CHAPTER 2 



VEGETABLES AND THEIR CULTURE 



BY R. L. WATTS 



Dean and Director, School of Agriculture and Experiment Station, 

 The Pennsylvania State College 



Asparagus. The farmer's garden is not complete without this popu- 

 lar, hardy perennial, and it offers special inducements for cultivation near 

 good local markets. 



Numerous varieties are catalogued by our seedsmen and nurserymen 

 but Palmetto is most largely grown. It is vigorous in growth, the shoots 

 are large and the plants are regarded as more resistant to rust than other 

 well-known varieties. Some meritorious new varieties are being developed 

 at the Asparagus Experiment Station, Concord, Mass., and prospective 

 growers should keep in touch with the work there and test for themselves 

 the new sorts as soon as they are available. 



It is universally conceded that asparagus thrives best in deep, rich, 

 moist, sandy loams. Any soil, however, which will grow a satisfactory 

 crop of corn will, with proper management, produce a good crop of aspar- 

 agus. Thorough drainage is necessary. The character of the exposure is 

 not important, though cuttings may be made earlier in the spring on south- 

 ern slopes than on northern or western exposures. 



It is exceedingly important to start with good stock. If a plot of 

 even a few hundred plants is contemplated, it will pay to buy selected seed 

 or roots from a specialist. The young plants are easily grown. A fertile 

 plot should be chosen for the purpose and should be enriched still further 

 by application of rotten stable manure at the rate of twenty-five tons to the 

 acre. A good seed-bed should be prepared. Shallow furrows two feet 

 apart should be made. The seeds should be dropped by hand at intervals 

 of two or three inches and covered with an inch of soil. Radish seeds 

 dropped eight to ten feet apart in the same drills with the asparagus will 

 define the rows, since the radishes germinate within a few days, while the 

 asparagus plants will not appear for about a month. It is quite an advan- 

 tage to have the rows marked thus, so that the hand cultivator can be 

 used before the asparagus plants are up. 



Experiments at The Pennsylvania State College and elsewhere show 

 that it pays to plant only the strongest roots or crowns. In other words, 

 it is a good business proposition to grow two or three times as many roots 

 as are actually needed for the plat in mind, and then plant only the largest. 

 The selection or grading of the roots should be done late in the fall after the 



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