Onion Seed: Grown from Selected Bulbs (USDA, 1896)

Onion seed raised the 1896 USDA way: plant the best stored bulbs, not the culls, in trenches; earth up the seed stalks into a ridge; cut the heads as they yellow, dry them on a tight floor, flail, winnow and wash out the light seed. Choosing well-shaped bulbs year after year can turn a flat strain into a round one. Source: USDA Farmers' Bulletin 39, Onion Culture (1896), pp. 25-26. Picture: the bulletin's text.

متوسط

One season from planting the bulbs

التعليمات

Select and plant the bulbs

Choose seed bulbs carefully, rejecting any that fall short of the ideal; do not use culls. In prepared ground, cover them in trenches 4 or 5 in deep, about 6 in apart, rows 14 to 18 in apart for a hand wheel hoe (about 2 1/2 ft for a horse). Plant as early in spring as the weather allows, or in autumn where winters are not too severe.

المواد لهذه الخطوة:

بصل1 selected seed bulbs

الأدوات المطلوبة:

مِجرفة حفر

Earth up the seed stalks

Once the seed stalks are well started, draw soil up round them three or four times in the season, finally leaving a ridge 7 or 8 in high. After the last cultivation disturb the plants as little as possible.

الأدوات المطلوبة:

معزقة بعجلة

مِعزقة

Cut the heads as they ripen

Harvest promptly, before the seed capsules crack open. When the heads turn yellowish, take them off with 5 or 6 in of stem; put overripe ones into tight vessels or into baskets lined with paper. Go over the plants three or four times, as they do not all ripen together.

الأدوات المطلوبة:

سلة

ورق

Dry, thresh and clean

Store the heads in a well-ventilated room with a tight floor until dry enough to thresh, turning them often, which shakes out more than half the seed. Flail out the rest. Clean by repeated winnowing, then wash in buckets or tubs to float off light seed and chaff. Dry the seed thoroughly and store it away from damp.

الأدوات المطلوبة: