Farm Gardening with Hints on Cheap Manuring Part 9

=Fertilizers.=--Onion culture demands high manuring. No amount of rotted stable manure is likely to be excessive. A ton per acre of high-grade, complete fertilizer is not too much, if moisture can be supplied. Hen manure is a good top dressing for onion-beds, furnishing the needed nitrogen. Nitrate of soda is a good source of nitrogen, if nitrogen must be purchased. The clovers and other leguminous crops yield the cheapest nitrogen. Wood ashes, kainit, etc., furnish potash.

Either ground bone or acid phosphate will give the needed phosphoric acid. An a.n.a.lysis of the onion shows that it carries away fertility in just about the proportions furnished by stable manure.

It is a singular fact that onions can be grown year after year on the same ground, if well manured. Rotation is necessary only in case of the occurrence of disease or insect attack. The onion loves cool weather.

=Planting.=--To grow onion sets, the seed is sown in close rows, at the rate of from fifty to sixty pounds per acre. To grow large onions direct from seed, five pounds of seed per acre will be required. To plant a field with onion sets will require twelve to fifteen bushels per acre, according to size of the set.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A List of the most Popular American Onions.]

An onion set is merely an immature bulb. Sets vary from the size of a large pea up to that of a walnut. When the seed is sown thickly the bulbs have no chance to grow, and the summer weather quickly ripens the tops, completely suspending the growth of the bulb. In some parts of the country onion sets cannot be grown with profit, as the tops refuse to die and the bulbs or sets do not ripen properly.

In nearly all parts of the United States onions can be grown direct from the seed the first year; especially from seed grown around Philadelphia, which is earlier than Western-grown. It is quite customary in the South to sow onion seed in late summer or autumn; in August or September. This will give early spring onions of marketable size. In the North, within quite recent years, it has become the practice to sow onion seed in frames, in fall or early spring, and transplant the young onions to the open ground. This is sometimes spoken of as the new onion culture.

Onion sets or young plants should be placed 3 or 4 inches apart, in rows a foot apart, if to be cultivated by hand; the rows farther apart if for horse work.

The onion is hardy. Many varieties will live in the open ground over winter, if covered (at the North) with light litter. It is in this way that shoots for bunching are obtained early in the spring.

The seed should be sown for sets when the apple is in bloom. Sets may be put into the ground earlier; in fact, as soon as the ground can be worked. The set should not produce seed the first year, though it often does so. It should, on the contrary, grow to the size of say 3 inches, and then ripen for winter storage. Excessively large onions are not desirable. To hasten maturity, the tops may be broken down or the roots may be cut by running a knife or sharp plow or cultivator along one side of the row.

The onion, under favorable circ.u.mstances, will produce a crop of 800 bushels (fifty-six pounds to the bushel) per acre; though 500 bushels is nearer the average product.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Weeding a Field of Onion Sets on our Bucks County Seed Farm near Philadelphia.]

=Storage.=--The storage of onions and onion sets is simple. The bulbs should first be ripened on the ground, by a brief exposure to wind and sun. This completes the wilting of the tops. They should then be spread out on ventilated trays or racks, or a few inches in depth on a floor, in a dry, shady place, where the air is good, preferably a loft; not a damp cellar. Freezing will not injure them, but they must not be handled when they begin to thaw, or they will rot. They must not be bruised during the operation of gathering or during the process of storage.

A popular and excellent method of wintering onions in cold climates is to spread straw to the depth of 18 inches on a dry floor or scaffold, and put on a layer of onions from 6 inches to a foot deep, and cover with 2 feet of straw. This will not always prevent freezing, but it checks all sudden changes.

Onions not fully cured should never be kept in barrels, but spread out so as to be perfectly ventilated. Onion sets shrink greatly in storage; sometimes as much as one-half between fall and spring.

=Varieties.=--There are many varieties of onions, some of American and some of foreign origin. The former are better keepers, but the latter are of milder flavor. The American sorts (Danvers, Southport Globe varieties, Wethersfield, Extra Early Red, Silver Skin, Strasburg, etc.) are usually considered to be the most profitable; but the foreign kinds (Prize Taker, Prize Winner, Pearl, Bermuda, Giant Rocca, Victoria, etc.) are profitable in those parts of the country where soil and climate warrant their growth from seed in a single season.

The so-called tree onion is a perennial, of American origin, living out over winter. It is sometimes called Egyptian or top onion. It produces bulbs or sets at the top of the seed-stalk.

The potato or multiplier onion divides its large bulb into numerous small ones, which in turn produce large onions the next year.

ONIONS.--For farm gardeners' purposes, we especially recommend Philadelphia Yellow Globe Danvers, Mammoth Yellow Prizetaker, White Prize Winner. Earliest Onions are--Extra Early Red Globe Danvers, American Extra Early White Pearl, Rhode Island Yellow Cracker. The best for sets--Extra Early Red, Philadelphia Yellow Dutch and White Silver Skin. For descriptions of varieties, see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual."

=Diseases and Enemies.=--To prevent maggot, the use of kainit is recommended; 600 pounds per acre. For onion s.m.u.t, which may in part be cured by the kainit, the best known remedy is a change of soil. Thrip, which causes the cuticle of the leaves to become covered with whitish or yellowish spots, is best treated by means of kerosene emulsion, used as a spray. The onion fly may, in part, at least, be abated by the use of equal parts of wood ashes and land plaster dusted very thoroughly on the young plants. Stiff-necked onions, often called stags, are the result either of improper growth or poor stock. They are sometimes planted in autumn for use as scallions (scullions) the following spring.

=Marketing.=--Onions are sometimes sold in the open field; a good plan when a fair price can be secured. After curing, as already described, they are usually sold by the bushel or barrel. They are always in demand, as the onion is a standard article of human food.

In the green state they are sold either by measure, by the bunch, or by the rope. The latter method consists in tying the onions along wisps of straw.

=Scallions.=--No small amount of money is expended by housekeepers in the early spring markets for scallions (scullions), or bunched onion shoots. These tender shoots are washed, tied and sold for 3 to 5 cents per bunch, retail, or half those figures wholesale. Scallions are produced from either sets or large onions planted the preceding autumn, and sheltered either by frames or litter, so as to encourage early spring growth.

PEAS.

It will require one and one-half to two bushels of peas to seed an acre, and no crop finds a more ready sale than fresh peas in the summer and autumn markets. Farmers who are near centres of population, or who enjoy good shipping facilities, will find peas a quick money crop.

Any good soil will produce a crop of this excellent vegetable, but it must not be a.s.sumed because the pea is a legume, with nitrogen-collecting roots, that it will not well repay the application of manure to the soil. Peas and beans need less a.s.sistance than some other things, but they give good returns for the application of rotted manure or artificial fertilizer.

The seed should be put into the ground in early spring, as soon as the soil is dry enough to receive it, beginning with the smooth, extra-early sorts, which are more hardy than the wrinkled varieties. A little subsequent frost will do no harm.

The smooth, early sorts should be sown in rows, about 3 feet apart, the intermediate or half-dwarf sorts in rows 4 feet apart, and the tall, late varieties, in rows 5 feet apart.

In field operations no sticks are used, and large pickings are taken even from the tall-growing vines while sprawling upon the ground; and the labor is vastly less where no sticks are employed.

The early peas should stand closer in the rows than the later and larger sorts. The Extra Early kinds mature in fifty to fifty-five days from germination; the intermediate kinds in sixty-five to seventy days, and the tall and late kinds in seventy-five to eighty days. For autumn planting, the extra early varieties are used, and are planted until sixty days before frost.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plant of New Giant Podded Marrow Pea.]

Mildew is a field enemy of the pea, resulting from unfavorable weather. The weevil often attacks the seed, but does not injure it for market purposes.

The canning of green peas is now an industry of enormous extent in America. The peas are sh.e.l.led and sorted by machinery, and thousands of bushels are annually disposed of in this manner.

The wholesale market price of peas in the pod varies from 50 cents to $3 per bushel at Philadelphia. The latter price is for the early product. The usual retail price is 15 to 25 cents per half peck. The crop of green pods per acre may be rated at 100 bushels, more or less.

PEAS.--Earliest for the South--Johnson & Stokes' New Record Extra Early, Alaska; second early--Johnson & Stokes' Second Early Market Garden; late--Giant Podded Marrow, Improved Stratagem, Crown Prince, Sugar Marrow. For descriptions, see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual."

RHUBARB.

In some parts of the United States rhubarb or pie plant is grown in very considerable quant.i.ties for market purposes, and with profit. Its culture is extremely simple. It is merely necessary to plant seed or roots, and to have the plants about 4 feet apart each way in a permanent bed. The plant is a perennial, lasting for many years. It is a rank feeder, and the more manure given it, the larger and more succulent will be the young shoots. The roots should be divided every five years, as they finally become too large. The demand for rhubarb continues through the spring and into summer, and large quant.i.ties are canned for pie-making. Five leaf stalks make a large bunch. It is worth $2 to $3 per 100 bunches, wholesale.

RADISH.

Farmers who retail their produce should raise radishes. Rich ground and abundant moisture are the requisites for quick growth, and upon quick growth depends good quality. Slow-growing radishes are hot and pithy. The early sorts are best for spring, but the so-called summer radishes are best for warm weather, as they are not so liable as the early kinds to become pithy. Enormous quant.i.ties of winter radishes are grown in autumn, for use and sale during the winter months. They are kept in sand, like other roots.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Johnson & Stokes' Olive Scarlet, the Earliest Radish.]

The early kinds mature in twenty to twenty-five days from sowing.

Nitrate of soda in small quant.i.ties is one of the best known stimulants. Rotted stable manure is good, but hog manure and night soil are not in favor among radish growers, tending to produce insect attacks. The free use of lime, salt or kainit is recommended as a preventive against insects. Sometimes it is necessary to avoid manure of any kind, on account of maggots, depending wholly on artificial fertilizers. As a last resort the radish-bed must be removed to new ground, as the maggot renders radishes wholly unsalable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: China Rose Winter Radish.]

The green seed pods of radishes are sometimes used for pickling. The plant is closely related to the mustard.

It is wrong to wait for radishes to grow large (except the winter sorts), as they are sweetest and most succulent when comparatively small. Crisp, sweet radishes always command ready money.

RADISH.--Early, for the South--Scarlet Turnip White Tipped, Johnson & Stokes' Olive Scarlet, Philadelphia Gardeners' Long Scarlet. Summer radishes--Red and White Chartier, White Strasburg, Improved Yellow Summer Turnip. All seasons, radishes which are equally good for summer or winter--New Celestial, New Round Scarlet China. For winter use only--China Rose. For descriptions, see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual."

SPINACH.

Spinach (or spinage) is grown for its leaves, which are cooked in winter and spring for use as "greens." The leaf is sweet and palatable even when raw, but it is always stewed for table purposes. It is a cool weather plant, almost perfectly hardy. It may be sown in spring, for immediate use, or in the autumn for fall cutting, or for carrying over winter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plants and Roots of Parisian Long Standing Spinach.]