamed the savage: based on a local sample from Gorny Altai received Altai onion variety Alves. It is early maturing (from regrowth of leaves to technical ripeness - 28-32 days), frost-resistant (withstands temperatures down to minus 50 °), drought-resistant and does not need watering. In addition, it is practically not affected by downy mildew, rust and bacteriosis.
Alves has oblong-ovate, 2-4 cm in diameter bulbs with thin leathery red-brown shells that are attached to an oblique rhizome. Strongly developed, branching roots. Leaves (3-4 pcs., Cylindrical, fistulate, 2-3 cm wide) are shorter than peduncles, bluish-green. With their one-time cutting into a feather from 1 sq.m, you can get 1.5-2 kg of greenery.

Peduncles 30-70 cm high, swollen at the base, 2-3 cm thick, formed from the second year. The inflorescence is a simple umbrella, round-conical in shape. Alves is a wonderful honey plant. Its flowers are pale green, very fragrant, open in late May - early June. Flowering is long, up to three weeks. Altai bow is very decorative. It can be used to create rocky gardens, alpine hills in combination with Cossack juniper (Jniperus sabina) and three-lobed meadowsweet (Spiralea tribolata).

Onions are grown at home by sowing seeds (before winter or early in April), planting seedlings (in May) and dividing the bush (from May to mid-August). A sunny place is taken away, where melt water does not stagnate, and the earth is quickly freed from snow. If the soil is acidic, then it must be limed with dolomite flour or furnace ash (0.5-2 kg / sq.m). When laying a plantation, compost or humus (6-10 kg / sq.m) and nitrophoska (30-50 g / sq.m) are introduced. Onion placement patterns can be anything, but more often they choose a three-line one, with a distance between the grooves of 25-30 cm. before sowing or planting onions, it is well shed with water.

Care is the same as for other types of onions: loosening the soil, weeding, optimal watering and top dressing. The plot in the spring of the following year after planting the onion is cleaned of plant residues, nitrophoska (30 g / sq.m) is applied, and as soon as the earth dries up, the aisles are loosened.

Altai onions can be harvested in the second year after sowing. To speed up the production of marketable green onions by 1.5-2 weeks, a temporary film shelter is installed over the bed at the end of March, or the entire plant is dug up with the root, or two or three cuts are made at a leaf height of 25-30 cm (the last - no later than the middle August). After each cut, the onions are watered, fed with nitrogen fertilizers, and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are given for a good wintering. If you do not cut off the leaves, then in the third year in July, underground bulbs weighing 20-40 g will form. You can collect them up to 2 kg per 1 sq.m.

Altai bow is also suitable for growing greens in winter in a greenhouse or room. Planting material is harvested in the fall. Bushes are dug up with a clod of earth, placed in boxes and stored in a cool (2-5 °) room. Before forcing, the boxes are brought into the room, the plants and soil are allowed to warm up, the sod is divided into sections and planted tightly to each other in boxes or pots. The space between the bulbs is covered with earth. However, greens can be driven out without dividing the bushes and in the same boxes where the onions were stored.

Caring for the Altai onion for a feather is the same as when forcing green onions from a sample. The distillation lasts 20-25 days, and the yield of greenery is 12-17 kg/sq.m when planting material is planted 6-8 kg/m.

A.Agafonov

Altai onions grow without pain Hardly anyone would argue that onions are one of the most popular plants in our gardens. And not only onion - many grow batun, slime, chives, leek. Less often multi-tiered, wild garlic and rocambole. And quite infrequently there is an Altai onion (Allium altaicum). In the meantime, this is a very interesting view. As the name implies, this perennial onion is found in the wild in the mountains of Central Asia and South Siberia, in the Baikal region and Mongolia, as well as in East Kazakhstan on rocks and scree. That is, in rather harsh conditions. And from this it follows that he is absolutely unpretentious. Altai onion withstands absolutely any frost in winter. At least -40°C. Moreover, its young leaves easily endure spring frosts down to -10°C! And the first greenery is shown right from under the snow. A powerful root system penetrates the soil and the bulbs are firmly fixed in it. Under cultural conditions, it gives a large mass of leaves, branches well, and by the age of 3–4 forms a powerful bush of several dozen large bulbs. Useful properties The feather of the Altai onion is similar to the leaves of a batun - they are tender, dark green with a wax coating. They grow very quickly up to 60-70 cm. To taste - with a slight spicy bitterness. In addition, this type of onion is very decorative - its powerful fistulate stem reaches a height of 90–100 and even 115 cm, and its top is crowned with spherical dense umbrellas, up to 6 cm in diameter. It blooms in the second year after sowing, in early June. And, by the way, Altai onion is an amazing honey plant. Bees and butterflies flock to it from all around. Honey from this onion is yellow, slightly transparent, at first it has the smell and taste of onion, but as it matures, it is freed from it. And this species is very good for health. According to scientists, its green leaves are much richer in carotene than onion feathers. Especially a lot of vitamin C in them. Altai onion improves the functioning of the stomach and intestines, has a bactericidal effect, reduces blood clotting. Secrets of cultivation Seeds are sown immediately in open ground in April - May to a depth of 1-1.5 cm. Or in summer. Or in the fall - it doesn’t matter to him, it sprouts at any time and takes root perfectly. Sowing scheme: 5-7 cm in a row, 35 cm between rows. In principle, you can stop at this - water the onion and harvest. However, if you take into account his small whims, he will thank you with an abundance of juicy vitamin greens and fragrant flowers. And this species needs quite a bit. Sunny place (although it grows well in partial shade). Yes, a few top dressings over the summer. The first is given in early spring: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of ammonium nitrate per 10 liters of water. And after each cut, it is useful to feed the bush with mullein (1: 6) and wood ash (0.5 tbsp per bucket of water). In the spring, dry, overwintered leaves are raked and the soil is loosened. After 5 years, the bush is divided into bulbs and planted in other beds. BTW You can buy Altai onion seeds in the online store