The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1912-04-12
RAISING ONIONS.

Prof. Bennett, of the Colorado Ag-
riculiural college has written an ar
ticle on onion raising. In it he es-
Inmates the cost of growing onions
from 500 to $3.50 an acre, and the
yield at from $50 to 400 sacks per
acre. The am ount which enc man C n
tend is from five to eight acres.
This would indicate that, under
the most favorable circumstances, a
man could raise possible 1000
sacks of onions in a seasons work;
that he might market these at a
possible net price of two cents
which would give him the sum of
$4,000, less $1,000 for cropping. or
net profit of $4,000 for his crop.
On the face of it this looks good.
and the figures could be cut in half
with the result still good.
Prof. Bennett insists that while
the onion crop affords greater posi-
bilities than ANY other, it must not
not entirely adapted, the loamy bot
toms and sandy loan of the mesas
being the best.
The Uncompahgre growers last
year found a stagnant market at
harvest time and were compelled to
hold their product in sacks until late
in the winter, finally shipping them
east, mainly to Chicago. at a selling
price of SO per hundred. or parhaps
slightly more.
The cultivation of the onion is
'learly all by hand and a thorough
preparation of the soil is advised in
order to lessen the afterwork. yell
low Danvers, Yellow Globe and Red
Globe are the varieties most grown
on the Western Slope. Good home
grown seed is recommended over
eastern or foreign seed for planting
The seed should be sown as early
in the spring as possible in drills
from ten to eighteen inches apart.
The usual practice in districts
where flooding of the ground is OBJ
jectionable, is first, to prepare the
as possible by continuous narrowing
and leveling or floating. When the
soil is thoroughly prepared mark
er is used, composed of three or
four legs attached to a horizontal
piece of timber, and this is then
drawn by hand across the field. The
marks are about twenty-six inches
apart. The marks are followed by a
small hand pillow which makes FUR
rows for the irrigation. Following
the furrowing the seeding is done
by running a garden seed drill so
as IL put two rows of onions be-
tween the irrigation burrows. Some
growers make these rows SO that
the two rows will be about ten in
ches apart with fourteen to eight
een inches between the rows in
which the irrigation ditch is to be
kept.
From three and a half to four
pounds of seed are used per acre.
The seed is sown about one-half in
CHI deep, or just sufficiently deep
to prevent rains from washing it
out of the rows after sowing the
soil is kept moist by irrigation, If
sufficient rain does not follow, so
that the plans will not be prevented
from growing for lack OF moisture.
This condition is maintained until
the onion is practically mature or
70. coll Al h
should be some time in August. Cul
tivation should be more or less con-
tniuous from the time the plants
show above the ground until irriga-
ton ceases. Some growers make a
practice of cultivating the soil once
each week. This cultivation should
be either with a wheel-hoe or with
the so-called hand cultivator The
onion is more or iless shallow
feeder. so that cultivation should
only be to a depth of one to two
inches. From two to three hand
weddings are usually necessary. UP
to the present time timing has
not been generally practiced, al
though it is quite possible that a
certain amount of thinning would be
advisable.