VEGETABLE CHOI'S. 7 '1 I 



A French Method. 



A more economical method of establishing a bed, however, is that known 

 as the French method, the seeds being sown in the fields at once, and the 

 work of planting-out saved altogether. The system is as follows: — 



After the land has been ploughed and cultivated, strike out furrows from 

 5 to 6 feet apart, according to the richness of the soil. The ploughing 

 should be deep — up to 12 inches if possible — and it is preferable to plough 

 twice in the one drill, throwing a furrow each way from the centre of the 

 row. Then work a single-horse cultivator (closed up) in the bottom of the 

 furrow, to loosen the soil in the bottom of the drills. 



Make hills 20 inches apart in the furrow, mixing the soil of each with a 

 shovelful of well-rotted fine manure. Sow four or five seeds in each hill, 

 and cover lightly with good soil. The hills should then be watered and 

 kept moist until germination, which will take about three or four weeks. 

 After germination the plants should be thinned out. leaving only the 

 strongest plant in each hill. 



Keep the soil loose and free from weeds, and as the plants grow well- 

 rotted manure and soil are applied, a few inches at a time, round each. The 

 filling-up goes on steadily (care being taken not to choke the plants) until 

 the drills are filled. 



After-treatment. 



After planting out, the land should be kept free from weeds throughout 

 the summer, and frequently cultivated to conserve moisture. When the 

 stems turn brown they should be cut down and either carted off or burned 

 on the beds or fields. The land should be thoroughly cultivated, and where 

 possible a liberal application of well-rotted farmyard manure applied; this 

 can be more economically applied during winter than in the spring. Early 

 in the spring the land should again be thoroughly cultivated, and any 

 artificial fertiliser used should be applied then. Diiring the cutting season 

 i* is necessary to keep down weed growth, and on large areas it is found more 

 economical during this period to utilise a disc harrow in place of hand 

 weeding. With this implement it is often possible to cultivate the cropped 

 land on the day (usually Saturday) when no consignments are forwarded to 

 market. The cultivator certainly destroys some of the young shoots, but 

 the reduction in weeding costs, more than compensate for this loss. 



The summer cultivation must be continued each year, as it is most 

 important. During the summer months the plants are preparing fresh 

 stores of food in their roots and 1 require liberal treatment; neglected plants 

 are longer in becoming remunerative. In the autumn the stems should be 

 cut off before 'the seeds fall, as asparagus seedlings are one of the worst 

 pests. Where practicable, it would be wise to go through the plants and cut 

 out all seed-bearing stems rather than cut the whole. Later, the bed should 

 be treated as during the first year. 



Cutting. 



Old established roots can be cut for about ten weeks before being allowed 

 to run up to stem and leaf. Younger roots must be cut lightly and it is 

 better not to make a cutting till the fourth spring. Throughout the cut- 

 ting season the small as well as the marketable shoots should be cut clean 

 away; otherwise they exhaust the roots, and reduce the marketable output. 

 The field should be gone over and the shoots cut each day, as the leaf-buds, 

 which form the tip, should not be allowed to open before cutting. 



