1 94 Encyclopaedia of Gardening 



KITCHEN GARDEN continued. 



year they may be transplanted to the beds. Soil : Asparagus likes 

 a friable, well-drained, warm, loamy soil. It will thrive in clay 

 when well drained and pulverised. Mortar rubbish and road sweep- 

 ings will improve it. The ground should be deeply cultivated, and 

 liberally dressed with decayed yard manure. Only moderate 

 success may be expected on thin soil overlying chalk, unless the 

 chalk be broken up, and the ground deepened by manuring, and 

 mulching with manure, wood ashes, and leaf mould. Forming beds : 

 In the olden days very elaborate beds were prepared for Asparagus. 

 The soil was excavated, and in the pit thus formed faggots were 

 laid, which were covered with roots and garden refuse. The soil, 

 heavily manured, was put on this foundation. If the ground is 

 drained with pipes this is unnecessary, even in the case of clay, as 

 there is little fear of the soil becoming sour through the accumula- 

 tion of stagnant water. In undrained clay it would be a wise pre- 

 caution to adopt some such plan. To make a pair of beds proceed 

 as follows: After preparing the soil mark out two strips 4 ft. wide 

 each, with a 2-ft. strip between them. Throw the soil from the 2-ft. 

 strip to the depth of a foot right and left. The alley thus formed 

 will serve as a path, and the soil thrown out will deepen the soil of 

 the beds. Planting : Asparagus may be planted any time in April. 

 It does not matter if growth has started, so long as the roots are 

 not allowed to get dry; the latter is very bad, and throws the crop 

 back seriously. If it is desired to get a bed more quickly than can 

 be done from seeds, roots should be purchased from a nurseryman or 

 seedsman. These three-year-old plants will be of a suitable strength. 

 A 4-ft. bed will accommodate 2 rows of plants, which may be inserted 

 triangularly instead of exactly opposite to each other in parallel 

 rows. The clumps may be a foot from the edge of the bed, and 

 1 8 ins. apart. They consist of a central crown and a mass of large 

 iibres, which may be spread out and covered with 4 ins. of soil. 

 Summer culture : The bed should not be cut from the first year, but 

 growth encouraged by frequent hoeing, which will serve the double 

 purpose of aerating the soil and keeping down weeds. Autumn 

 treatment : The growth will ripen off in October, and at the end of 

 that month it may be removed, and the bed top-dressed with short 

 decayed manure, or (and preferably in the case of damp soil) with 

 burnt refuse. Near the sea, seaweed may be heaped on the beds. 

 Spring dressing : A spring dressing consisting of 3 oz. of superphos- 

 phate and i oz. of nitrate of soda per square yard will do good ; or 

 common salt may be applied at the rate of 4 oz. per square yard. 

 Cutting : Heads may often be cut in April, and in May cutting will 

 be general. It should cease at the end of June. An Asparagus 

 knife will be found useful for the purpose. It consists of a short 

 handle, a long piece of round steel, and a short, toothed blade which 

 severs the stem when thrust into the ground. The heads are ready 

 to cut when a brownish-green knob about 2 ins. long, and as thick 

 as a finger, protrudes through the soil. The head should not be 

 left till it is several inches long and the scales are bursting. Large 

 blanched Asparagus : French growers secure very large blanched 

 Asparagus by growing a giant variety in rich soil, and earthing it as 



