Asparagus. 



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ASPARAGUS. 



Asparagus officinalis. 



ASPARAGUS is a profitable crop when well grown. Under 

 proper treatment it will thrive in any well-cultivated 

 and moist soil, though a deep rich loam, inclining to sandy, is 

 the most suitable. At the same time excellent Asparagus 

 can be grown even on heavy clay soil, providing it is deeply 

 worked and well drained. It is a crop which will pay for 

 taking extra trouble with at the outset, as it may then be 

 expected to remain in profitable bearing for twenty years or 

 more. The small-holder should not undertake to plant a large 

 breadth without serious consideration, because several years 

 must pass before any appreciable return for the initial outlay 

 can be expected. A few beds may, however, be planted without 

 much expense or any great encroachment upon the other work 

 of the garden, and as these come into profitable bearing the 

 area could be extended with safety. 



An Asparagus plantation may 

 be made either by sowing the 

 seeds where they are to remain 

 or by transplanting roots, either 

 at one, two, or three years old. 

 The method of sowing where 

 the plants remain permanently 

 has much to recommend it if 

 the grower is prepared to wait 

 at least three and possibly four 

 years before getting any return 

 beyond the catch crops which 

 can be grown between the rows. 

 If this method is decided upon 

 the ground must be thoroughly 

 prepared as described later for 

 planting. The seedlings are 



copyright, v. A. & Co. thinned out early to Gin. apart, 



A Bundle of Giant Asparagus. the super fluous ones being re- 

 moved in the following spring. The advantage of raising the 

 plants on a seed bed consists in the smaller space occupied by 



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