ONION CULTURE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1893, 30 October 1913, Page 5

ONION CULTURE.

A PRACTICAL MAN'S VIEWS. To tho farmer following up "intensive cultivation" methods, writes tho Auckland "Herald's" Bay of Plenty correspondent, onion-growing should commend itself as being ono of the moneymaking branches of cropping, given ordinary'Juck. _ Mr. A. M. Hickson, who has had considerable experience in tho industry, and has, in fact, inado a speciality of it, has given me the following results of his observations and experience. For a main crop, the long-keeping ■ Brown ' Spanish is tho best. Straw-coloured Spanish are a little earlier, and, therefore, some may bo usoil to get a littlii ahead of the others. . Mr. Hickson lias in his possession a Drawn Spanish onion two years old, grown tho season before last, whsch is. quite good yet. Deep rich soil should be selected, and should bo trench ploughed and deeply worked to obtain tho best results. New grass land is not so suitable as land tluit has been previously cropped, and. onions seem to follow on a crop of potatoes as well as, if not better than, anything else. It is better for working up well before planting, so as to dispose, as fur a's possible, of weeds. Even in good land, a literal application of manure is found beneficial.' lii fact, manure can hardly be overdone for onions, a s th'ey arc what is termed a greedy eiop. An application of, say, half a tor. of potash and sulphate of ammonia will be found quick acting, and a topdressing of nitrate of soda will help them along as it is worked in during the process of weeding anil cultivating. It the ground is very clean, the seed may be sown into drills, as it is intended the crop is to be grown, but if there are weeds in the ground they will get a start of the onion seed, and cleaning will be very difficult. In that case it would be better to sow in tho autumn, in seed beds, and after working. the ground up and cleaning it well, plant cut the young onions during September. A further advantage of the planting out system is that tho crop is usually large and more uniform. From the commencement, the young crop must be kept clean, tho "ground well worked, and the surface kept loose, hardness underneath not mattering so much. Planet Junior and other cultivators may be used, but in any case there must be a good deal of hand-weeding. This cannot be done when there is time, or as an opportunity offers, but must bo done a3 tho crop demands, otherwise there will bo loss, Tho reason for getting ' tho crop ill'early is to get tile benefit of the spring rains during.its growing period. Once the bulbing period is reached, a dry , spell can be bonic, in fact, it will be rather an advantage. Dry weather is certainly ail advantage in ripening, as the erop_ ia required to bo well dried before it-is gathered. If at that time the weather is wet for a pi obliged spell tho crop must still bo gathered, even if the tops aro not dried oil', as, otherwise, the bulbs may taki fresh root. The best must bo made of a bad job then, as in tho case of other (Tops harvested under adverse circumstances. The tops must bo 1 cut olf, an.l the onions stored with as much drying space as possible. If tho wehtlier is favourable, pull all the onions, and allow to lie on tho top of tho ground until .the tops are all dried up Then remove the tops, and gather into cribs, very much in tho.manner of cribbing maize. No rain must bo allowed to beat in at tho sides, and souio protection against tlint, such ' as old sucking, or something of the sort, should be provided. If well and successfully harvested, the crop will lio safely for a reasonable time, but, of course, should be watched as well as tho market. Onion,-growing does not de-; toriorate the land, if properly done a? to manure and cultivation, but if too tr-nv" succossive crops are taken off tho sp.nie land, a sort of blight or sickness may occur. In that case-, in wet weathor, the tops rot, and this spreads down into tho middle of the bulb, with tho result that apparently sound onions may ho rotten iii the middlo. Handweeding onions is hardly a mans' job at man's wages, and one must bo prepared to get it dono in sorno less costly way if the crop is to pay. Ono advantage of growing a reliable good-keeping sort is that the crop may bo held from time to time. There is ; generally, ; ft rise in price rs local onions give out, and importation has fo be resorted'to. A crop that can bo kept until flic nextis ready should bo ono of the objects of the grower.