While onions are grown in all sorts of careless ways, like other
vegetables, it is by far the best plan to select a space for an
annual and permanent bed, just as we do for asparagus. Unlike most
other crops, the onion does not require change of ground, but
usually does better on the same soil for an indefinite number of
years. Therefore I would advise that upon the Home Acre the onion,
like the asparagus bed, should be made with a view to permanence.
Not much success can be hoped for on rough, poor land. The onion,
like the asparagus bed, should be made and maintained with some
care. If possible, select a light, well-drained, but not dry plot.
Make the soil rich, deep, mellow, to the depth of twenty inches,
taking out all stones, roots, etc.; cover the land with at least
six inches of good strong barnyard manure. This should be done in
the autumn. Sow the ground white with salt, as in the case of
asparagus, and then mingle these fertilizers thoroughly with the
soil, by forking or plowing it at once, leaving the surface as
rough as possible, so that the frost can penetrate deeply. Just as
soon as the ground is dry enough to work in the spring, fork or
plow again, breaking every lump and raking all smooth, so that the
surface is as fine as the soil in a hot-bed. You cannot hope for
much in heavy, lumpy ground.
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