214 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



given the second year. The plants should then be well 

 established and a different course of treatment given. 



The supply of vegetable matter must be maintained. 

 This may be done by applying annually lo to 15 tons of 

 stable manure to the acre. Much larger amounts were 

 used some years ago, but more economical results have 

 been attained by reducing the application of stable manure 

 and increasing the amount of commercial fertilizers. 



Manure may be applied in the fall, early in the spring 

 or at the close of the cutting season. It is doubtful, how- 

 ever, whether application should ever be made in the fall, 

 and there is a growing inclination to make such applica- 

 tions after the cutting season, rather than in the spring. 

 All kinds of stable manures are satisfactory for aspar- 

 agus. They should be applied between rather than 

 directly over the rows. It is believed that mulching with 

 manure over the rows is objectionable because of the 

 tendency of the manure to draw the crowns of the plants 

 nearer and nearer the surface. Furrows are often opened 

 with a one-horse plow to receive the manure. This prac- 

 tice is questionable, because the plow necessarily breaks 

 and mutilates a great many roots. The better practice 

 is to broadcast the manure as evenly as possible between 

 the rows, and to mix it with the soil, by the use of a disk 

 or a cutaway harrow. 



Very few garden crops can be fertilized as heavily as 

 asparagus and a profit be made on every dollar expended 

 for plant food. Many of the most successful growers 

 believe that the largest net returns cannot be realized 

 without an annual investment for plant food of $60 to 

 $80 an acre. Stable manures have been practically 

 abandoned by some growers, but the safer practice is to 

 apply them liberally enough to maintain the supply of 

 humus. From one to three tons of commercial fertilizer 

 an acre may be employed advantageously on established beds. 



There has been much discussion as to the character of 



