why every garden has not an asparagus-bed is an unfathomable mystery to me. it is universally liked; even epicures consider it a delicacy. it is ready for table use in very early spring, when everyone craves fresh vegetables, and it is as easy to grow as any other vegetable after it is once established.
probably the last word explains the mystery. it takes three years to establish, or, rather, to bring it to the profitable stage. a light crop can be gathered the second season, so the home table profits almost as quickly as in the case of artichokes or strawberries. whatever the cause, the fact remains that an asparagus-bed is rarely found on a farm. yet the pecuniary advantages to be reaped from asparagus-growing are sufficient to satisfy the most ambitious gardener.
three years after our first bed from seed was started we sold three hundred and fifty-four bunches at an average of forty cents a bunch. early in the season we got fifty cents, toward the end of the season some were sold for thirty-five cents. since then the annual returns have never dropped below two hundred and eighty-six dollars. manuring and cultivating cost approximately twelve dollars a year. 112 the bed occupied about a quarter of an acre of ground. having a number of egg customers, we sell direct and so get the full price, but even wholesale prices range from fifteen to twelve cents.
there are two ways of starting beds, sowing seed or setting out plants. one-year-old plants will cost from sixty cents to a dollar a hundred. planted in april and well cared for, they will provide several dishes for the home table the following spring and nearly a full crop the second spring. seed sowed at the same time will take a year longer, but after that will give a larger yield than the transplanted plants and, as asparagus-beds are productive for fifteen or twenty years, the one-year loss in the beginning is an economy. but it is well to set out a few plants, simply because in the country one cannot get southern vegetables, which come into the city early in the spring, and, therefore, should try to have a home supply as quickly as possible.
in selecting ground for an asparagus-bed, it must be remembered that it is a permanent crop, and cannot be transplanted after it is established. it will grow on any ordinary garden soil which is well drained, but, when possible, heavy subsoil with light sand or loam above it should be selected, as it will invariably produce an earlier crop each year than heavy ground. the soil should slope to the south or southwest, and a shelter from the northeast is also desirable. for our large market bed we used land that had been under cultivation for two years. the 113 preceding crops had been corn, oats and potatoes, so it had been thoroughly worked.
after the potatoes were harvested in the fall, the field was ploughed, and barn-yard manure scattered broadcast over it. early the following spring the ground was again ploughed, to turn in the manure, and harrowed each way to thoroughly break up and pulverise the soil. should you be compelled to use ground that has not been worked previously, and is of a heavy, damp character, it would be well to plough as early as possible in summer, if necessary, using a subsoil plough, to break the ground to a depth of fifteen or sixteen inches.
harrow to smooth the surface, and repeat the harrowing about every three weeks until october, when it should be ploughed again to the depth of six or seven inches, manured and left until spring. after the spring harrowing the rows must be marked out five feet apart and running from north to south. use the plough back and forth in the same furrow to make a wide trench, which should be six or seven inches deep and about a foot wide. if much of the soil falls back into the trench, remove it with a spade or broad hoe, then plant seed about three inches apart. keep the rows free from weeds all through the season and the ground loose around the plants.
it is desirable to utilise the space between the rows, as it insures the ground being well cultivated. each space will accommodate two rows of carrots, onions or lettuce, or one row of cabbage. in the fall, when 114 the tops of the asparagus begin to die, they must be cut off and burned.
the following spring the ground between the rows should be manured and ploughed, or spaded if the place is an inclosed garden and a plough cannot be used. strong roots may throw very good-sized sprouts, but don’t be tempted to gather them, for their removal will stimulate the plant to throw up more stalks than its age warrants, and the result will be either death or a weakly, unprofitable existence for several seasons. not more than one row of carrots or onions should be grown between the rows the second season, and, unless space is of great value, it is as well not to use it at all.
cultivation must be kept up all through the growing season, to destroy weeds and keep the ground in condition. many amateurs have an idea that hoeing or cultivating of any sort is solely to destroy weeds, which is a great mistake. stirring the surface soil breaks the crust, and the powdered earth forms a mulch which keeps the lower soil moist, a condition which liberates the mineral qualities which constitute plant-food.
the second spring after sowing seed a light crop of stalks may be gathered, say two or three from each hill, but not more. then allow the stalks to grow and feather out until they assume their full fern-like form. in june apply a moderate quantity of barn-yard manure between the rows if the ground is not being used. if it is occupied by a crop, use commercial 115 fertiliser composed of equal parts of nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash and wood-ashes. scatter each side of whatever vegetable occupies the space between the rows and work the fertiliser well into the soil.
in august, when the crop is harvested, apply a moderately heavy dressing of well-rotted barn-yard manure. late in october cut down stalks and burn, as the year before; then plough or spade between the rows. the third spring will bring the bed to a profitable state, though it will not reach its full yearly capacity for another year. use the one-horse cultivator or hoe between the rows as early as the ground can be worked. draw the earth slightly from the roots at first, to permit the sun to warm the ground around the roots and awaken the plant to life.
a week or so later, if white asparagus is desired, the soil must be again drawn up over the plants and each row hilled up so as to bleach the sprouts. the operation will need repeating about once a week all through the cutting season, which should not last more than three weeks on so young a bed, though in future years it may be kept up six or even eight weeks.
after the cutting season throw down the ridges made by the hilling-up and apply either barn-yard manure or commercial fertiliser, repeating the application about july 1st. if green asparagus is desired, the only difference in treatment consists in omitting the hilling-up.
after the third year care of the bed consists of 116 manuring and cultivating. we have found it best to use barn-yard manure and commercial fertiliser alternately. sowing the seed in trenches or deep furrows is done to insure the crowns being three or four inches below the surface when they have developed considerable growth, which would not be the case if they were sown on the level ground to commence with. like its cousin, the lily of the valley, asparagus sends out roots and stalks from a heart or crown, which must be underground where it is moist and dark.
asparagus may be canned like any other vegetable for winter use; pack, cut ends down, in glass jars, fill jars with cold water, put the lids on loosely, stand in hot water, boil three hours, fill the jars to the brim with boiling water and screw lids down tight.
if you consider that raising from seed is beyond your patience, buy plants from a reliable grower. most nurserymen’s catalogues quote one and two year plants, but the experienced are unanimous in preferring strong one-year-old plants, affirming that they stand being transplanted better than the older ones. the ground must be prepared as for seed. when the plants arrive, put them into water for twelve or twenty-four hours to soften. set the plants two feet apart in trenches, being careful to have the crowns right side up. if you hold up a plant in your hand you will notice that the thick fleshy roots all proceed from the heart, or crown, as it is called, and droop downward, and that on the other side of the crown 117 there are what look like small rootlets. these are really the dry stalks from the preceding season and buds of the coming season, and are often mistaken for roots and placed downward in the trenches instead of upward, which of course they should be.
the proper way to plant is to make a small mound at the bottom of the trench—about two handfuls of soil—and spread out the roots, and place the crown on the mound of earth in such a way that the roots envelope it. press them firmly into place, and cover until the crown is about two inches below the soil. if it happens to be a dry season, water regularly until growth is well established.
asparagus must be cut very carefully, otherwise the embryo shoot may be destroyed or the crown itself killed. when only small quantities are being removed each day, the best plan is to pass the thumb and forefinger down the spur an inch or two into the ground, then bend outward, and it will snap below the surface of the earth without injuring the plant in any way. when large beds are being cut for market, a knife will have to be used, as it does the work so much more quickly. asparagus-knives are of special shape. there are several on the market, and they will be found advertised in all seedmen’s catalogues. the average price is fifty cents.
rust, a fungus disease, has become very prevalent during the last few years, attacking both young and old beds. as the name implies, it looks like rust on the stalks and spoils the appearance for market, besides 118 injuring the plant and materially affecting the crop.
it has been suggested by many who have studied the subject that rust originates on decaying stalks. for that reason it is advisable to burn the dead stalks as soon as they are cut away in the fall, instead of allowing them to decay on a compost-heap, as one does with other garden trimmings. spraying with bordeaux mixture after the cutting season each year has been recommended as a preventive. once established, there seems no remedy. we have a neighbour whose beds were seriously affected seven or eight years ago. he tried a number of ordinary washes and powders, but they seemed useless. six years ago he started new beds and adopted our plan of alternating commercial fertiliser with barn-yard manure as we had never had any sign of rust, and he attributed it to the ashes in the mixture we used, thinking that they purified the ground.
another enemy is the asparagus-beetle—an attractive-looking insect, jet black, with red, yellow and blue markings. it remains hidden in brush or rubbish through the winter and comes out in the first warm days of spring to lay its eggs, always choosing the young, tender sprouts for their resting-place. in a few days the young grubs hatch and feed on the asparagus, boring small holes, entirely ruining the appearance of the stalks, and occasionally descend to the crown of the plant itself. it only takes the grubs a month to pass through the several stages which 119 bring them to maturity, so that if only one or two beetles survive the winter, there may be an army by the time the beds are bearing fully. allowing poultry to run on the beds in the fall and winter is about the safest and easiest way of scotching the pests, though dusting with air-slaked lime in the early spring is recommended, and some authorities suggest the cutting of the beds as soon as shoots develop in the early spring, hoping in that way to destroy the eggs. this is rather an expensive remedy, as it means burning up the early market crop, which brings the best prices.
