ASPARAGUS ( 



asparagus ] 

 officinalis) 



Origin" — A native of Europe, having grown in its wild state in Great Britain, Russia and 

 Poland. The Britons, Gauls and Germans used it merely as a medicine. Gerard states that it 

 lakes its name aUer the Latin, in that il signifies the first spring or sprout. The Romans intro- 

 duced it as an edible food. Cato the Elder, 200 B.C., treated the subject with great care. 

 Pliny distinguished a fine difference in the character of Asparagus grown near Ravenna and 

 certain other outlying ix)ints from Rome. Its cultivation and use as a vegetable was made 

 known to the people of the North by the invading Roman armies. It is six)ken of as a cultivated 

 English vegetable in the early sixteenth century: and in 168.3 we have record of it in the London 



To Be Successful with Asparagus 



."Asparagus is of comparatively easy culture | 

 once a bed is established. It should, with I 

 moderate care, produce for upward of twenty | 

 5'ears. In the matter of soil, a sandy loam is I 

 preferable, although not a necessity, for 

 Asparagus is very adaptable to variable soil 

 conditions. The bed must be well drained, 

 however, for it will not thrive under extreme 

 moisture- Preparation of the soil by thorough 

 subsoilmg and deep plowing is a necessary 

 step. Go down at least 15 inches. Assuming 1 

 that green Asparagus is preferable over the | 

 white or blanched variety, we recommend | 

 that trenches be dug 4^ feet apart. These 

 trenches should be a foot deep, with the earth 

 thoroughly loosened and liberally dressed 

 with well-decomposed stable manure, and a 

 layer of at least 2 inches of fresh earth put 

 over this. This allows a depth of about 8 

 inches for the planting of the Asparagus root. 

 Very often the trench is left open, with only 

 about 2 inches of soil over the roots or crowns, 

 fresh soil being applied as the root develops, 

 until, by the close of the first season, the 

 surface is practically level. We recommend 

 that roots be set 20 inches apart in the row. 

 Thus, approximately 5,000 roots are required 

 per acre. This is about the number of roots 

 that can be produced from one pound of seed. 



Contrary to former practice, the best 

 Asp.iragus growers now transplant only one- 

 year-old roolt. It appears that the shock of , 

 transplanting two or three-year-old roots ' 



greatly retards the future growth and delays 

 cutting. There is still a practice among som; 

 firms of listing th?ir first-grade Asparagus 

 roots as two-year-old roots, and their second- 

 grade as one-year-old. Do not be misled on 

 this point. Our large, one-year-old roots will 

 allow a three-weeks' cutting season the spring 

 after they are s;t. The second season there- 

 after, a full season cut may -be obtained. 

 April and May are the best months for setting 

 out an Asparagus bed . We do not recommend 

 Fall planting. 



Arguments pro and con for green and for 

 while Asparagus are now drifting over to the 

 green side, so that now very few markets pay 

 a higher price for the big, coarse white sorts. 

 The consumer has discovered that the green 

 product has the more delicate flavor. The 

 two types are produced from the same variety 

 — the difference of color being entirely due to 

 cultural treatment. Incidentally, green 

 Asparagus can be grown in much stiffer soil 

 than the white. To produce green Asparagus, 

 practice level cultivation and cut almost 

 entirely above the ground ; for white Aspara- 

 gus, it is necessary to hill the rows, cutting 

 some 8 inches below the ground. Of all 

 vegetables which are improved by quick 

 handling and freshness. Asparagus is, perhaps, 

 the best example. It begins to lose its rare 

 flavor within twenty minutes after cutting. 

 There is a lesson in this for the wide-awake 

 marketer. 



Mr. H. D. Culin, our Asparagus root grower, with our Mr. C. R. Mason 

 inspecting the field of one-year-old Asparagus seedlings from which 

 our roots will be delivered. Note the unusually heavy growth of fern. 



