ASPARAGUS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 October 1939, Page 3

ASPARAGUS

IS EASILY GROWN. . Asparagus is quite easy to grow and it is possible to cultivate this delicious vegetable in almost any soil, provided > the drainage is good. Organic or animal c manures should be applied generous- s ly when the bed is prepared, for the ;■ best results. This should be buried f about two feet deep. Should the soil be of a heavy nature, sand or burned g earth may be forked into the top nine . inches. The following artificial manures can be used: two ounces of super- < phosphate, three ounces of bone-meal and two ounces of sulphate of potash 1 per square yard. Where the soil is sandy, five ounces of kainit should be i substituted for the sulphate of potash. < Salt is often recommended and on ( the lightest of soils it is certainly use- ( ful. Too much salt, however, is apt , to make the bed cold, and the writer < would not advocate its use until the bed is well established. Salt is best 1 applied in October at the rate of two 1 ounces per square yard. A further ] dressing can be given three weeks < later if desired. If the asparagus is raised from seed i it will mean a wait of five years or so , before a crop can be expected. Those who wish for quick returns should purchase three-year-old roots, although it is better to purchase one-year-old roots and wait three years for the crop to be ready for cutting. The modern method of planting is to have single roows, four feet apart and to put the plants two feet away from each other in the rows. Some prefer to make the rows three feet apart with the plants at 18 inches. If one-year-old plants are used, examine them to see that they have three or four good buds at the crown. Planting should be done in early October. Make a trench nine inches wide and nine inches deep. At the right position the spidery looking roots of asparagus should be spread out evenly in the trench. If each plant is set on a little mound of soil it will be found much easier to get the roots into position. This will ensure that the crown of each plant is about four inches below the level of the soil after being covered.