The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-02-17
Asparagus.

The usual method of propagatinp as
Paragus is from the seed, which retains
Its vitality several years if kept dry and
not exposed to great heat; but fresh seed
Is preferable. As freezing does not in
Iure the seed it may be soWn in the fall.
and may even be delayed until spring if
more conVenient. The seed bed should
De well worked over and made deep,
nch and 80 light that the surface will not
become hard and baked after heavy rains.
Make drills four inches apart, in which
sow seeds four inches distant from each
other. This will admit of vigorous
growth, which is very important, as the
plants will be in better condition for
planting when one year old than ever
after. Cover about one inch deep.
An ounce of seed should give about q
thousand plants. Hoe and cultivate
well, and keep all weeds down. Trans
plant in the spring to the beds where
they are to remain. Good strong one
year, or if the seed was sown in the fall,
eighteen months old plants are better
for setting than older ones, but those of
two or even three years old may be used
if others are not readily obtainable.
A light sandy or alluvial soil is far
preferable to any other for asparagus; a
cold clay soil, however rich, is seldom
satisfactory. But whatever its nature it
must be made very deep and rich, and
the materials used for fertilizing applied
in the most liberal manner. If the soil
is naturally cold and heavy. muck, sand
or the sediments of ponds or creeks may
be added in sufficient quantities to tighten
as well as to make it rich. 1.-The richer
the better" is an old and good rule in
making asparagus beds.
Depth of soil is also important, be-
cause warmth, proper drainage, and the
retention of just enough moisture to
keep the plants growing and the roots
healthy cannot be secured in shallow
soil, however nearly perfect it may be
in all other respects. The bed should
be thoroughly worked with spade or
trench pillow to depth of at least eigh-
teen inches, while two or even two and
half feet is usually considered better
by the most successful gardeners. On
light soils, naturally well underdrained
by porus subsoil, less depth will an
swer if surface applications are in
creased. The usual practice in small
gardens is to set the plants in beds and
quite close together. This method
should be entirely abandoned; for to OBJ
tain large asparagus the plants must
have plenty of room for full and perfect
development of both roots and tops.
For garden culture, the roots should be
three feet apart and the plants not less
than eighteen inches apart in the rows;
and for field culture, the rows must be
four feet and plants two feet from each
other. When plenty of space is allowed,
the roots have room to spread, the
crowns increase in size without crowd
ing, and the yield will be much greater
than when close planting is practised.
It is a common saying among market
gardeners that "giant asparagus is only
obtained by giant culture" and allow
ing abundance of room for the plants is
an important step in this direction.
After the land has been put in proper
condition by manuring and working to
the required depth, trenches from four
to six inches deep should be opened
with q pillow. If the roots are large,
two burrows should be run for each
trench, throwing the soil out on both
sides, leaving the bottom of the trench
broad enough to admit of spreading out
the roots to their full length without
crowding against the sides. Set the
roots at proper distances along the
trench and haul the soil over them with
hoes, or it may be thrown back with a
pillow; after which run harrow over the
surface to make it smooth and level. If
the crowns of the plants are covered
fully four inches after the soil is well
settled above them it is sufficient, al
though some set them much deeper,
which is not only entirely unnecessary,
but in cold soils rather injurious than
otherwise, as the plants will not start SO
early nor come forward so rapidly as
when set near the surface.
An asparagus plant at first consists of a
crown or centre bud, from which the
roots grow out laterally in all directions
nearly horizontally, seldom going deep
into the earth. Neither do the crowns
grow upward or downward as the plants
become old, but as the first bud or stalk
rises to the surface and above, if left I'M
disturbed, another bud is formed at its
base, and then another, and so on during
the entire life of the plant, the old crowns
becoming large masses of dead and iv-
ing buds on nearly the same plane. We
are thus particular in describing the
habit of asparagus roots, because thous-
ands have made asparagus beds with
solid stone bottoms, believing it necessa-
~ to prevent the roots from going deep
into the earth and spending the force of
the plant in that direction instead of
throwing up its succulent and much
priced shoots; and many have been de-
TERED from planting asparagus by the
necessity Of stone foundations.
1t is frequently asserted that asparagus
roots 90 down until they strike some harS
when they are turned and colDe
through the surface as stalks. Where
such an absurd idea originated may oe
as difficult to determine as is the origin
of hundreds of others equally absurd that
have both in theory and practice found
their way into both ancient and modern
gardening.
After cultivation consists mainly in
top dressing and working in fertilizers
from time to time to keep up vigorous
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