ASPARAGUS IN THE HOME GARDEN 
Supplying the Table with Fresh Stalks for Ten Weeks Season after Season 
-How to Make the Initial Start and Maintain Success at High Level 
0 ULTIVATED for two thousand or more years and 
known to old Romans of epicurean taste. Asparagus— 
_ a native of Europe—needs far less skill for its growing 
LS&Lvi than the ubiquitous Potato. One of the most delicious 
of vegetables as well as one of the most healthful, there is not the 
ghost of a reason why it should not be lifted out of the luxury 
class and added to the group of commonly found vegetables in 
every home garden. 
To be sure it demands some space and a bit of patience and 
thoroughness at the start, but the old adage, “Whatever is 
worth doing, is worth doing well,” applies to Asparagus more 
than to any other crop, and “ if you take good care of your 
Asparagus bed,” says a gardener well-qualified to know, “it 
will take good care of you for ten weeks in each and every 
year,’’ and it will endure indefinitely. 
Site and Preparation of Bed 
T O BE sure of an abundance of the choice early stalks that 
are always so particularly enjoyed choose a well-drained 
spot preferably exposed to east or south. Asparagus flourishes 
best in a loose and mellow soil well supplied with vegetable mat¬ 
ter. 
As soon as practicable in the spring plow the land a foot deep 
and, if possible, land that has not been in sod but already 
worked somewhat. Plow under a heavy dressing of manure 
(six inches or so) and harrow the soil well. Or if the bed 
is to be a smaller one, spade the soil deeply, spreading stable 
manure all over the patch and working it in thoroughly. Or 
double trench to a depth of 2 or 2 \ feet—the deeper the better. 
Plants and Planting 
F OR a household of six, get 100 plants not less than two 
years old but preferably four. In early spring—but if 
you must, in light well drained soil even in autumn—set out in 
rows spaced 3 feet apart, with 18 inches to 2 feet between each 
plant. Set plants in the fur¬ 
rows on a little mound of soil, 
spreading the roots carefully 
in their natural direction; 
cover with mellow soil to the 
depth of a few inches, treading 
firmly except on the crown. 
If the weather be dry, soak 
the plants well before setting 
out and water thoroughly 
after. Gradually, over a period 
of seyeral weeks, fill the fur¬ 
rows even with the level of the 
ground, using for this purpose, if available, fine old compost, 
wood’s earth, leaf-mold, or any other loose rich material. 
The space between the rows may be utilized to advantage 
for Lettuce, Radishes, Beets, Beans, Peas or in fact any annual 
crop for the first years, anyhow. Thus does the gardener with 
a limited area at his disposal “kill two birds with one stone, ” 
for the Asparagus itself actually profits by the hoeing and culti¬ 
vation incident upon such inter-cropping. 
Varietal differences are so slight in the Asparagus family as 
to be practically negligible, variations in color, etc., being due 
rather to culture and environment than to any inherent charac¬ 
teristics. Nowadays the green tips are much in vogue and 
justly so, it seems, for their superior tenderness and favor. 
However, those who prefer the white stalks can readily satisfy 
their taste by the simple process of blanching (i.e. covering 
deeply with earth so that growth is made underground). The 
common practice is to cultivate lightly until the first shoots 
appear, when a ridge or mound of soil is thrown up over the 
row, perhaps 18 inches wide and 8 or 10 inches high. W hile 
the Asparagus is growing up through this, if weeds appear, use 
a board set with nails and draw, harrow fashion, along the top 
of the mound. 
Cutting and Care 
D O NOT cut the first year after setting out and only very 
moderately, if at all, the second; it is really better to wait 
till the third season when a full supply may be enjoyed without 
fear of injury to the plants. Once thoroughly established, an 
Asparagus bed will last indefinitely as long as properly fed, 
although in a generation it may become quite elevated, as 
the tendency of the plants is to rise, and they must be kept 
covered. 
For cutting there are specially devised knives though any 
ordinary sharp table or kitchen knife may be used, care being 
taken not to injure the crown by cutting too deeply. Take the 
growth while tender, from five to seven inches is long enough 
and avoids the necessity of much banking. Also bear in mind 
that a very important secret of continued success with Asparagus 
is not to cut to the limit of its endurance but always to leave 
some shoots to develop vigorously at the end of the cutting 
season. 
Salt discourages weeds and does not hurt the Asparagus, in 
fact improves the crop, sprinkled liberally over the surface of 
the bed two or three times during the growing period. 
Continue to cultivate and 
water as needed during the 
summer, keeping the ground 
mellow and free from weeds. 
Late in the fall after the tops 
turn brown and are killed by 
frost, cut out and clear away; 
then top-dress the patch to 
three or four inches with well- 
rotted manure free from straw 
so that it will dig in nicely in 
the spring. As soon as the 
ground is dry enough in spring 
and before the young shoots appear, carefully spade over the 
bed and dress heavily with nitrate of soda, ground bone, or 
any good commercial fertilizer. 
Remember that Asparagus is an exorbitant feeder, that shoots 
are produced in proportion to the food stored up during the 
previous-season, and that a frequent cause of failure is lack of 
sufficient nourishment (to build up strength in the crown) alter 
the cutting for the season is done. 
ESSENTIALS OF SUCCESS WITH ASPARAGUS 
1. Leave some shoots to develop—don’t cut to the limit 
of the plants’ endurance! 
2. Feed heavily and water well all summer to build up 
reserve for next season’s crop next year’s crop 
depends on this season’s growth! 
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