HOW TO GROW ONIONS

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 256, 4 September 1879, Page 2

HOW TO GROW ONIONS

[From a Correspondent.] The ground for this crop should be deeply dug and heavily manured in Autumn; in Spring prepare it for the seed as follows: —First, spread over the whole a thin coating of fowl-yard manure, and soot or wood ashes, If that is not obtainable use finely decomposed farm manure, This must be pointed in with a spade quite shallow, just covered, and nothing more; then, if the ground is not too wet, tread it all over to make it firm. This is preferable to rolling. In the stiffest clay only, the treading may be dispensed with, rake it smooth, then mark out your beds four feet wide, and in each bed draw six drills lengthways eight inches apart, each outside row will thus be three inches from Le edge of the bed; make the drills as shallow as possible: sow the seed at the rate of loz. to 100 ft of row or if you can depend on your seed being good, the same quantity will sow 150 ft, Cover in the seed with the back of a rake, the less it is covered tho better, The onions will appear in from 20 to 30 days; before they are as thick as a goosequill thin them to four or five inches apart: the thinings may be planted in similar beds. If a large onion is required make the rows nine inches apart and thin to six inches apart in the rows, but for a good paying crop to make the most of your bed, the distance I have stated will be the best.

For early sowing Danvers 1 Yellow is very good, of medium size, and perfect shape, ripening early. Spanish Strasburg and Deptford are all good for main crops and keep longer than Danvers', but for long keeping qualities none can equal James' Keeping onion, J. H, W.