St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-13
TO GROW ONIONS.
Some of the Conditions That In
sure the Best Results.

This is one of the first crops to be
planted in the garden or truck patch,
and as great deal depends upon getting
the crop in early, care should be taken
to make the necessary preparation
in advance. They can be grown from
the seed or from buttons. If seed is
used care must be taken to get those of
a good quality. as it does not pay to
take the pains necessary to prepare the
soil unless good seed is used. In pur-
chasing buttons care must be taken to
get the summer kind, Winter sets or
buttons can be told by cutting across
them, when two or more CEN
tiers OF hearts will be seen,
while in the summer kind
there is but one. If seed is used. the
red Wethersfield and yellow Danvers
are both good standard sorts. If it is
desired to raise buttons Of any of the
new varieties. sow the seed when the
cherry is in bloom, on well-prepared
bed, sowing the seed thick and letting
them make small onions. These can
be set out early in the spring and given
good cultivation, which in the summer
will produce a crop of buttons.
In growing onions it is very important
that the soil should be rich. 1t is diff
cult to get the soil too rich for them.
The manure should be well rotted and
fined and worked thoroughly into the
surface. Poultry manure is good fer
tiliZer for onions; it is very rich. and,
if properly managed, is easily
fined, and can in this way be
easily worked into the soil. 1t
can be applied before or after the crop
is planted, over the surface after the soil
is properly prepared for the seed. Wood
ashes or commercial fertilizers can be
used in the same way with benefit, if
enough Well-rOtted stable manure can
not be readily secured. As with all gar
den crops, il is quite an item to have the
soil prepared in the very best of filth be-
fore planting the seed. One advantage
in using the drill for sewing the seed is
that the plants will stand in Straighter
line, and the seed will be distributed
more evenly i'll the drill, securing bet
ter stand, and at the same time lessen
ing the work of cultlvating. Land that
is foul with weed seed should never be
planted in onions, and in many cases
where the seed is SOwn it will pay to
mix few fadish seed with them so that
the rows can be seen more readily.
Mark out the rows one foot apart.
Neither the buttons nor seed should be
covered deep. If buttons are used they
should be set about two inches apart.
tuob 81 tuV SCGA vi OubtUlo COYCItu
is all that is necessary. 1t is quite an
item to secure q good, even stand, and
IL is better to thin out after the plants
are up well than to have them too thin.
A sharp steel rake is one of the best
implements to begin the cultivation
with, and il can be used at any time
after the seed is planted. Weeds are
much more easily destroyed when small,
and as many of them start up very
early in the spring, in order to keep
them down the work of Guilt
Walton must be commenced very
early. Clean cultivation and
loose, mellow soil are important items
in securing good growth and yield. If
the planting is done early. and the soil
is rich and we'll prepared and thorough
cultivation is given, good crop can be
secured. The worst enemy of the crop
is the maggot, and the best remedy for
this is to pull up and burn every plant
that is affected