220 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



The Crop from Seed. In this case the growth is to be pushed 

 continuously on the same ground from seed to sack. The main 

 crop is grown in this way, and for this method California has mani- 

 fest advantage in its long growing season. The winter-grown crop 

 for early spring and early summer sale is started in October and 

 November on land deeply moistened by irrigation or fall rains, and 

 for the fall or main crop seed may be sown as early as February 

 for the onion is hardy against our valley frosts. The winter-started 

 crop on retentive soils is carried through with moisture held by 

 summer cultivation, or on coarser soils by irrigation and cultivation, 

 until the bulbs reach as large a size as is desirable for marketing. 



For seed-sowing the land should be as deeply and thoroughly 

 prepared as has already been prescribed for sugar beets. The work 

 should begin with fall plowing to open the surface for absorption 

 of rainfall, to be followed later by a deep cross-plowing to fully 

 turn in the crop of weeds and grass which will come with moisture. 

 After that a shallow plowing or cultivation may be given to kill 

 later growth of weeds and to contribute to surface pulverization. 

 The seed should be sown when the advance of the season warms 

 the soil. The precise date depends upon two considerations: first, 

 the local rainfall, and second, the local weed growth. Where spring 

 rains are usually light, earlier sowing is best; where spring rains 

 are usually generous and where weed growth is great, it is often 

 wise to defer sowing and use the cultivator for weed-killing, so that 

 the ground may be as clean as possible before the seed is sown. 

 Weeding onions is one of the most expensive and tiresome of all 

 field practices, and it is good policy, where moisture is ample, to 

 sow much later in the spring for the advantage of securing cleaner 

 land, as well as to prevent the growth of "thick-necks" or scallions, 

 which, though edible, are not good keepers and do not sell well. 

 Each locality has its own policy in sowing onions, which can be 

 learned by conference with experienced growers. 



When the sowing time comes be sure the land is fined well. 

 Use nothing but the freshest seed from responsible dealers; mark 

 out a straight line for beginning and sow the seed with a seeder 

 with a guide so that the straightness of the first row may be fol- 

 lowed in the others. If the rows begin to vary from this, strike 

 another straight line and proceed again from this. Distance between 

 the rows depends upon the method of cultivation to be adopted; 

 some are grown with two feet distance and horse cultivation is 

 used, but most growers choose a distance of twelve to sixteen inches 

 and use hand cultivation. The hand hoes, or cultivators with wheels, 

 work very easily and rapidly in light soils. Care must be taken to 

 work them deeply enough to produce a good soil mulch. 



Depth of covering depends upon season, moisture and char- 

 acter of soil, as explained in Chapter XL With onions the depth 

 would vary from one-half an inch on heavy soil to one inch on 

 light, or slightly more on light soil in a dry locality, is about the 



