June 1, 1909 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
About Vegetables. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Operations for the Month. 
Probably the season will continue to 
_be satisfactory during June, and ths 
Sowing and planting of all seasonable 
kinds should on no account be neglected. 
Manure heaps should be turned over 
now and again. The heap to which all 
waste garden refuse has been wheeled 
should also be turned over and so assist 
early decomposition. Every particle of 
Vegetable refuse and manure of all kinds 
Should be saved ; it should not beallowed 
to lie all over the ground to be dried up 
by wind or sun, or to have its best pro- 
perties washed out by heavy rains. Some 
gardeners do not display much intelli- 
fence in their treatment of these things ; 
they place more faith in the use of chemi- 
Cal manures, forgetting that there is 
every element of plant-food in good 
stable manure if properly conserved and 
Used. 
When laying out a new vegetable 
garden arrange 80 as to keep the perma- 
nent vegetablex, the artichoke, the 
asparagus, and the rhubarb by them- 
Relves, Bist , 
ARTICHOKE. 
Plant out any seedlings large enough 
‘rows about 6 feet apart. 
CuHinEsSE ARTICHOKE. 
This vegetable was fully described in 
Our May issue. If desired you may 
plant more tubers in rows 18 inches 
to 2 feet apart and 9 to 12 inches apart 
in the rows. 
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE, 
Plant more tubers if required in rows 
3 feet apart and 1 foot in the rows. 
ASPARAGUS. 
Up toa very late period it was con- 
Sidered that, to grow asparagus success- 
fully, it was necessary to dig a deep pit 
and fill it full of manure, sowing the seed 
or planting the crowns on the surface. 
This idea has long since been exploded. 
To grow asparagus, no such pit is neces- 
and well manured, this is all that is 
needed, 
From the time of sowing the seed, it 
takes three years to bring an asparagus 
bed into full bearing ; therefore the best 
and quickest method of establishing a 
bed is to plant the crown, which may be 
obtained at a nurseryman’s. 
Trench the bed to a depth of 2 or more 
feet. If the subsoil be of a dense, stiff 
nature, break it well up with a pick, and 
incorporate with it yard manure, half- 
rotten straw, bones, &c. Replace the 
top soil, mixing it with old manure (horse 
or cow), adding a good sprinkling of 
coarse salt. Now leave the bed for a 
month or two, to allow the rain and 
moisture to act upon it. Before planting, 
the ground should have another good 
dressing of well-rotted manure, be 
trenched again 2 foet to 2 feet 6 inches 
deep, and be again well sprinkled with 
salt, leaving the surface level as the work 
proceeds. 
The best time to plant asparagus is 
during the months of’ June, July and 
August. The growing season commences 
in October, and extends right into March 
or April. : 
Planting: Mark out the beds 4 feet 
wide, with paths 2 feet wide between 
them. Then draw out three rows, each 
15 inches from the other, and put in the 
crowns, 15 inches apart, 
spreading out the roots and leaving the 
crowns two inches below the surface. Fill 
in the earth as quickly as possible to 
avoid ‘all unnecessary exposure. After 
planting, mulch the rows with stable 
manure to a depth of 6 or 9 inches, and 
water liberally until the plants are 
established. After ihe last week ix 
October (in early districts, in September) 
the young shoots will begin to force their 
way through the soil. “As soon as they 
are 2 or 3 inches above ground, they 
should be cut for use, taking care to 
always cut well down under the surface of 
the ground, The cutting must be done 
regularly during the season of six or eight 
weeks, and never allow, during that time, 
any shoots to develop. When the season 
is over, allow the plants to make their 
natural growth, taking care not to allow 
sary. If the bed is well dug or trenched 
carefully . 
15 
any seed to ripen and drop, When the 
tops begin to turn yellow in the autumn, 
cut them down level with the ground, 
and again mulch with manure, salt, or 
kainit, forking the surface before apply- 
ing it. 
A bed of asparagus, attended to as- 
here directed, will last for seven years? 
and bear well during the spring and early 
summer. Two rows, 30 feet long, will 
suffice for an ordinary family. 
Plants raised from seed will require 
four seasons before becoming productive, 
whilst those raised from crowns will 
afford a cutting in the second season— 
that is to say, in fifteen months. 
Broav Brans. 
Continue to sow largely in rows from 2 
to three feet apart, according to the 
variety, for the dwarf-growing kinds may 
be sown closer together than the tall, 
The seed should be sown about four or 
five inches apart in the rows, and two 
inches deep. 
Rup, Bzxr (Long and Turnip). 
A further sowing may be made if desired. 
Full particulars regarding the cultivation 
of Red Beet was given in our March 
issue. 
Sinver Buzzr, 
The leaves are cooked as spinach, and 
make a very palatable dish, especially 
when other vegetables are scarce. The ~ 
mid-ribs and stalks are also used as a 
substitute for Sea Kale. 
Sow a little seed in rows, and after- 
wards thin out the seedlings when they 
have attained a height of about 2 or 3 
inches, It may, perhaps, be more con- 
venient to sow. in a seed-bed and after- 
wards transplant in much the same 
manner as is adopted for cabbages, d&c. 
The soil for this plant should be heavily 
manured with well-rotted rich manure, 
for the leaves, and not the root, is the 
part used as a vegetable. The rows in 
the permanent bed should be about 2 
feet apart, and the plants should stand 
about 2 feet distant from one another, 
Brussgis Sprours. : 
Transplant to well dug up but not too 
heavily manured ground that has been 
prepared for them. The growth must not 
be forced, or else the young sprouts will 
