Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-01-21
THE FARM AND HOME.
SOMETHING ABOUT ASPARA-
GUS CULTURE.
An unappreciated Vegetable - Fresh
Pastures-ro Avoid Bee sting
Barn Silos-- Farm Notes
aud Hons Hints.



dropsy and enlargement OF the heart
are undoubted while rs table yege
table it is relishel by nearly everyone
when properly cooked and serve l.
Again, as a market garden crop il is
usually as profitable as any that d
gardener can grow Many are dis.
couraged from attempting It's cultiva-
ton BY the fact that il usually re-
quires two or three years from the
setting of the plants before crop can
DO gathered, aud from five 70 Six years
before it comes to its best results
Those who desire to SOW the seed
and grow their own plant, can do So
upon any land that is good enough TO
grow corn upon as the object is not so
much to obtain large or rapid growing
plants, as TO get q good growth Of
roots upon each one, for which reason
il IS well to have the land not too rich,
and fortified with weIl-rotted manure
or good artificial fertilizer as they
become well distributed through the
soil, and tend to increase tha number
OF small, tibrous roots.
The ground should be well worked
! over to furnish good seed bed, ana
the seed sown early in the spring in
rows about one foot apart They
should be kept free from weeds aud
should have u dressing OF fertilizers
the next spring II they are no. to be
transplanted at one year old We
should prefer to allow them Is stand
until the following September or
October, when eighteen months old.
before transplanting to permanent
bed
II there is any foundation for the
statement made BY some OF the "a.
pertinent stations, that the female or
seed bearing plants do not yield is
well as the male plants that bear ~
seed, this would give an opportunity
for rejecting them, as in good saiI al
such would show the seeds the se.Uul
year.
While this crop likes q deep soil il
should always be warm sOil ana well
drained. as earliuess Is desirable, for il
is a market crop. and without thorough
drainage it will not attain tie deep
roofing required for long stIudiug ia
the same bed. A southern slope IA
also best for procuring early asparl gas
which sells At the highest prices The
land should be made rich for tnc croly
previously grown but au addition Sc
wcll-rotted manure, boncdust, wool
ashes, or q commercial fertilizer rich
ia potash, will greatly assist 10 getting
q vigorous growth.
Before setting the plants. pillow the
ground at least eight inches deep
making narrow burrows that the soil
may be well pulvcr,zcd and then opsn
drills four or five feet apart ana 1T
least eight inches deep. The plan ot
digging a tren II two feet deep and fill
ing IT with coarse manure at least one
foot deep is not now followed aud but
few put any manure in til, bottom Of
the drill at setting the plants The
drill being wide enough, by going
twice or more in it with the pillow, the
plants are set at eighteen inches or
two feet apart with the roots we'll
spread, and some take pains u round
up the bottom Of the drill in the mid.
die, or make a mound OF earth for the
plant to rest upon that the roots may
incline downward, but we think this
is only a within.
The crown Of the root being Thus
about seven inches below the surface
draw in earth enough to cover il 4 few
inches deep If set in the spring. and
gradually fill up when hocing in the
summer But for fall setting we
should bury deeper, and II the fur.
rows were not filled level with sail. |
should fill them with mulchiny OF |
some coarse material, 10 be rakcd of !
in the spring again If it was straw |
that had been used rs bedding for the |
cattle IL would probably be just as
good for that purpose rs any poorer |
though forest leaves would |
be very good. The space between the
rows must be kept free from weeds
until the plants are large enough to /
shade the ground although some utilize
It for a crop Of lettuce, faIl.sown
spinach, radishes, or other very early
crops
There Is a difference OF opinion In
regard to the fall treatment. whether
10 cut the stalks then and burn them
Or allow them to stand until spring as
a protection to the ground from too
much freezing and thawing during the
winter We incline to the latter plan,
but are open TO conviction, says the
American Cultivator In either case,
noe or harrow over the ground four or
i've inches deep as early as possib in
,he spring, and continue to do so TO
<eep the weeds down until the stalks
appear If at the last hoeing a few
stalks are cnt. it will only delay it "A
lew days, Or perhaps but one day IL
Inc weather is warm. as the stalks
grow very rapidly after they start.
When the stalks come, keep the space
the rows clear of weeds by
loeing or cultivating, and pull or use
he hand weeder on all those in the
'ow.
The fourth year from the seed there
nay be few cuttings made, begin
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