23 Perennial Crops 



Asparagus miner (Agromyza simplex). — A small maggot 

 that burrows under the epidermis of the asparagus stalk near 

 the ground, sometimes girdling it and causing the stalk to turn 

 yellowish and die prematurely. The parent insect is a small 

 metallic black fly about 1/6 in. long. It appears in New 

 York in May and the female insetts her eggs under the 

 epidermis near the ground. A second brood of flies appears 

 the latter part of July. The insects hibernate as puparia in 

 the old stalks at or below the surface. Control: This insect 

 causes little injury in beds being cut, but is sometimes injuri- 

 ous in new beds. No satisfactory method of controlling this 

 pest in commercial plantings is known. 



Asparagus is a gross feeder. Land can scarcely be 

 too rich. If the land is originally hard and coarse, it 

 should be prepared a year or two in advance by the raising 

 of some thoroughly tilled crop as potatoes and with this 

 crop as much manure as possible should have been used. 

 The asparagus plantation should be made for long use. 

 Therefore it is well to give careful attention to the soil 

 and to the choice of a place that can be permanently set 

 aside for the purpose. 



In the home garden, asparagus should be in rows at 

 one side of the plantation, so that it will not interfere 

 with the plowing of the garden area. It usually looks best 

 at the farther side of the garden, where its beautiful herb- 

 age makes a background border in summer and fall. The 

 old idea was to have asparagus "beds." The new idea 

 is to plant asparagus in rows as one would plant rhubarb 

 or corn, and to till it with horse tools, if possible, rather 

 than with boes and finger weeders. For the ordinary fam- 

 ily, one row alongside the garden, 75 to 100 feet loiig, may 

 be expected to furnish a sufficient supply. 



