Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-03-08
sow ONIONS IN HOT BED.

1Uu Oou cOW iOul OhaNti cCSSlo IA |
the hotbed now. Then, when the time
comes to transplant them in the fields |
you'll be just as much ahead Of the
other fellow, who waited for the
warm days Of spring before turning
his attention to onions. And you'll
find it more profitable, anyway. The
ground intended for the growing of
onions should be plowed early in the
spring and disked later.
Onion seed may be cared for, in
the hotbed, the same as any other
,:rdem seed. The seeds should be
PLANTED about one-half an inch apart.
They should be watered well in the
warm part Of the day. Many persons
make the mistake Of watering at
night, thus chilling the growing seed
lings.
The temperature OF the hotbed,
when the seeds are planted, should
be below eighty degrees. The seed
lings will be ready to set gu in about
six weeks, when about four or six
inches high. A rich sandy loan is
the best soil for onions, provided 1t
is free from weeds. Care should be
taken not to plant onions in land that
has been recently fortified with
barnyard manure. Good land, when
it is well cared for, will yield from
200 to 400 bushels of onions. An aver
age yield for an acre, under high cul-
tivation, is $50 bushels.
! The ground should be cultivated
thoroughly before the plants are TAX
en- from the hotbed, so that all weeds
will be killed. The ground should be
laid off in rows, eighteen or twenty
inches apart. Some growers plant
them only twelve inches apart. On
ions will permit a little crowding. The
tops should be cut back, we'll when
the plants are removed from the hot
bed. They are set about three inches
apart in the rows, the lower end of
the bulb being about one inch below
the surface of the ground. An ordi-
nary dibble may be used in the trans
planting. An acre of onions set out
in this wey, including every expense,
will cost about $40. The cost for AN
acre in drills is about the same.
The experiment station at the Kan
sas Agricultural College has found
that wheel hoe, with an onion hoe
attachment, is the best sort OF All I'M
plement for cultivation. Here's the
advantage: The rows may be grown
closer together, and that means a big
! er yield for the acre.
The tops Of the plants need not be
broken over for the onions to ripen
They will ripen just about as soon
and as we'll, too, if allowed their OWL
. time. When the onions are harveste,
|. they are thrown in windows, to lie 4
the sun until the exterior of the bull
is dry. Then they should be taken in
I side, spread out on the floor, AMI
dried thoroughly. If building il
available that will keep off the sun
and still allow plenty Of air to circu
late, that's the advantage. A corr
crib is just the thing The building
Serves the purpose best when tn
temperature is kept Just above tn
freezing point. The onions should b
sorted frequently, to prevent heating
They may be sorted the same as pC
tatoes, but care must be taken not t
bruise them.
III Some of the best varieties an
Pri0etaker, Yellow Danvers, Re
Chesterfield, Silver King and Giant.
II The hotbed plan has a lot Of adval
tages over the old style Of planting
The seeds may be started in the no
bed as early as February. Thus tn
crop natures eaTlier. The old way ,
doing was to SOW In drills in the fieI
But this always meant fight wit
the weeds, and many Of the plant
were lost IN the fight. But with tn
hotbed plan, the, task Of wedding
eliminated, and that's a big item
the cost Of production.
/ And there Is another advantage thu
makes it profitable to employ a no
bed. The yield for every acre Is il
creased A more even stand Is Of
tanned; and a choice of the bettt
seedlings Is made. But il the onion
are allowed to come up in the drill
the stronger ones-referring to Ii
hardness Of the plants may come l
too close together, and their growt
Is thus injured Many OF the be-
plants may be destroyed, while th
less hardy ones take the place Of th
more desirable crop-Kansas Indu
trialist.