322 GARDEN FARMING 



Harvesting onion sets. About midsummer the sets "bottom," 

 or form bulbs, and are ready for pulling as soon as the tops begin 

 to die. As a rule, they should not be allowed to remain in the 

 ground until thoroughly ripened, for the ripening process has a 

 tendency to cause them to shoot to seed when planted the follow- 

 ing spring. The most satisfactory plan is to remove them from 

 the ground just a little before they are ripe, and thus suspend 

 growth until they are replaced in the ground the following spring. 



FIG. 121. Onion sets stacked in the field to cure 



The sets are loosened by means of a fork or by a cutting blade 

 attached to a wheel hoe frame. These cutting blades are usually 

 in the form of the letter U, and are sharpened on the front edge so 

 that they will lift the sets as the frames are pushed forward. After 

 being loosened the sets are pulled by hand, and the tops are either 

 twisted off immediately or are placed in small piles or in wind- 

 rows to dry (see figure 121). When placed in windrows or stacks 

 they are so arranged that the tops will protect the bulbs from 

 the sunlight. From 8 to 12 rows are brought together and piled 

 into a long, narrow windrow. If the tops are removed immediately, 

 the bulbs are placed about 3 inches deep on slat-bottom trays, 



