ASPARAGUS 1479 
CULTIVATION AND FERTILIZATION 
About the time growth begins give a dressing of fertilizer down 
the trench over the young plants — any good potato formula will 
do. Use about the same per given length of row as for potatoes. 
Cultivation must begin early, a small-toothed implement being 
used to fine the scil. Some soil should be allowed to run down 
beside the young plants, but not too much. The grower should be 
all season filling the trench. 
Frequent cultivations and numerous hand hoeings will be re- 
quired to keep the soil mellow and the weeds down, and this must 
be done or the whole thing spells failure. The future productive- 
ness of any asparagus bed is largely governed by the way the 
young plants are grown and the way the permanent bed is cared 
for the first two years of its existence. If neglected, either in cul- 
tivation, hoeing, fertilization, or controlling of the insects, that 
neglect must be paid for in low yield and poor quality. A mid- 
summer application of nitrate of soda of about 150 pounds per 
acre, applied beside the row and worked in, will be found bene- 
ficial. 
During the fall of the first year apply a good dressing of animal 
manure. The best way to do this is to plow a furrow away from 
the plants on each side and put the manure therein and cover it 
by plowing back over it. This induces the root system to form 
down below and out of reach of the implements of cultivation. 
All later manurings should be in an open furrow midway be- 
tween each row and it covered. Once in two years will do 
for animal manurings where the soil is fairly productive, but an 
annual application of fertilizer applied at the first working of 
the land in the spring is essential. Be sure to apply this broad- 
cast; not over the row as is sometimes done. By broadcasting it 
is better and more evenly distributed, hence where the plants 
can use it more readily. 
At the close of the cutting season, when the bed is being leveled 
off, apply a dressing of nitrate of soda broadcast at the rate of 
225 pounds per acre. This in my judgment is quite important. 
It is at this time that the plants need stimulating and the nitrate 
supplies it. I believe, too, it wards off the rust. Beds so treated 
are later in showing that disease. 
Cultivation should be kept up sufficient to destroy all weeds 
and keep soil mellow. 
