The Culture of Vegetables 



gardens the protection of the young growth with litter, and of the 

 mature growth with stakes, need not be resorted to, but in exposed 

 situations these precautions should not be neglected. 



The management of Asparagus includes a careful clean-up of the 

 beds in autumn, and a top-dressing in spring. The plants should 

 not be cut down until they change colour, and then all the top-growth 

 may be cleared away, the surface raked clean, and the sides of the 

 beds carefully touched up to make them neat and tidy. It is usual 

 at the same time to dig and manure the alleys, but this practice we 

 object to in toto, because it tends directly to the production of lean 

 sticks where fat ones are possible; for the roots run freely in the 

 alleys, and to dig is to destroy them. It is sufficient to make al 

 clean and tidy. In the spring there will be found on the beds a new 

 crop of weeds ; these must be cleared off, and then the beds and the 

 alleys should be carefully pricked over with a fork two or three inches 

 deep only, and with great care not to wound any roots. Finally, put 

 on a coat of fat manure about two inches deep, and then wait for the 

 first show of heads. 



The application of salt requires judgment. For a time it renders 

 the bed cold, and when followed by snow the two combine to make 

 a freezing mixture which arrests the growth of established plants. 

 On a newly made bed salt is unnecessary, and may prove destructive 

 to the roots. The proper time for applying salt must be determined 

 by the district and the character of the season ; but in no case should 

 the mineral be used until active growth has commenced, although it 

 is not needful to wait until the growth is visible above the surface. 

 In the southern counties a suitable opportunity may generally be 

 found from the beginning to the middle of April. Second and third 

 dressings may follow at intervals of three weeks, which not only 

 stimulate the roots but keep down weeds. 



In many gardens where there is space for only two or three beds 

 there will be the very natural desire to secure Asparagus in a shorter 

 time than is possible from seed, and we therefore proceed to indicate 

 the best method of planting roots. Asparagus roots do not take 

 kindly to removal, especially old and established plants. The mere 

 drying of the roots by exposure to the atmosphere is distinctly 

 injurious to them. They will travel safely a long distance when well 

 packed, but the critical time is between the unpacking and getting 

 them safely into their final home. Everything should be made ready 

 for the transfer before the package is opened, and the actual task 

 of planting should be accomplished in the shortest time possible. 



12 



