Evening journal., 1908-03-24
MILFORD GRANGE
TALK ON ONIONS
Pertinent Hints on Their
Cultivation Given by
Progressive Farmers

On Saturday at the Grange. Mr..
Pitcher opened the talk on "Onions."
He raises them from sets, says the
Milford Chronicle. They require good
land and he puts barnyard manure on
broadcast in the fall, and in the spring
hen manure after plowing, also five to
six hundred pounds % phosphate and
as much more If one can afford to put
1t on. After the sets start growing
he uses three hundred pounds of nitrate
Of soda in three applications Of one
hundred pounds at time. The weeds
must be kept out and the wheel hoe is
the tool to do 1t with He does 10
hand wedding with sets but onions
from seed require this. Mr. Pitcher
makes the rows 10 inches apart and
places sets to inches apart in the
row. He has always washed his
onions, but will not do so this year as
it is said they will sell for as much
unwashed and keep longer. II takes
about ten bushels of sets for an acre.
He plants Philadelphia Fiber Skin and
Prizetalxer varieties.
B. M. Cain tried dropping sets in the
row and covering with hoe and they
did as we'll as those set by hand.
S. Armour has had considerable ex-
perience growing onions and was ono
of the first to succeed with the crop
in this part of the State. He manures
the ground twice and then phosphates
heavily. At first he planted the rows
fifteen inches apart but afterwards
changed to twenty-five inches so a
horse could be used in cultivating. He
considers the work inst commenced
when the sets are placed. The more
you work the ground the larger the
onion and the better price they bring.
He does a good deal of hand work as
there are weeds neither hoe nor culti-
vator can reach. He has always
washed the bulbs twice and graded the
sizes. Mr.. Armour thinks growing Of
sets the most profitable part of grow
ing onions. More can be made from
one acre of sets, than from two acres
of onions with one-half the work Half
inch sets are the best size and to be
preferred to larger ones. In planting
seed for sets have the rows twenty-five
inches apart He plants the seed when
the apple trees are in bloom.
l.. Austin grows the Multiplyer or
Potato Onion. He sets them in the
fall right after wheat planting. He
drills in fertilizer at the rate of one
ton per acre and makes the rows two
feet apart. He never uses barnyard
manure as II brings too many weeds.
The crop is not cultivated until spring
One set will multiply and average ten
OF eleven sets of onions in a bunch.
They are often punched early and sold
for scullions. He begins about June
/ to ship and sort according to size
For onions from seed the land should
be well cleared and kept so, and made
very rich. The seed can be planted
with drill and cultivated with the
wheel hoe They can be raked over
and no harm done If some are pulled
out.
b. f. b. Woodall told Of party who
raised one thousand bushels of onions
on two acres which sold for one dollar
per bushel. The only fertilizer this
party used was hen manure broad
acst.
Mr.. Rosa doubts If this part Of the
state is well adopted to profitable onion
growing.
Next Saturday Mr. Charles Baker
will talk on "Crimson Glover" and Mr..
s. Armour will tell how to make a
Sweet Potato Hot Bed"