Vegetables with Edible Leaves or Stems 127 



Planting asparagus. 



The quickest way to make a beginning in asparagus 

 growing is to buy several hundred or a thousand roots 

 from a seedsman. These are not expensive, and will make 

 a fair test as to whether it will be desirable or not to go into 

 growing asparagus as a business. It is agreed that the 

 cheapest and best way to raise asparagus is to sow the seed 

 in a seed-bed, cultivate for one year, and plant out in the 

 field next spring. One-year-old plants, if well grown, 

 as they would be if at all cared for during the long growing 

 season of the South, are universally preferred to two- 

 year-old roots for planting out. Rows 3 feet apart should 

 be laid off and the plants set a foot to 18 inches apart in a 

 row. During the first year the field should be well worked 

 and no weeds allowed to get a start. The second year, 

 less cultivation will do. A top-dressing of fertilizer is 

 applied to an asparagus field every spring. 



Cutting. 



While asparagus plants will be found to give a few stems 

 one year from transplanting, it is better practice to let 

 them grow up, and to cut only sparingly in the second 

 year. In gathering, care should be taken to leave some 

 strong shoots to form a leaf system for the plant. In 

 cutting, a little of the soil is removed, and the aspara- 

 gus knife is then pushed down carefully so as not to 

 injure any of the stems that are just beginning to 

 grow up. A slight twist of the knife will separate the 

 stem from the root. 



The green tops are afterwards allowed to grow, so as 



