THE ofio 



GARDEN YARD '^^ 



If the land you have is hard and coarse, you 

 should prepare it by planting it with some crop 

 that needs a great deal of tillage, such as pota- 

 toes, for two seasons before you plant asparagus. 

 During this time you should apply all the manure 

 the land will carry, because, as the bed will last 

 for twenty years, in the Northern States, you will 

 have no other opportunity to put the soil in 

 proper condition. Don't be afraid of making 

 the soil too rich. Asparagus can take all you 

 can give, and will repay your generosity. 



As you make your asparagus plantation 

 practically for a lifetime, you must exercise 

 care and judgment in choosing the site. In a 

 family garden a long row, say 75 to 100 feet, if 

 you have the space, at the rear of the garden, 

 is a good place. This not only puts it out of the 

 way of other crops, but it also gives you a good 

 background in summer and fall, for the herbage 

 of asparagus is ornamental. Asparagus used 

 to be planted in beds, but imder new methods 

 of farming, this plan has been abandoned. 

 Rows are more satisfactory. When grown as a 

 field crop this allows of horse-tool tillage and 

 saves much labor. 



Asparagus roots are wanderers and reach out 

 for food in every direction, even more hori- 

 zontally than perpendicularly, which is why 



