The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-12-24
Growing Onions IN the South.

"
general practice to depend on SETS pur-
chased from the North for growing
the crop. 1t is now known t1at fuzzy
IS good crops OF onions may be grown
in one season in the South rs i'll the
North, and that the use Of sets is only
necessary for fall planting to grow
early grown onions for punching.
The difficulty formerly encountered
in the growing of onions in the So"th
came from too close following Of the
directions of Northern writers on gar
dening ard ignoring the fact that the
onion needs cool weather for lis de-
'-elopment. Seed sown in the South at
the time recommended by the North
ern writers will make sets, but not
good onions. since the plants are over
t.kcn by the hot weather and ripen
up before fully grown.
In the growing Of onions we must
also understand the differences be-
tween the various classes OF onions
grown. The Spanish and Italian vari-
cites have been developed in warm cli-
mates and will grow to larger size
in the South than others developed in
colder climates. The only difficulty
with these is that they must be dis
posed of early in the summer. as they
are all poor keepers. \ difference. too,
should be made in the manner Of grow
ing them. Some years ago 4 Northern
garden writer advocated what he
called the new onion culture. This is
simply the sowing Of the seed in Win
ter under glass and trans planting early
in the spring in the permanent loca-
ton. Experiments have shown that
while this method is well suited to
the Spanish and italian varieties. it
makes little difference with the Amerl-
can sorts that are grown so largely for
market The PriZetaker, a large yell
low Spanish onion, succeeds best by
the transplanting method. Here we
sow the seed in cold frame protected
by glass sashes in early January. BY
carefully hardening off the plants and
gradually exposing them to the air,
they can be set in the open ground the
latter part of February. The he'd is
carefully prepared in the fall and well
manured with stable manure, to which
is added at rate Of ton per acre.
mixture of 900 pounds Of acid phos-
phate, 700 pounds Of dried blood and
400 pounds of muriate Of potash. This
is we'll mixed with the soil early in
September, and the first Of October the
bed is planted to lettuce. 1t is neces-
sary to apply the fertilizer with SO
large a percentage Of potash in it near
" a month before planting, so that the
caustic nature of the potash may not
injure the roots Of the lettuce. The
lettuce is cut and sold by the first week
in January, and the frame Is then
used for the onion seed without any
further fertilization.
The land into which the plants are
to be set should be plowed we'll in the
fall, and will be all the better if it is
of a sandy loan character. In Febru-
airy it is replowed and put in fine or.
der. If the crop is grown on large
scale the rows should be wide enough
for horse culture, say two and half
feet. Run out burrows and apply in
them 1000 pounds per acre of the same
fertilizer mixture advised for the let
tuce. Turn two burrows over the first
one. making q ridge. Roll this down
nearly level and set the Plants three
inches apart in the row, only fairly
covering the roots and bulk. so that
the onion, when formed, will be on
the general surface Of the soil. In this
way til, Prizetaker onion can be
grown as large as the imnorted ones
found in crates in the stores. or
course the clearest Of culture must be
adopted and the earth pulled away
from the bulbs as they enlarge so that
the bulb forms on top Of the ground
An onion entirely in the ground will
not attain the size of one sitting on
the surface.
AsI have said, this crop needs to be
disposed of early, as this variety VIII
not keep we'll. Eut coming into market
at time when ripe onions are scarce,
they usually bring a farcy price. In
fact. the imported Spanish-grown ones
retail at the stores for five cents each.
and fully as large ones can be grown
here in suitable soil and with cul-
ture.
For an onion crop to cure and keep,
we must adopt 4 different method. l
would promise that the onion is dif-
ferent from many other crops i'll the
fact that it likes to be kept on the
same land year after year. and no
matter how well the soil is prepared
or how highly fortified. the first crop
grown on it will not be as large as
subsequent crons on the same laGd If
the fertilization is kept up annally,
ard a crop Of COW peas is grown on the
land after the onions are off and turned
under in the late fall. BY following
this plan. and with liberal use of fer
+;Ii,ors tho onioo pron will ircTnc So