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Show A . A A. A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A ? V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V y V V V V i ' ' ! I Gardens That Produce Results I $ . i A $ . ..... A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A .. V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V Asparagus One of the Finest Delicacies The most fastidious gardener al-1 ways counts on an asparagus bed as one of the final touches to complete a garden. Asparagus is often some trouble to get going but after the crop is well started the work is very light and returns are gratifying. None but the very best asparagus plants should be used. A bed may last for twenty-five to thh-ty years and a little bit of care and expense at the beginning will be well repaid in this length of time. Also, plants can be cheaply produced from seed but this takes time and most home gardeners prefer to buy plants that someone else has raised. Some gardeners prefer one-year-old asparagus plants because they receive less mutilation in transplanting transplant-ing than two-year-old plants and because be-cause they dapt themselves to their yieled a full crop until the third year from the setting of the plants and cutting a large quantity of shoots from the plants before the third year will be certain to result in injury. The land for asparagus should be well fertilized with commercial fertilizer ferti-lizer and manure and if the soil is acid, it should receive a good application appli-cation of lime. The plants should be set in a trench. When green asparagus is desired de-sired the plants should be set so that the crown will be 5 in. or in. below the surface of the ground. When white or blanched shoots are desired, the plants should be set so that the crowns are 7 in. to 10 in. deep. There j is no difference between the green j and white asparagus except that in j the case of the white the shoots have i been blanched by earth, that is, cov- Method of setting asparagus plants new surroundings quickly. Experiments Experi-ments have proved that the one-year-oid plants will do considerably better than two or three-year-old plants. Plants that have been in the ground three years will not make such a rapid growth at the start. Seedsmen Seeds-men who cater to amateur gardeners usually make a specialty of two-year-old plants because such persons are usually anxious to secure bigger returns re-turns frora the first year or two and do nnt figure on the returns over a greater length of time.. Asparagus plants should be set taily in the spring as soon as the g'oiind is suitable for planting. Asparagus beds that are meant to be permanent are usually set in rows 4 ft. apart and the plants placed 2 l't. F.part in thu row. Closer planting will cause a deterioration of the bed later on because of a lack of space. ' Many home gardeners plant the rows 3 feet apart. I Asparagus will not with certainty ered so that light does not get at them. Some gardeners will plant asparagus as-paragus 12 in. deep, which seems to be the extreme limit. The plants, however, should not be set so deep that they are in subsoil. The soil about the roots must be good and fertile. In order to prevent the plants from becoming injured when set they should be placed on a pile of earth in the bottom of the trench as shown in the illustration at the right. After setting, the entire trench should not be filled, only about 2 in. of soil being placed over the crowns of the plants. Furrows should then be gradually filled as the plants grow. Usually, the entire furrow is not completely filled until the latter part of the first season. By Seth W. Shoemaker, Director, SchI of Agr. Intl Cor. Schls. Order your butter wrappers now. |