Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-07-08
AGRICULTURAL
How TO Raise Asparagus.

raised it ID limited quantities tor man.
wears. from two old beds, which fnall.
proved to be in a spot where they wer'
not wanted. So they we're destroyed ans
4 new one started. Two years ago, thi
past spring. we procured an ounce Of seec
OF Mr.. Fogg. scotsman at the Ames PloS
Cos Agricultural Warehouse. and plant
ed during the latter part of March, IL
a hot-bed. 1t was a long time coming
up, as is its habit, bat it came at last, and
was treated like other hot-bed plants
weeded and watered, aud 4 little fresh
sand sifted over it to hill it up, aud keep
the surface from baking after being wa
tered. 1t grew quite thickly in the beds
several weeks after the sashes were re-
moved, or until the second aud third stalks
had begun TO make their appearance. As
paragus has a growth peculiar TO itself.
The first sprout from tie seed seldom gets
more than two or three inches Ligk, aud
r4smbles a white pine tree in miniture.
BY the time this first stalk arrives at ma
tIrity, a second bud makes its appearance
above ground by the side ofthe first stalk.
This soon stretches up to a double or treb-
lie the size of the first, and soon bends
over with its own weight aud makes room
for a third stalk, which is still larger
than the second. and growth goes on in
this way as long as the growing season
lasts. After ours had made its third
stalk, which was some time in midsum-
mer, we took it up, separated the plants,
which had roots more than twice as large
as the tops, threw away the small ones
aud saved the strongest aud best for set
ting in the bed where they were to re-
main.
The led was prepared by plough
ing a good piece of old ground as deeply
as a pair of horses could stir it with a
large four cattle plough. 1t had been
MANFRED we'll for a garden, the year pre-
vious. The spring before the plants we're !.
set the ground was manfred which had
been applied to it. When the plants were :,
ready for transplantlng, the ground was :.
marked off into double rows eighteen 10.
ehes apart, and about three and a half
feet TO the next double row. This gives =
4 chance to cultivate with the horse aud
cultiyator between the double rows. and y
is ample room in the narrow spaces I
for running a garden rake between the
plants, which are set about eighteen inches .
apart in the rows, y
The burrows for planting we're u:4a
Nth a plough, aud the plants were set
With 10 more care or expense than would :,
'e needed to- cabbage or tomatoes. Wet
and a fne, dry, mellow soil, arc the :,
for success ia trausplantIng all
,lnds of garden vegetables, which will
'ear moving at all. They were set so
when the ground was all leveled off
meOth, the crowns of the plants were
My about two inches below the surface. -
friend of the old school, who happened vi
long just as we had finished it, said we -,
ad not set them deep enough,-they 81
houid be from four TO six inches deep al ~
EAST, and they often set even deeper than =,
We explained that two inches was l.,
eep enough for such young plants, but "a
nat as we intended TO cover the bed with -.
heavy coat OF manure every fall, i, 81,
'ould gradually raise the ground, so that .o,
icy would be deep enough as they be- H.,
lpe larger. After transplanting, new TO-
loots kept coming up, each larger than e.
S predecessor, till the cold weather of -.
ltumn checked its growth. ~,
''Just before the ground froze up for hu
inter. the rows were covered over with eov
azure from an old hot.bed, a wheel.bar- an,
w load IN a place, about as thiekly as on
could be tipped. This was leveled ever Tn
rows, and remained both as q protec- the
% and as a fertilizer, till spring, when nui
was levaled evenly over tie whole bed, sat
a coat from two to three inches yea
iep. This was raked every few days, tin
tn a garden rake, till the plants started. the
tier the the rows could be seen, the vic
'rse-hoe was used between them as deep. ho'
as 1t would run. Over the plants pre-
thing was done except to rake and kill cos
lat few weeds started. The fist stalks fou
lieh came Up that second year was az the
fge or larger than pipe stems, aud each onl
'r grew larger than its predecessor. sec
'tore fall, a number of the stalks bios. yea
ned aud bore seed. The second winter. nui
bed was covered again with old ma tho
re. as before. which was leveIed off this aft,
ring aud raked in and cultivated. as in fact
} second year. But instead OF waiting in I
the fourth year before beginning to cut, pro
is recommended in the books, we int
md to oar surprise we had it plenty aue