410 



ASPARAGUS 



ASPARAGUS 



inch in diameter and deliciously tender and succulent, 

 and these can be grown only on good plants set far 

 enough apart on well-drained, well-manured and well- 

 tilled soil. To secure the choice early stalks that bring 

 the high prices, the land selected for an asparagus patch 

 should be a warm rich loam, preferably exposed to east 

 or south. Manures and fertilizers, also, must be used 

 most lavishly. In this respect, many growers fail to 

 obtain best results, such as are within their reach by 

 greater liberality. Unless the soil is already well sup- 

 plied with vegetable matter and for that reason very 

 loose and mellow, bulky manures, such as fairly well- 

 rotted stable manure or rich compost, are almost or 

 quite indispensable at the start. A heavy dressing is to 

 be plowed under, and should be well and deeply mixed 

 with the soil by replowing and reworking the land. 

 Afterwards concentrated manures, rich especially in 

 nitrogen and potash, will do very well for loose soils, and 

 may be used broadcast on top, as the crop appears to 

 need them from year to year, at least for a while. Even 

 then an occasional, or better, yearly, application of good 

 stable manure or compost placed in furrows plowed 

 (with a one-Jiorse plow) 

 on each side of the 

 rows after the cutting 

 season or in early fall, 

 will be of benefit or 

 become necessary to 

 keep the yield up to a 

 high mark. To start a 

 plantation in the right 

 way, the selection of 

 good strong one-year- 

 old plants is of much 

 importance. They are 

 usually preferable to 

 the ordinary two-year 

 plants. To grow one's 

 own supply for starting 

 a plantation a year 

 later is usually a safer 

 plan than to depend 

 on purchased plants. 

 The male, or pollen- 

 bearing, plants are 

 often more vigorous 

 and more produc- 

 tive of good stalks 

 than the female or 

 seed-bearing plants; 

 but one cannot very 

 well tell the one from the other unless they bloom, until 

 long after they are already established in the planta- 

 tion, when it would be impracticable to tear out the 

 less desirable female plants and replace them with 

 the male plants. The seed, obtainable from any regular 

 seed house, is rather hard-shelled and sometimes slow 

 to germinate. It is important to give the seedling 

 plants the longest possible period of growth so as to 

 secure the strongest possible plants. It is advisable, 

 therefore, to soak the seed, or give it special treat- 

 ment or seed stimulation, before sowing it, and to sow 

 it just as soon in spring as a rich mellow seed-bed 

 can be prepared. The rows or drills may be made a 

 foot apart, and seed sown rather thinly. Plants are to 

 be thinned to 3 inches apart at an early age, and 

 weeds should be carefully kept down from the very 

 start. In short, nothing should be neglected to prevent 

 any interference with the rapid and healthy growth of 

 the seedlings, for the future outcome hinges, to a great 

 measure, on a favorable early start. When getting 

 ready to set the plants, and after the land has been 

 carefully and deeply plowed and harrowed, plow out 

 furrows 4 or even 6 feet apart. It may look like a sinful 

 waste of good land to set asparagus so far apart, but 

 even at 6 feet the roots will fill the soil and reach across 



411. Leaves and branches of 

 common Asparagus. ( X Ji) 



the rows, and the fat stalks obtainable by wide planting 

 are worth more in our markets than the inferior ones 

 usually found there. Some markets demand or prefer 

 green stalks which are mainly grown above ground. 

 In that case, make the furrows 5 to 9 inches deep. In 

 other markets blanched shoots are wanted, and these 

 are of superior flavor and tenderness, provided they 

 are grown in mellow soil and under high and skillful 

 culture. In that case, make the furrows a few inches 

 deeper than for plants set for green stalks. Set the 

 plants in the furrows about 2 feet apart, each on a lit- 

 tle mound of soil, spreading the roots in the same way 

 as they grew in the seed-bed. Cover with mellow soil to 

 the depth of a few inches, and afterwards, in the course 

 of some weeks and by means of some suitable tools (cul- 

 tivators, harrows, and the like), gradually fill the furrows 

 even with the ground-level. A still better plan when the 

 material can be had, especially for the home-gardener, 

 is to fill the furrows with fine old compost, wood's earth, 

 leaf-mold, or any other loose and rich material, as the 

 covering above the crowns of the plants cannot be 

 made too loose. It is advisable and will insure closer 

 attention in cultivation, to grow some hoed crop, like- 

 beets, turnips, radishes, cabbage, beets, beans or peas, 

 between the rows of asparagus the first year. In the 

 fall, and every fall thereafter, cut the asparagus stalks 

 close to the ground and remove them from the patch, 

 to avoid the scattering of the seed. 



In early spring of the second year, the surface of the 

 ground is to be loosened by shallow plowing or deep 

 cultivating; and when the first sprouts appear, the 

 rows may be hilled up to some extent if any of the 

 sprouts are to be cut for use. Under especially favor- 

 able conditions a few may be cut the sec- 

 ond year. It is better for the plantation 

 and its future value, however, if no cut- 

 ting is done that year. Plants left intact 

 until the third year, and kept in a high 

 state of cultivation, will grow much 

 stronger and be more productive afterward. Com- 

 mercial growers use specially devised asparagus knives 

 for cutting the stalks. In the absence of such, any 

 ordinary sharp table or kitchen knife may be used, or 

 in the mellow soil the blanched shoots may be broken 

 off at the base with the finger. In cutting, be very 

 careful, and try to avoid cutting later shoots or 

 injuring the crown of the plants. The third season 

 and every season thereafter, loosen up the ground as 

 directed for the second season. The shoots are now to 

 be cut indiscriminately and clean, up to the beginning 

 of the green-pea season. After that, allow them to grow 

 undisturbed, but continue cultivation, to keep the 

 ground-surface mellow and free from weeds. For mar- 

 ket, wash the freshly-cut stalks and tic them in neat, 

 compact bunches of the size demanded in the particu- 

 lar market, using some bright-colored ribbon, or per- 

 haps rubber bands. If to be shipped, especially for 

 longer distances, pack the bunches in moist moss or 

 other material that will keep the stalks fresh. 



The varietal differences in the asparagus plant do 

 not appear to be very pronounced except in the color 

 of the young shoots, and most of the variations seem to 

 be due to differences in culture and environment rather 

 than to those characteristic of the variety. American 

 seedsmen offer the following as distinct varieties: Colos- 

 sal (Conover's), Palmetto, Mammoth (Barr's), Colum- 

 bian (Mammoth Columbian White), Argenteuil (Giant 

 Argentcuil), Bonvallet Giant, Heading Giant. 



To save the seed, strip the ripe berries off the stalks 

 by hand, or thresh them off with a flail, put them in a 

 sound barrel or tank, and mash them with a wooden 

 pounder, to separate the hard, black seeds from the 

 pulp. Clean them by washing in plenty of water, pour- 

 ing off the pulp and skins; then dry and store. 



To any person who has even a little land to use for a 

 home-garden, no better advice could be given than to 



