ONIONS 



145 



then they ripen rapidly when the growing season 

 arrives again. 



Sowing the Seed. — When the ground is ready, 

 rake the surface smooth and fine, measure off the 

 rows with the line, twelve or fifteen inches apart. 

 Sink creases with the scantling or rake handle, as 

 the onion seed needs a solid bed beneath it, in case 

 the weather is hot and dry. Into the crease, about 

 an inch deep or a trifle less, sow the seed thinly. 

 Onions are fairly easy to transplant, and it is a good 

 deal easier to set them in, 

 here and there, to fill up 

 a gap than to pull out a 

 large number of plants. 

 Three seeds to the inch 

 is enough. Sift half an 

 inch of soil over the seed 

 and make it firm, finishing 

 with a light dust mulch. 



Thinning Out. — As 

 soon as the sprouts are 

 three or four inches tall, 

 thin them out, leaving the 

 plants about two inches 

 apart. Use a small trowel 

 for this work. Loosen the 

 earth carefully on both 

 sides of the row, turn it over to expose weed roots to the 

 sun, and then pull out extra plants with the fingers. 



Thinning the Onion Bed 



