Oils And Manures

The onion needs a rich friable soil, one which is easily worked and which never bakes. Well drained alluvial soil or thoroughly subdued muck is best. The difficulty of caring for a crop on hard stony ground, is of itself sufficient reason for not planting on such land, even if a good crop could be obtained. Analysis of onions show that they make similar demands upon the nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid of the soil; consequently they require a complete fertilizer. When plenty of good stable manure can be obtained at a reasonable price it is unnecessary to look for anything better. It is more suitable and sooner available if well rotted, but do not be afraid of good fresh manure if not so coarse as to prevent being well plowed under. It needs to be thoroughly incorporated with the soil, and quite likely this has much to do with the fact that the crop often does better on the same ground year after year, than on new ground. This practice is fast giving away, however, for growers are beginning to learn that new ground in the right state of fertility and cultivation produces better crops. An old pasture plowed the season before to bring it into good condition makes a favorable location.

It is found advisable, in some cases, to alternate with a green crop, German millet being the favorite, to free the land from weeds, spores and insects, leaving it fresh and healthy for onions the following year. A coarse soil not thoroughly subdued or one lacking in fertility, tends to produce scullions. Late sowing and neglect in weeding also favor this form of growth.

My practice has been to apply manure in the fall or winter and plow it under in the spring, but many spread the manure after plowing, only harrowing it in. The onion is generally considered to be a shallow rooted plant, and the advice is not to plow deep, but I have found equally good results from rather deep plowing. In a study of root growth at the New York State Experiment Station, it was found that the roots of a young onion, the size of a cherry pit, extended to a depth of sixteen inches.

Be sure that you do not spread your energies over too much ground. An amount of manure and labor which rightly applied to half an acre of land, should yield 100 per cent. profit, if expended on one acre may give only loss.

Sowing

Onions are propagated as follows : 1, seeds;

2, sets; 3, top-sets or top-onions; 4, multipliers or potato-onions ; 5, rareripes. The first two methods are the most common and important, though the potato-onions are valuable in some sections, especially farther south.

First, get good fresh seed, then sow just as early as the ground can be got in condition. This is important to secure sound, firm onions. The sowing can be more easily and quickly done with a seed-drill, but it is easier to care for the crop if the ground is marked both ways and sowed by hand. This is seldom done. The weather is generally uncertain at that season, and when the land is fitted it is desirable to get the seed in as soon as possible, for a storm may come and the ground not be in a condition to touch again for two weeks; besides, the yield is not quite so much per acre when sown in hills far enough apart to be cultivated both ways. Sow in drills thirteen inches apart, at the rate of about four pounds per acre. Most writers recommend more than this, but with good seed and soil in the right condition this is sufficient. My experience has been that with good seed I often get them too thick, but never too thin. If for sets, sow very thick, thirty pounds per acre, for they are better if they do not grow larger than one-half inch in diameter. These are used mostly by market-gardeners, for producing "bunch" onions.

If sets tend to run to seed, roll down the tops with a barrel.

Subsequent Culture

It is very important to keep ahead in cultivating, for if by any neglect or inability the weeds get a start it will not only double the cost of weeding, but seriously injure the crop. Two seasons past I have used a small hand drag, made of strips of board with ten-penny steel nails for teeth, for the first work in the way of cultivation, and find it beneficial. Begin the use about one week after sowing and continue until the onions are well up. It breaks the crust of the soil, destroys many of the weeds just germinating, and in no way injures the onions. Frequently stirring the soul assists the crop throughout, and at no time after the plants are well under way can it be done so cheaply as before. As soon as the plants can be plainly seen, begin work with the wheel-hoe and weeding. For land free from stones, I have seen no wheel-hoe which I like as well as Gregory's "Finger-weeder." I have also used the "Firefly," which is an excellent general purpose hoe. Three hand weedings are usually sufficient, with perhaps one or two extra workings with the wheel-hoe or scuffle-hoe.

Harvesting

Onions from sets are generally pulled when half-grown, bunched and sold for "green onions," as the market demands.

Pull the field crop when most of the tops are dead, pulling four rows together with the tops all one way; returning, lay the next four rows with the tops in the opposite direction. This facilitates the topping, the onions being thrown to the left as topped, bringing eight rows together in one windrow. The topping is best done with sheep-shears. The bulbs can be pulled quicker by running the wheel-hoe under the rows, then raking them together with a garden rake; but the time is lost again in topping. This should not be done until the onions are thoroughly cured. It is useless to cut off a top so long as it shows any green color, for the bulbs will immediately grow and soon spoil.

Marketing

The green onions must depend principally on a retail market, but the main crop is a more staple article of produce and is largely handled in barrels or bulk, like potatoes. With these, like everything else, a good market is one of the most important points.

Storing

As a rule, the best way to store onions is in cash. If for any reason it seems otherwise, they may be kept in a cool dry cellar, well exposed to the air, if the onions are of good quality and well cured, but if they are large, with coarse necks, the task will be a difficult one. The plan generally recommended is to put them in some cool loft, where they may be covered and kept frozen until spring.

Varieties

The Yellow Danvers and Red Wethers-field are the most reliable for market and profit. The latter is a little later, and I am inclined to think a little more difficult to cure and keep. White onions sell best in market, but are not good keepers, and the hot sun is apt to turn them green.

Seed Growing

Select well matured, best shaped bulbs in the fall, and carefully carry them over the winter, planting out early the following spring, setting in furrows four or five inches deep, to prevent the tops from tipping over when grown ; cover gradually. A method recommended by Joseph Harris certainly has the advantage of being easily done : prepare the ground and set the bulbs about October first, giving no further attention until the following spring. Keep seed onions well cultivated, and when the seed pods begin to crack, cut off the heads with a few inches of stalk, and spread in an airy place to dry ; then thrash and clean with a fanning mill. If further cleaning is necessary they may be sunk in water. The seed is unreliable the second year, hence varies greatly in price, as it is difficult to grow good seed some seasons.

Enemies And Diseases

The worst enemies are the maggot and the blight or mildew. The former does not often cause serious loss, but the latter is very destructive. No well established remedies are known. I have heard that sowing radishes with the onions partially protects them from the attack of the maggot, the insect prefering the radishes, but I cannot verify the statement. It is to be hoped that the Bordeaux mixture may prove a check to the blight. The most practicable remedy is rotation of beds.

Profits

Sometimes there are no profits, and sometimes they are good. With a crop requiring so much labor, if from any cause there is a failure, the loss is considerable. To show the range in my own experience, I will give my poorest and my best results. In 1889, from three pounds and one ounce of seed I got but 175 bushels, the most of which were so small as to be scarcely marketable, and owing to this and the carelessness of the one in whose hands they were left for sale, I did not get enough to pay for harvesting and drawing to the railroad. This is an example of what the blight can do.

The cost was about as follows :

In 1888, from two pounds of seeds, I harvested 260 bushels, which sold at 60 cents per bushel, or $156. The cost was as follows:

Deducting this from $156 leaves $102 profit, or 188 8/9 per cent. on the investment. The crop occupied a little over one-third of an acre, making the yield at the rate of 700 bushels per acre.

In conclusion, I may say that the most important points in onion culture are : 1, Rich land well manured ; 2, good seed ; 3, early sowing ; 4, clean and frequent cultivation ; 5, a sure market.

Pennsylvania. Fred. W. Card.