274 SCHOOL AND HOME GAKDENS 



Bottom sets are best adapted to home gardens. The 

 white ones are excellent for early green onions, and the 

 yellow and red varieties for the main crop. 



Soil. Onions need well-prepared and well-drained, rich 

 soil. The land should be given an ample supply of well- 

 rotted manure in the fall. If this is supplied in the spring, 

 it must not contain coarse material that will make the 

 earth loose. The soil for onions must be firm enough to 

 hold the bulbs in place. Wood ashes are valuable for 

 this vegetable, on account of the potash which it contains. 

 Mixed fertilizers may also be used ; they must be worked 

 into the soil near the surface, for onions are not deep 

 feeders. 



Planting sets. Place sets right side up, with their tops 

 just showing, in rows twelve inches apart and two inches 

 apart in the row. 



Sowing seeds. Sow the seeds half an inch apart or 

 thicker, and thin to two inches apart. Cover half an 

 inch deep and pack the soil firmly with the back of a 

 hoe or with some flat surface. 



Onions can stand considerable frost. Plant sets or sow 

 the seeds as early in the spring as the ground can be 

 worked. 



How to grow sets. Sow seeds broadcast in a sandy 

 seed bed. After the tops dry, pull the onions and keep 

 them in a dry place until the next season. 



Perennial onions. Plant top sets of perennial onions 

 in the fall or in early spring. Give them a coating of ma- 

 nure each fall. In the spring remove the coarse part of 



