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Page 52
If young green onions with thin, succulent tops are desired very
early in spring, it will be an interesting experiment to sow the
seed the latter part of August or early in September. Another
method is to leave a row of onions in the garden where they
ripened. When the autumn rains begin, they will start to grow
again. The winter will not harm them, and even in April there will
be a strong growth of green tops. The seed stalk should be picked
off as soon as it appears in spring, or else the whole strength
will speedily go to the formation of seed.
It should be remembered that good onions can not be produced very
far to the south by sowing the small gunpowder-like seed. In our
own and especially in warmer climates a great advantage is secured
by employing what are known as "onion sets." These are produced by
sowing the ordinary black seed very thickly on light poor land.
Being much crowded, and not having much nutriment, the seed
develop into little onions from the size of a pea to that of a
walnut, the smaller the better, if they are solid and plump.
These, pressed or sunk, about three inches apart, into rich garden
soil about an inch deep, just as soon as the frost is out, make
fine bulbs by the middle of June. For instance, we had in our
garden plenty of onions three inches in diameter from these little
sets, while the seed, sown at the same time, will not yield good
bulbs before August. There is but little need of raising these
sets, for it is rather difficult to keep them in good condition
over the winter. Any seedsman will furnish them, and they are
usually on sale at country stores. Three or four quarts, if in
good condition, will supply a family abundantly, and leave many to
be used dry during the autumn. Insist on plump little bulbs. If
you plant them early, as you should, you will be more apt to get
good sets. Many neglect the planting till the sets are half dried
up, or so badly sprouted as to be wellnigh worthless. They usually
come in the form of white and yellow sets, and I plant an equal
number of each.
The chief insect enemies are onion maggots, the larvae of the
onion fly. These bore through the outer leaf and down into the
bulb, which they soon destroy. I know of no remedy but to pull up
the yellow and sickly plants, and burn them and the pests
together. The free use of salt in the fall, and a light top-
dressing of wood-ashes at the time of planting, tend to subdue
these insects; but the best course is prevention by deeply
cultivating and thoroughly enriching in the fall, leaving the
ground rough and uneven for the deep action of frost, and by
sowing the seed VERY early in spring. I have found that the insect
usually attacks late-sown and feeble plants. If the maggot were in
my garden, I should use the little sets only.
Some special manures have been employed in attaining the greatest
success with this vegetable. In England, pigeon-dung and the
cleanings of the pigsty are extensively employed. In this country
the sweepings of the hen-roost are generally recommended. It
should be remembered that all these are strong agents, and if
brought in contact with the roots of any vegetable while in a
crude, undiluted state, burn like fire, especially in our climate.
What can be done in safety in England will not answer under our
vivid sun and in our frequent droughts. These strong fertilizers
could be doubled in value as well as bulk by being composted with
sods, leaves, etc., and then, after having been mixed, allowed to
decay thoroughly. Then the compost can be used with great
advantage as a top-dressing directly over the drills when either
sets or seeds are planted. The spring rains will carry the
richness from the surface to the roots, and insure a very vigorous
growth. When the compost named in the early part of this paper is
used, I sow it thickly IN the drill, draw a pointed hoe through
once more, to mingle the fertilizer with the soil, and then
forthwith sow the seeds or put in the sets one inch deep; and the
result is immediate and vigorous growth. Wood-ashes and bone-dust
are excellent fertilizers, and should be sown on the surface on
the row as soon as planted, and gradually worked in by weeding and
cultivation during the growing season. Manure from the pigsty,
wherein weeds, litter, sods, muck, etc., have been thrown freely
during the summer, may be spread broadcast over the onion bed in
the autumn, and worked in deeply, like the product of the
barnyard. The onion bed can scarcely be made too rich as long as
the manure is not applied in its crude, unfermented state at the
time of planting. Then, if the seed is put in very early, it grows
too strongly and quickly for insects to do much damage.
Varieties.--Thompson in his English work names nineteen varieties
with many synonyms; Henderson offers the seed of thirteen
varieties; Gregory, of seventeen kinds. There is no need of our
being confused by this latitude of choice. We find it in the great
majority of fruits and vegetables offered by nurserymen and
seedsmen. Each of the old varieties that have survived the test of
years has certain good qualities which make it valuable,
especially in certain localities. Many of the novelties in
vegetables, as among fruits, will soon disappear; a few will take
their place among the standard sorts. In the case of the kitchen,
as well as in the fruit, garden, I shall give the opinion of men
who have a celebrity as wide as the continent for actual
experience, and modestly add occasionally some views of my own
which are the result of observation.
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