176 



VEGETABLE GARDENING 



feared the sets will grow too large, they are pulled when 

 of the proper size, even if still quite green. The further 

 cultivation of plants for sets is the same as for a field crop 

 of onions. 



Fig. 66. At the left, onion plants as dug; on the right, 

 onion plants trimmed and ready for transplanting. 



The sets should be taken up in August, or as soon as 

 ripe, with a rake or onion set puller. When dry they 

 should be stored, tops and all, about four inches deep, 

 in a loft, where they should be covered with a foot of hay 

 or straw on the approach of hard frost and left until wanted 

 for planting in the spring. In other words, they should 

 be kept frozen all winter. Treated in this way they will 

 require cleaning in the spring, which may be done by 

 rubbing them in the hands to loosen the dirt and tops and 

 then running them through a fanning mill. After this 

 they are run over a screen with a three-fourths inch mesh, 

 and only those that go through it are saved for sets. This 



