203 PERENNIAL 



^"^ CROPS 



it is unwise to have rows closer together than 

 four feet. Seedsmen sell asparagus plants, but 

 it is usually better to grow your own plants, 

 although they take so long to mature. Seeds 

 may be soaked in warm water for a day before 

 planting and are then sown in drills and covered 

 about an inch deep. The plants should be 

 thinned to stand three or four inches apart in 

 the row. 



Give frequent tillage throughout the entire 

 season, and in the spring following they will 

 be ready to plant in their permanent place. 

 Here they are set deep, in a furrow or trench, 

 say six to ten inches, so that the young crown 

 of the plant is covered two or three inches deep 

 with loose earth or good fine compost. As the 

 plants grow the trench is gradually filled. If 

 fiUed at first, the young plants might not be 

 strong enough to push their way up. 



You will see from this that the asparagus plot 

 must be deeply sub-soiled, for if you do not have 

 the land properly prepared at the first, you will 

 never have good results. Besides, unless the 

 soil is rich in humus, asparagus cannot thrive 

 at all, for it requires a moist soil at the roots all 

 the season. 



When you have planted your yearling seed- 

 Ungs you must give them another year before 



