40 
A KITCHEN GARDEN 
WHAT TO GROW. 
ASPARAGUS. 
This is the earliest vegetable to be ready for use in 
the spring, excepting those that have been forwarded 
under glass. While it is quite hardy and withstands 
much ill treatment, nothing will better repay careful 
culture and generous feeding. One row across the 
kitchen garden would make a liberal supply for an 
average family. The seed should be sown where the 
row is to stand, and the young plants thinned out 
until they stand one foot apart in the row. This 
should be done as soon as they are three or four 
inches high and well started ; if left longer it will be 
a very troublesome job. These young plants should 
have every encouragement of manure and cultiva¬ 
tion, to make as strong a growth as possible; the 
stronger and faster they grow the better will be the 
size and quality of the shoots when old enough to 
cut. No shoots should be cut until the third spring 
after sowing, and then should not be cut too long the 
first season. The fourth and succeeding seasons it 
may be cut from the time the first shoots appear 
until the first peas and lettuce are ready to take its 
place on the table. Then it should be well worked 
and allowed to attain its full growth, that strength 
