180 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



crowns to guard them from excessive heat. The seed can, 

 however, in a light soil, be placed at a depth of two inches 

 and the moisture can be retained near the surface by care- 

 ful raking to prevent crusting over. A rake with thin 

 teeth can be used even after the seedlings have appeared, 

 to keep the soil loose about them. 



Planting Out the Garden Bed< Garden beds or rows can 

 be made by the old system of trenching, if it is desired, 

 although recent practice rather discards it. Trench about 

 18 or 20 inches deep, then fill up with well-rotted manure, 

 dig the next trench and throw the dirt over on the top of 

 the trench filled with manure, and so on until all is 

 trenched. Then begin and stir the last trench up with the 

 dirt, measure off the distance the asparagus plants are to 

 stand, say two feet if for hand hoeing, and then stick a 

 stake, set the plants, and then take the dirt off the next 

 trench to cover the plants, and so on until over the ground, 

 when all the plants will be set. 



If the garden is small, the soil rich, and moisture ample, 

 some other use can be made of the bed the first year. The 

 stakes will show the location of the asparagus roots. Be- 

 tween these stakes set a cabbage plant and then in the 

 middle of the row set out lettuce plants, and sow radishes, 

 carrots, and early turnips. The carrots and radishes will 

 be disposed of before the cabbages are ready, and some 

 other quick growing vegetable can be put in, after irri- 

 gation. The second year give the whole ground to the 

 asparagus, and in the fall clean off the bed, cover with a 

 eoat of coarse manure to keep the ground from packing 

 with the heavy rains, and fork it all in early in the fol- 

 lowing spring, being careful not to injure the root crowns. 

 A small cutting can be made the second season, but it 

 will help future crops to cut very little. 



Field Planting of Asparagus. Roots can be moved from 

 the seed-bed to the field at any time from November to 

 April, according to condition of soil and activity of roots. 

 As with other plantings, however, early practice is better 

 when all is favorable. As to methods of planting in the 



