Onions in the South. 165 



planter very often can not understand why he fails to a 

 greater or less extent in getting a stand. 



Onions in the Centbal South. 



There is a generally mistaken idea prevalent that it is 

 iinpossible to grow profitable crops of onions in the Cen- 

 tral South or cotton belt directly from the seed, most peo- 

 ple having the idea that it is necessary to either plant 

 sets or else to grow the sets from seed sown in the spring 

 then plant out the sets the following fall or spring. As 

 gopd and profitable crops of onions can be grown in the 

 Central South as any other section providing our people 

 will give this crop the same care and fertilizing that grow- 

 ers in other sections do. We have become so used to a 

 slip-shod method of growing cotton and com that we can't 

 seem to get down to the high fertilizing and intensive 

 methods necessary to succeed with a staple vegetable crop 

 like onions. 



So far as growing a market crop of onions is concerned 

 forget that there is such a thing as an onion set. Sets are 

 all right in their place— the home garden, for a few very 

 early onions, and for the local market gardener to sell 

 bunches, but as a' foundation for a market crop of matured 

 bulbs they are a delusion. A set very seldom makes a 

 nice shaped marketable bulb, they are not good keepers 

 and almost invariably show a large per cent, of "thick 

 necks" and scallions. It also takes about ten bushels of 

 sets to plant an. acre and when sets are $2.25 to $2.75 per 

 per bushel this almost prohibitive. 



The Bermuda varieties can be successfully grown in 

 the Central South from spring planted seed. Seed plant- 



