HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 
ASPARAGUS 
T he two distinct ways of starting an asparagus bed 
are to either sow seeds or set out roots. Sowing 
seeds is easier and less expensive than setting out roots. 
But beds made from roots will yield the product several 
years sooner. 
Well-rotted manure in large quantities should be dug 
into the soil. Heavy clay soils should be made more 
friable by adding sand or sifted ashes. Seeds are sown 
as early in the spring as garden can be made, in rows 
two and a half to three feet apart, dropping one seed to 
every half inch and covering them about one-half inch. 
Seedlings generally appear within three weeks. They 
should be encouraged to grow rapidly by frequent hoeing 
and weeding. When six inches tall, they should be 
thinned out to stand six inches apart in the row. Four 
rows, each fifty feet long, will provide a fair supply of 
stalks for the average family. It takes about three 
ounces of seeds or 200 plants to secure a bed of that kind. 
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