66 ASPARAGUS 



CARE DURING THE THIRD AND FUTURE YEARS 



The third year cutting may begin in a moderate 

 way, but too much should not be attempted. If all 

 the conditions of growth have been favorable half a 

 crop may be cut without injuring the roots, but under 

 no circumstances should cutting in the third year be 

 continued for more than three weeks. The general 

 care of the bed during the third year is similar to that 

 of the second, with the exception that the soil is 

 worked more toward the rows, ridging them slightly. 



In the spring of the third and each succeeding 

 year, as soon as the ground can be worked it should 

 be plowed between the rows, turning the soil toward 

 and over the crowns, leaving a dead furrow between 

 the rows, as seen in Fig. 19. If bleached asparagus 

 is desired, these ridges over the rows should be twelve 

 inches higher than the bottom of the dead furrows 

 between the rows, and when the soil is ver>' light and 

 sandy a hight of fifteen inches is preferable. For 

 green asparagus the ridges are left lower, and the 

 shoots are allowed to grow several inches above the 

 ground before cutting, provided the asparagus beetle 

 does not appropriate them sooner. 



After the furrows are plowed out between the 

 rows a home-made ridger is used to smooth the ridges 

 and complete the work. This is formed of two heavy 

 oak boards shod with tire iron, sloping upward and 

 backward, attached to a pair of cultivator wheels. 

 This requires a good team, one horse walking on 

 either side of the row. On the light soils of Long 

 Island this implement works to perfedlion, but on stiff 



