ASPARAGUS

Asparagus officinalis



Asparagus is a liliaceous plant of perennial duration, and it demands

more generous treatment than the majority of Kitchen Garden crops. Under

favourable conditions it improves with age to such an extent as to

justify the best possible cultivation. Plantations that have stood and

prospered for twenty or even thirty years are not uncommon, but a fair

average term is ten years, after which it is generally advisable to

break up a bed, the precaution being first taken to secure a succession

bed on fresh soil well prepared for the purpose. Plantations are made

either by sowing seeds or from transplanted roots; and although roots

are extremely sensitive when moved, success can, as a rule, be insured

by special care and prompt action, assuming that the proper time of year

is chosen for the operation. The advantage of using roots is the saving

of time, and in most gardens this is an important consideration.

Fortunately roots may be planted almost as safely when two or three

years old as at one year.



Soil.--Asparagus will grow in any soil that is well cultivated; a deep

rich sandy loam being especially suitable. Calcareous soil is by no

means unfavourable to Asparagus; still, a sand rich in humus is not the

less to be desired, as the finest samples of European growth are the

produce of the districts around Paris and Brussels. The London

Asparagus, which is prized by many for its full flavour and tenderness,

is for the most part grown near at hand, in deep alluvial soils enriched

with abundance of manure. Nature gives us the key to every secret that

concerns our happiness, and on the cultivation of Asparagus she is

liberal in her teaching. The plant is found growing wild on the sandy

coasts of the British Islands--a proof that it loves sand and salt.



Preparation of Ground.--The routine cultivation must begin with a

thorough preparation of the ground. Efficient drainage is imperative,

for stagnant water in the subsoil is fatal to the plant. But a rich loam

does not need the extravagant manuring that has been recommended and

practised. Deep digging and, where the subsoil is good, trenching may be

recommended, but an average manuring will suffice, because Asparagus can

be effectually aided by annual top-dressings, and proper surface culture

is of great importance in the subsequent stages. It is necessary to

choose an open spot for the plantation. Preparation of the ground

should commence in the autumn and be continued through the winter, a

heavy dressing of half-rotten stable manure being put on in the first

instance, and trenched in two feet deep. In the course of a month the

whole piece should be trenched back. If labour is at command a third

trenching may be done with advantage, and the surface may be left ridged

up until the time arrives to level it for seeding. It will be obvious

that this routine is of a somewhat costly character, but we are

supposing the plantation is to remain for many years, making an abundant

return for the first investment. Still we are bound to say that a

capital supply for a moderate table may be obtained by preparing a piece

of good ground in an open situation in a quite ordinary manner with one

deep digging in winter, adding at the time some six inches or so of fat

stable manure, and leaving it thus until the time arrives for sowing the

seed. Then it will be well to level down and point in, half a spade

deep, a thin coat of decayed manure to make a nice kindly seed-bed.



Where soil known to be unsuitable, such as a damp clay or pasty loam,

has to be prepared for Asparagus, it will be found an economical

practice to remove the top spit, which we will suppose to be turf or old

cultivated soil, and on the space so cleared make up a bed of the best

possible materials at command. Towards this mixture there is the top

spit just referred to. Add any available lime rubbish from destroyed

buildings, sand, peat, leaf-mould, surface soil raked from the rear of

the shrubberies, &c., and the result should be a good compost obtained

at an almost nominal cost.



Size of Bed, and Sowing Seed.--At this juncture several questions of

considerable importance arise. And first, whether the crop shall be

grown on the flat or in raised beds. Where the soil is sufficiently

deep, and the drainage perfect, the flat system answers well. The

advantages of raised beds are that they deepen the soil, assist the

drainage, promote warmth, and thus aid the growth of an early crop. In

fact, raised beds render it possible to grow Asparagus on soils from

which this vegetable could not otherwise be obtained. The preparation is

the same in either case, and therefore we shall make no further allusion

to flat beds, but leave those to adopt them who find their soil and

requirements suitable. Now comes the question of distance, on which

depends the width of the beds. The first point may be settled by the

measure of the plant, and the second by the measure of the man. Monster

sticks are valued at some tables, and we shall refer to these later on,

but an abundant crop of handsome, though not abnormal, Asparagus meets

the requirements of most households. After many experiments, we have

come to the conclusion that the best mode of insuring a full return of

really good sticks, with the least amount of labour, is to lay out the

land in three-feet beds, with two-feet alleys between. In some

instances, no doubt, five-feet beds, containing three rows of roots, one

down the middle and one on each side at a distance of eighteen inches,

are preferable. For the majority of gardens, however, the three-feet bed

is a distinct advantage, were it only for the fact that all excuse for

putting a foot on the bed is avoided. On this narrow bed only two rows

of plants will be necessary. Put down the line at nine inches from the

edge on both sides, and at intervals of fifteen inches in the rows

dibble holes two inches deep, dropping two or three seeds in each. This

will give a distance between the rows of eighteen inches. In very strong

land, heavily manured, the holes may be eighteen inches apart instead of

fifteen. April is the right month for sowing.



Thinning.--When the 'grass' from seeds has grown about six inches

high, only the strongest plant must be left at each station, and they

should finally stand at a distance of fifteen or eighteen inches in the

row. Much of the injury reported to follow from close planting has been

the result of carelessness in thinning. The young plant is such a

slender, delicate thing, that, to the thoughtless operator, it seems

folly to thin down to one only. The consequence is that two or three, or

perhaps half a dozen, plants are left at each station to 'fight it out,'

and these become so intermixed as to appear to be one, though really

many, and of course amongst them they produce more shoots than can be

fed properly by the limited range of their roots. Severe, or may we say

mathematical, thinning is a sine qua non, and it requires sharp eyes

and careful fingers; but it must be done if the Asparagus beds are to

become, as they should be, the pride of the Kitchen Garden.



Blanching.--The grave question of white versus green Asparagus we

cannot entertain, except so far as concerns the cultivator only. On the

point of taste, therefore, we say nothing; and it is a mere matter of

management whether the sticks are blanched to the very tip, or allowed

to become green for some few inches. Blanching is effected in various

ways. The heaping up of soft soil, such as leaf-mould, will accomplish

it. On the Continent many contrivances are resorted to, such as covering

the heads with wooden or earthen pipes. In a few districts in France

champagne-bottles with the bottoms cut away are employed. But a strong

growth being secured, the cultivator will find it an easy matter to

regulate the degree of colour according to the requirements of the table

he has to serve. As a rule, a moderately stout growth, with a fair show

of purple colour, is everywhere appreciated, and is the easiest to

produce, because the most natural.



There is, however, an interesting point in connection with the

production of green Asparagus, and it is that if wintry weather prevails

when the heads are rising (as unfortunately is often the case) the

tender green tops may be melted by frost and become worthless, or may be

rendered so tough as to place the quality below that of blanched

Asparagus; for the blanching is also a protective process, and quickly

grown white Asparagus is often more tender and tasty than that which is

green, but has been grown slowly. As the season advances and the heads

rise rapidly the green Asparagus acquires its proper flavour and

tenderness, and thus practical considerations should more or less

influence final decisions on matters of taste. The business of the

cultivator is to produce the kind of growth that is required, whether

white or green, or of a quality intermediate between the two. This is

easily done, making allowance for conditions. When green Asparagus is

alone in demand, the cultivator may be advised to have in readiness, as

the heads are making their first show, a sufficient supply of some rough

and cheap protecting material, such as grass and coarse weeds, cut with

a sickle from odd corners of the shrubbery and meadow land, or clean hay

and straw perfectly free from mildew; but for obvious reasons stable

litter should not be used. A very light sprinkling of material over an

Asparagus bed that is making a first show of produce will ward off the

morning frosts, and amply compensate for the little trouble in saving

many tender green sticks that the frosts would melt to a jelly and

render worthless. After the second or third week in May the litter may

be removed if needful; but if appearances are of secondary importance,

it may be left to shrink away on the spot.



Cutting.--Asparagus as supplied by market growers is needlessly long

in the stem. The bundles have an imposing appearance, no doubt, but the

useless length adds nothing to the comfort of those at table, and is a

wasteful tax on the energy of the plant. For home consumption it will

generally suffice if the white portion is about four inches long, and

this determines the depth at which the sticks should be cut. Here it may

be useful to remark that deeply buried roots do not thrive so well as

those which are nearer the surface, nor do they produce such early

crops. The sticks are usually cut by thrusting down a stiff

narrow-pointed knife, or specially made saw, close to each shoot; and it

is necessary to do this with judgment, or adjacent shoots, which are not

sufficiently advanced to reveal their presence by lifting the soil, may

be damaged. To avoid this risk of injury by the knife it is possible

from some beds to obtain the sticks without the aid of any implement by

a twist and pull combined, but the process needs a dexterous hand and is

impracticable in tenacious soils. The sticks of a handsome sample will

be white four or five inches of their length; the tops close, plump, of

a purplish-green colour, and the colour extending two or at most three

inches down the stems. Both size and degree of colouring are, however,

so entirely questions of taste that no definite rule can be stated. It

is more to the purpose to say that, if liberally grown, the plant may be

cut from in the third year; and that cutting should cease about the

middle of June, or early in July, according to the district. For the

good of the plant the sooner cutting ceases the better, as the next

year's buds have to be formed in the roots by the aid of the top-growth

of the current season.



Weeding and Staking.--Two other points relating to the general

management are worthy of attention. Some crops get on fairly well when

neglected and crowded with weeds. Not so with Asparagus. The plant

appears to have been designed to enjoy life in solitude, being unfit for

competition; and if weeds make way in an Asparagus bed, the cultivator

will pay a heavy penalty for his neglect of duty. The limitation of the

beds to a width of three feet, therefore, is of consequence, because it

facilitates weeding without putting a foot on them. The other point

arises out of the necessity of affording support to the frail plant in

places where it may happen to be exposed to wind. When Asparagus in high

summer is rudely shaken, the stems snap off at the base, and the roots

lose the service of the top-growth in maturing buds for the next season.

To prevent this injury is easy enough, but the precautions must be

adopted in good time. A free use of light, feathery stakes, such as are

employed for the support of Peas, thrust in firmly all over the bed,

will insure all needful support when gales are blowing. In the absence

of pea-sticks, stout stakes, placed at suitable distances and connected

with lengths of thick tarred twine, will answer equally well. In

sheltered gardens the protection of the young growth with litter, and of

the mature growth with stakes, need not be resorted to, but in exposed

situations these precautions should not be neglected.



Manuring Permanent Beds.--The management of Asparagus includes a

careful clean-up of the beds in autumn. The plants should not be cut

down until they change colour; then all the top-growth may be cleared

away and the surface raked clean. Give the beds a liberal dressing of

half-decayed manure, and carefully touch up the sides to make them neat

and tidy. It is usual at the same time to dig and manure the alleys, but

this practice we object to in toto, because it tends directly to the

production of lean sticks where fat ones are possible; for the roots run

freely in the alleys, and to dig is to destroy them. In the spring clear

the beds of the autumn dressing by raking any remnant of manure into the

alleys, and the beds and the alleys should then be carefully pricked

over with a fork two or three inches deep only, and with great care not

to wound any roots.



The application of salt requires judgment. For a time it renders the bed

cold, and when followed by snow the two combine to make a freezing

mixture which arrests the growth of established plants. On a newly made

bed salt is unnecessary, and may prove destructive to the roots. The

proper time for applying salt must be determined by the district and the

character of the season; but in no case should the mineral be used until

active growth has commenced, although it is not needful to wait until

the growth is visible above the surface. In the southern counties a

suitable opportunity may generally be found from the beginning to the

middle of April. Second and third dressings may follow at intervals of

three weeks, which not only stimulate the roots but keep down weeds.



Planting Roots.--In many gardens where there is space for two or three

beds only there will be the very natural desire to secure Asparagus in a

shorter time than is possible from seed, and we therefore proceed to

indicate the best method of planting roots. Asparagus roots do not take

kindly to removal, especially old and established plants. The mere

drying of the roots by exposure to the atmosphere is distinctly

injurious to them. They will travel safely a long distance when well

packed, but the critical time is between the unpacking and getting them

safely into their final home. Everything should be made ready for the

transfer before the package is opened, and the actual task of planting

should be accomplished in the shortest time possible.



A three-feet bed should be prepared by taking out the soil in such a

manner as to leave two ridges for the roots. The space between ridges to

be eighteen inches, and the tops of the ridges to be so far below the

level of the bed that when the soil is returned, and the bed made to

its normal level, the crowns will be about five inches beneath the

surface. This may be understood from the following illustration of a

section cut across the bed.



[Illustration]



A, A represent the alleys between the beds, and B the top of one bed.

The dotted lines show the ridges on which the roots are to rest at C, C.

When the bed is ready, open the package and place the Asparagus on the

ridges at fifteen or eighteen inches apart, allowing about half the

roots of each plant to fall down on either side of the ridge. As a rule

it will be wise to have two pairs of hands engaged in the task. The soil

should be filled in expeditiously, and a finishing touch be given to the

bed. Very rarely will it be safe to transplant Asparagus until the end

of March or beginning of April, for although established roots will pass

unharmed through a very severe winter, those which have recently been

removed are often killed outright by a lengthened period of cold wet

weather, and especially by thawed snow followed by frost.



Giant Asparagus.--Some of the most critical judges of Asparagus in the

country are extremely partial to giant sticks. Their preference is not

based on mere superiority in size, but on the special flavour which is

the peculiar merit of these extra-large Asparagus when they are properly

grown. Although there is no difficulty whatever in producing them, it

must be admitted that to insure specimens weighing nearly or quite half

a pound, plenty of space must be allowed for the full development of

each plant and a prodigal use of manure is imperative. Where drainage is

effectual, the soil of any well-tilled garden can be made suitable. The

roots may be grown in clumps or in rows. Clumps are planted in

triangular form, two feet being allowed between the three plants of each

group, with a distance of five feet between the groups. The more usual

method, however, is to plant in rows. In both cases the cultural details

are almost identical, and to obtain the finest results it is wise to get

the preparatory work done at convenient times in advance of the planting

season. Assuming that rows are decided on, commence operations by

digging a broad deep trench, throwing out the soil to the right and left

to form sloping sides until there is a perpendicular depth of

twenty-seven inches from the top of the ridge. About one foot of

prepared soil should be placed in the bottom of the trench. This may be

composed of such material as the trimmings of hedges, sweepings of

shrubberies, twigs from a faggot pile, wood ashes and leaf-mould. The

constituents must to some extent depend on the materials at command.

What is wanted is a light compost, consisting almost wholly of vegetable

matter in a more or less advanced state of decomposition. Add three or

four inches of rich loam, and on this, at the beginning of April, plant

strong one-year roots of a robust-growing variety. Between the plants it

is customary to allow a space of at least two feet, and some growers put

them a full yard apart. Cover the crowns with three inches of rich soil,

previously mixed with manure and laid up for the purpose. The second and

following rows are to be treated in the same way, and the work must be

so managed that an equal distance of four and a half or five feet is

left between the rows. When the foliage dies down in autumn, a layer of

fertile loam mixed with rotten manure should be spread over the surface.

In the succeeding spring remove just the top crust of soil and give a

thick dressing of decayed manure alone, upon which the soil can be

restored. During the autumn of the second year the furrow must be filled

with horse manure for the winter. Remove this manure in March, and

substitute good loam containing a liberal admixture of decayed manure

previously incorporated with the soil. The slight ridges that remain can

then be levelled down. By this treatment large handsome sticks of

Asparagus may be cut in the third year. To maintain the plants in a high

state of efficiency, it must be clearly understood that forcing with

horse manure will be necessary every subsequent year. Blanching may be

carried out by any of the usual methods, and Sea Kale pots are both

convenient and effectual. Not a weed should be visible on the beds at

any time.



Forcing is variously practised, and the best possible system,

doubtless, is to force in the beds, and thereby train the plants to

their work so that they become used to it. The growers who supply Paris

with forced Asparagus produce the white sample in the beds, and the

green by removal of the roots to frames. Forcing in beds may be

accomplished by means of trenches filled with fermenting material or by

hot-water pipes, the beds in either case being covered with frames.

Where the demand for forced Asparagus is constant, there can be no doubt

the hot-water system is the cheapest as well as the cleanest and most

reliable; for a casual supply forcing in frames answers very well, but

it is attended with the disadvantage that when the crop has been secured

the roots are worthless. The practice of forcing may be said to commence

with the formation of the seed-bed, for if it is to be carried on in a

systematic and profitable manner, every detail must be provided for in

the original arrangements. The width of the beds and of the alleys, and

the disposition of the plants, will have to be carefully considered, so

as to insure the best results of a costly procedure, and it will be

waste of time to begin forcing until the plants have attained their

fourth year. The rough method of market growers consists in the

employment of hot manure in trenches, and also on the beds, after the

frames are put on. The beds are usually four feet wide, the alleys two

feet wide and twenty inches deep, and the plants not more than nine

inches apart in the row, there being three or four rows of plants in the

bed. The frames are put on when forcing commences, but the lights are

withheld until the shoots begin to appear. Then the fermenting material

is removed from the beds, the lights are put on, and no air is given,

mats being added in cold weather, both to retain warmth and promote

blanching. This method produces a fair market sample, but a much better

growth may be obtained by a good hot-water system, as will be understood

from a momentary consideration of details. By the employment of

fermenting material the temperature runs up rapidly, sometimes

extravagantly, so that it is no uncommon event for the growth to

commence at 70 deg. to 80 deg. Fahr., which may produce a handsome sample, but

it will be flavourless. The hot-water system allows of perfect control,

and the prudent grower will begin at 50 deg., rise slowly to 60 deg., and take

care not to exceed 65 deg.; the result will be a sample full of flavour,

with a finer appearance than the best obtainable by the rougher method.



Forcing in frames is systematically practised in many gardens, and as it

exhausts the roots there must be a corresponding production of roots for

the purpose. The first requisite is a good lasting hot-bed, covered with

about four inches of light soil of any kind, but preferably leaf-mould.

The roots are carefully lifted and planted as closely as possible on

this bed, and covered with fine soil to a depth of six inches. The

sashes are then put on and kept close; but a little air may be given as

the heads rise, to promote colour and flavour. The heat will generally

run to 70 deg., and that figure should be the maximum allowed. Experienced

growers prefer to force at 60 deg. or 65 deg., and to take a little more time

for the advantage of a finer sample.