“What are these?”
That was the puzzled question
asked by the friendly, young
checkout clerk tallying my bill
at a local supermarket a few
days ago.
The plastic bag she held up in
inquiry contained an undeniable
sign of spring.
“Those are onion sets,” I ex
plained.
To her blank, questioning
look I offered farther explana
tion: “You plant them in the
garden to grow onions.”
“I’ve never heard of them,”
she admitted, searching the
most current list of produce
prices to ring up my couple of
handfuls of 99-cents-per-pound
baby yellow onions.
“Onioh bulbs?” she puzzled,
flipping through the price list
ings.
“Well, they might be called
that,” I hesitated, quoting the
price I had seen posted on the
cardboard bins of white and
yellow onion sets which had
flagged me down as I passed
them in the produce section. In
evitably, it took an investigative
trip by another checkout em
ployee to search out the com
puter number assigned to
identify and price my puzzling
little bulbs cradled in the plastic
bag.
“Onion sets,” announced the
returning produce detective,
after about a two-minute search
through the extensive produce
section, confirming my 61-cent
purchase of spring promise.
“Don’t think I’ll bother plant
ing onions this year,” I had told
The Farmer just a day or so
before. Several summer-like af
ternoons had sent me forth with
rake and shovel to clean up last
year’s garden residue and begin
preparations for the upcoming
planting season.
But there they were in the
supermarket, these onion sets,
begging me to take them home.
And, there was a section of dark,
moist ground I had just finished
sprinkling with lime and cover
ing with a stretch of discarded
silo-cover black plastic to warm
the soil for early plantings. How
y?
Snagged again by spring
fever.
Besides, we use lots of onions.
Those alluring onion sets pop
ping up for sale at all sorts of re
tailers are just one of the clues
that spring is officially about to
happen. No doubt, though, we’ll
continue to have to alternate
shorts and tee-shirts with jeans
and heavy sweaters as the fickle
season inches forward and the
sun creeps a little higher each
day.
A vase of slender twigs cov
ered with fat, furry catkins sits
on the dining area hutch, cour
tesy of the nearly 40-year-old
pussywillow tree which now
towers over a backyard
flowerbed. The pussywillow has
grown so tall that its fuzz
bearing stems can only be
snipped by climbing into the
heart of the tree and leaning pre
cariously at angles to reach the
young, bloom-bearing growth.
Meanwhile, their cousins, the
weeping willows, have trans
formed from their yellowish, late
-winter tint to the green of early
Spring. They offer great camou
flage to the goldfinches, which
are growing their summer plu
mage and happen to be just
about the same shade as the wil
lows.
Three perky daffodil blooms
occupy a small vase on the
kitchen sink, their white and
yellow blossoms like smiles
warming a chilly morning. A
couple of potted primroses add
bright shades of fuschia, orange
and blue-violet tucked in among
the Christmas cyclamens still
bearing pink and red blooms.
And, even if none of nature’s
plant signs were so obvious of
the impending season, another
dead-giveaway clue is creating a
racket in the meadow. The
Canada geese have returned to
the pond, with the usual honk
ing, flapping and splashing as
the dominant breeding pair
stakes out territorial boundaries,
relegating the others to less
choice spots.
Spring has definitely arrived.
’Scuse me, please.
I gotta’ go plant onions.
Farm and Home Section, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 18, 2000—Page
Sap Is Running In Pennsylvania
Reading Terminal Market Celebrates
the Pennsylvania Maple Harvest
Ed Emerick of Emerick Maple Products pours fresh
maple sap into a jug before preparing to make maple
syrup.
Bth Annual Antique Apple Grafting Seminar
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.)-Participants in the eighth
Annual Antique Apple Grafting
seminar is scheduled on Satur
day, March 25 from 1:00 p.m. to
3:00 p.m. in the Visitor Center of
Landis Valley Museum will be
given hands-on instruction for
grafting apple trees. The semi
nar fee is $2O.
The seminar is hosted by the
Heirloom Seed Project of Landis
Valley Museum and the Back
yard Fruit Growers who work
together to preserve historic
varieties of fruit trees found in
Pennsylvania German orchards.
The afternoon seminar will
include personal grafting train
ing, written instructions on
planting, two rootstocks and
dozens of fruitwood scions. If
you have a favorite apple or pear
tree, you may bring your own.
This is a great way to begin a
new back yard orchard or add to
an existing orchard. Call Landis
Valley Museum at (717) 569-
0401 ext. 204 today to register.
Landis Valley Museum is a
Pennsylvania German living
history village and is owned and
operated by the Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Com
mission with support from the
Landis Valley Associates.
PHILADELPHIA (Philadel
phia Co.)-Did you know it takes
40-50 gallons of maple sap to
make one gallon of maple
syrup? Or that Pennsylvania is
th» fourth-, largest producer of
maple £ns. ~
This March, grah your sweet
tooth and head to Reading Ter
minal Market for a sugary,
sticky celebration.
Maple syrup is the nectar of
choice this March at Reading
Terminal Market, 12th and
Arch Streets, Philadelphia. On
March 24 and 25, from 10-4 p.m.
the Market celebrates the tradi
tional rite of maple sugaring
with MAPLE DAZE, a celebra
tion of the Pennsylvania Maple
Harvest.
The free event features special
guest, Ed Emerick, Blue Ribbon
Winner and owner of Emerick
Maple Products, demonstrating
turning maple sap into maple
syrup. In addition to gallons and
gallons of fresh syrup, maple
candy, maple cream, maple
fudge, maple baked goods, and
maple toffee corn, the 2000 cele
bration kicks off with The Battle
of the Short Order Cooks: Mel
rose Diner versus Down Home
Diner.
The popular Maple Cafe is
back, this year run by Project
Home. The celebration includes
loads of cooking demonstrations
using fresh maple syrup, Penn
sylvania crafts people, and chil
dren’s activities. Maple Daze is
hosted by the Pennsylvania gen
eral Store.
For more information on
Maple Daze or other events, go
to readingterminalmarket.org or
call (215)922-2317.
Museum hours are 9-5 Monday
through Saturday, 12-5 Sunday.
Landis Valley is located 2.5
miles north of Lancaster of
Route 272/Oregon Pike, a
marked exit off both Route 30
and Route 222. Individuals with
disabilities who need special as
sistance or accommodations
should call in advance to discuss
their needs. PA TDD relay ser
vice is available at (800) 564-
5984. Call (717) 569-0401 for
more information.
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91